News From the Field

Central Appalachia flatter due to mountaintop mining


February 5, 2016

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Forty years of mountaintop coal mining have made parts of central Appalachia 40 percent flatter than they were before excavation, researchers say. This study, which compares pre- and post-mining topographic data in southern West Virginia, is the first to examine the large-scale impact of mountaintop mining on landscape topography and how the changes influence water quality.Full Story

Source
Duke University

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