New API Provides Access to Mountaintop Mining Data
Tool allows convenient interaction with an expanding range of data products
An example of a user query that is possible through the API, showing the intersection of all mining footprints in red with a specific permit area in blue.
What’s new?
We’ve released an API that makes access to our mountaintop mining data more user-friendly. Providing this data through an API enables users to retrieve specific subsets relevant to their needs quickly and efficiently, supporting our aim of providing open data and related products that are free and accessible to the public.
Why is this an improvement?
Our extensive dataset of annual surface mining detections spans four states in Central Appalachia. While the entire dataset is still available for bulk download for region-wide studies, the API allows users to hone in on the data they need to answer focused questions or analyze a specific area of interest.
We have also added several third-party datasets, including county boundaries, U.S. Geological Survey watershed units, and features from the federal Abandoned Mine Land Inventory System (e-AMLIS). In addition, we offer a consolidated database of mining permit boundaries compiled from multiple state and federal agencies, allowing users to explore permit ownership, operation status, reclamation bonds, and other key attributes without navigating various systems. Together, these third-party datasets provide users with important context for interpreting mining detections and to support analyses that link mining activity to specific permits, watersheds, and legacy mine features.
How can it be used?
Users can view mining detections and other data products within a specific area of interest, or perform spatial queries to visualize the intersections between datasets. For example, a user can:
- Visualize all mining detections within Pike County, Kentucky
- Track the annual extent of mining footprints that intersect the Hobet 21 West Ridge Surface Mine permit in West Virginia
- Identify the permit owner responsible for a specific mining footprint near the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia
Identifying mining permits that intersect a specific mining footprint near the town of Big Stone Gap, Virginia.
For more examples and full documentation, visit our API guide.
What’s next?
The API will grow in the coming year to include additional data products as we continue our work in Central Appalachia, including novel highwall research, vegetation recovery data, and valley fill detections. We also plan to expand the API to include SkyTruth’s mining data from other regions of the world, such as artisanal gold mining in the Amazon.
Stay connected to hear about our latest releases by signing up for our updates and newsletter here. Questions? Connect with us at support@skytruth.org.
