#northeastern North Carolina

[tickleinvaforums]

High Knob Observation Tower:

A brand new observation tower with a long history opened in 2014 atop High Knob Recreation Area. At an elevation of 4,223 feet, the original tower built in the 30s burned down 40 years later. The new tower boasts panoramic views of mountaintops in 5 states: Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Kentucky, and West Virginia. It is unique to Virginia in containing both Appalachia Plateau and Ridge and Valley topography, although it is largely a karstic landform of the Ridge and Valley Province. High Knob stretches across portions of southern Wise County, northern Scott County, and the northeastern tip of Lee County. The marker at the summit of Lookout Mountain claims seven states may be viewed from the site. From the "Rock City" point, a marker claims that seven U.S. states can be seen: Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia, High Knob Observation Tower (Located in Wise County).

[thelawandmore]

Innovation Labs Provide Space for Access to Justice Solutions 

Innovation Labs Provide Space for Access to Justice Solutions

Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) recently announced it will launch the Innovation Lab, a new initiative that aims to improve access to justice for low-income and marginalised communities. The Lab’s goal is to “bring together clients, community partners, law schools, staff, and justice tech experts to pursue projects that integrate technology and design best practices into legal service delivery…

[typhlonectes]

Lizards may be protecting people from Lyme disease in the southeastern U.S.

The reptiles make poor hosts for transmitting the infection.

Lyme disease is one of the most devastating tick-borne infections in the United States, affecting more than 300,000 people each year. It's also one of the most mysterious: The creature that spreads it—the black-legged tick—lives throughout the country. Yet the northeastern United States is home to far more cases than anywhere else. Now, researchers have identified an unexpected reason: lizards. Black-legged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), also known as deer ticks, carry corkscrew-shaped bacteria that cause Lyme disease. The ticks pick up the pathogens—spirochetes that belong to the genus Borrelia—when they suck the blood of animals like mice, deer, and lizards. In the next stage of their life cycle, the ticks may latch onto an unlucky human. But every host transmits the microbes differently. Reptiles are worse transmitters than mammals, so ticks that have lived on reptiles are less likely to make people sick. The north-south divide in Lyme cases is a fairly sharp line right along the border of Virginia and North Carolina. Researchers have hypothesized that disparity in cases stems from ticks feeding on different hosts in the two regions...

Read more: https://www.science.org/content/article/lizards-may-be-protecting-people-lyme-disease-southeastern-united-states

[jloisse]

🔴Campus protests across the U.S. since April 17

Brown University

California State Polytechnic University

City University of New York

Columbia University

Emerson College

Emory University

Florida International Universit

Florida State University

George Washington University

Harvard University

Indiana University

New York University

Northeastern University

Northwestern University

Ohio State University

Princeton University

Rice University

Texas A&M

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Michigan State University

New School - New York, NY

University of Michigan

Tufts University

University of Arizona

University of California at Berkeley

University of Maryland

University of Miami

University of Minnesota

University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Pittsburgh

University of Rochester

University of Southern California

University of Texas, Austin

University of Texas at Dallas

Vanderbilt University

Yale university

[huriya]

College Shitlist (boycott these colleges)

This is the updating list of colleges where pro-palestine protests are present that have brutalized/arrested/punished their students for protesting the ongoing palestinian genocide.

REMEMBER: DO NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY TO THESE COLLEGES. PROTESTS ON THESE CAMPUSES ARE IMPORTANT, BUT KEEPING YOUR INTELLIGENCE AND MONEY AWAY FROM THESE ABHORRENT INSTITUTIONS DIMINISHES THEIR POWER. THEIR ONLY POWER COMES FROM THEIR STUDENTS AND THEIR MONEY. YOU HAVE THE POWER TO TAKE THEIR PRESTIGE AWAY.

In No Particular Order:

Princeton University

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

University of California - Berkeley

Stanford University

Virginia Tech

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

University of Washington

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

University of Wisconsin - Madison

Harvard University

Yale University

University of California - Los Angeles

Cornell University

University of Pittsburgh

University of Chicago

University of Southern California

University of California - San Diego

Tufts University

Northeastern University

Stony Brook University

University of Connecticut

University of California - Merced

University of Massachusetts - Amherst

University of Iowa

University of Arizona

Arizona State University

University of California - Irvine

George Washington University

DePaul University

University of Pennsylvania

Pomona College

University of Texas - Dallas

The New School

University of Houston

University of Rochester

University of New Mexico

Duke University

New York University

University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Barnards College

University of Vanderbilt

Rutgers University - New Brunswick

Columbia University

Portland State University

University of Oregon

California Polytechnic Institute Humboldt

California Polytechnic University - San Luis Obispo

Northern Arizona University

University of Utah

University of Kansas

University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign

Washington University

New Mexico State University

University of Texas - Austin

Tulane University

University of South Florida

University of North Florida

University of Florida

Emory University

University of Georgia

Mercer University

Notre Dame University

Case Western Reserve University

The Ohio State University

Virginian Commonwealth University

University of Virginia

University of Buffalo

State University of New York - Purchase

State University of New York - New Paltz

Brown University

Brandeis University

Dartmouth College

University of New Hampshire

Emerson College

CUNY City College of New York

International List:

University of Amsterdam

University of Alberta

University of Queensland

University of Sydney

University of Melbourne

Australian National University

University of New South Wales

University of Calgary

University of Oxford

Feel free to share this list, send me additional colleges to add (WITH SOURCES), and/or request more information on a particular college

[some1s-sista]

☀️🫰🏻❄️

Someone flipped a switch in northeastern North Carolina and dare I say … it is cold!!!

60s after noonish but 40s and 50s overnight and in the mornings. I’ve had to wear my jeans and sweatshirts to go walking in the morning. And we usually try not to turn on the heat until Dec 1st, but I’m sitting here under a blanket! Lol

Unlike me, my husband is ecstatic. He loves when it gets cold. Our oldest daughter said he was absolutely giddy that I was going to be making chowder and Chili this week! lol! Sicko.

Luckily, it’s supposed to warm back up at the end of the week.

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Canary Media:

In northeastern Oregon, nearly 9,500 acres of farmland will soon be transformed into a 1,200-megawatt solar project. State regulators approved Sunstone Solar, the nation’s largest proposed solar-plus-storage facility, last fall. Once up and running, the project will include up to 7,200 megawatt-hours of storage, and its nearly four million solar panels will produce enough clean electricity to power around 800,000 homes each year. Pine Gate Renewables, the North Carolina–based developer behind the project, touted a first-of-a-kind initiative to invest up to $11 million in local wheat farms to offset economic impacts on the region’s agriculture. Construction will begin in 2026.

Sunstone is the latest — and largest — in a slew of giant solar installations cropping up around the country. As states including Oregon pursue ambitious clean energy targets, developers are building more and more massive solar plants to keep pace — and increasingly pairing them with batteries to soak up any excess power.

Solar installations reached record levels in the U.S. last year, led by a surge in Texas and California. In 2024, 34 gigawatts of utility-scale solar were added to the grid — up 74 percent from the previous peak in 2023. Battery storage also leapt to new heights, with 13 gigawatts — nearly double the record set in 2023 — built last year.

Solar and storage projects aren’t just multiplying — they’re also getting bigger. Once constructed, Sunstone Solar will overshadow the current largest solar-plus-storage project operating in the U.S., which began providing up to 875 megawatts of solar and 3,287 megawatt-hours of battery storage last January. It’s also a big step up from existing solar farms in Oregon: The state’s largest operational solar project came online in April 2023, with 162 megawatts of solar capacity.

According to a data analysis by climate journalist Michael Thomas, the average size of a solar farm in the U.S. grew sixfold from 2014 to 2024, from 10 megawatts to 65 megawatts. Battery projects are expanding at an even faster pace, with 15 times the average storage capacity last year compared with 2019. One major reason for building bigger is that developers are reaping greater returns on investment by capitalizing on economies of scale. Large-scale projects cost significantly less per watt than smaller ones to build, according to data from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Sunstone Solar is also one of a growing number of combined solar-and-storage facilities, which allow greater amounts of power produced at peak sunny hours to be stored and dispensed later in the day.

[lboogie1906]

Elizabeth Duncan Koontz (June 3, 1919 - January 6, 1989) was the first African American president of the National Education Association which at that point was an 820,000-member Association of Classroom Teachers. She was born in Salisbury, North Carolina. Her parents were Samuel E. Duncan, former president of Livingstone College, and Lena Bell Jordan Duncan, an educator at Salisbury’s Dunbar Elementary School. The last of seven children, She began elementary school at four and graduated salutatorian of her class from Joseph Charles Price High School and enrolled in Livingstone College. Three years later, she received a BA. She earned an MA from Atlanta University. She married Harry Koontz (1947) a mathematics educator.

In 1960, she became the first African American to serve as secretary of the NEA. She authored Guidelines for Local Associations of Classroom Teachers.

She held several positions as an educator in North Carolina and served as president of the Association of Classroom Teachers of the NEA (1965-66) her career break came in 1968, as president of the National Education Association. Her term in office was highlighted when she established the NEA’s Human and Civil Rights Division. She was appointed the first African American director of the US Department of Labor Women’s Bureau by President Richard Nixon. She collaborated globally and addressed relevant and pressing issues in an attempt to eliminate discrimination against women and minorities in the workforce. She was a proponent of the Equal Rights Amendment. She appeared on the covers of the August 1, 1969, Jet magazine and the October 1969 issue of Teacher.

She received honorary doctorates from Livingstone College, Howard University, Coppin State College, Eastern Michigan University, Northeastern University, and Bryant University, Indiana University. An elementary school in Salisbury was named in her honor.

She was the assistant state school superintendent in North Carolina (1975-82). She was a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence #zetaphibeta

[belovedbluv]

The Great Dismal Swamp is located in a marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. During slavery, the swamp existed as a place of refuge. It’s sadly, not much documented about the maroon communities that habited the swamp. It’s possible hundreds to thousands of maroons inhabited the region. The first to escape to the swamp were the indigenous followed by fugitive slaves and a few whites trying to escape indentured servitude. The wildlife that inhabited the region at the time were panthers, bears, birds, deer,venomous snakes, and biting insects. The swamp teems with water moccasins and rattlesnakes.Deep into the swamp, a 20- acre island was recently discovered; it is believed that this were the maroons would have lived there. Within the communities they built their own economies, all work was communal and they were able maintain parts of their previous African roots. The maroons lived by the land, most of the materials they used were organic.

1: Slave Hunt, Dismal Swamp, Virginia by Thomas Moran

2: Slave Hunt, Thomas Moran

3: "The Great Dismal Swamp," postcard by The Jamestown Amusement & Vending Company. Item H.1954.9.1, from the collections of the N.C. Museum of History

4: In the Dismal Swamp. Nouvelle géographie universelle. v.16. 1892.

5: Lake Drummond at Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Virginia Photo: Rebecca Wynn

6:

7: The Great Dismal Swamp, North Carolina. Photograph: fStop Images GmbH/Alamy

8,9,10: Deep in the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom by Richard Grant

[sitting-with-solology]

American red wolves

(Canis rufus)

Happy Friday! Today, I want to talk about American red wolves.i will be lightly touching on their endangered status,behavior habitat, and physical characteristics.

Endangered status and history

Red wolves oncs lived from frome Texas to New York, but now do to habitat loss and Predator control programs in the '60s they now only live in a small portion of North Carolina. In 1974, they were labeled as endangered. Only a small estimated number of wolves were left they could only find 17 wolves in the wild,(They found over 400 that were assumed to be partially red wolf but only 17 of them could be confirmed as pure red wolves.) and 14 of those wolves went into a breeding program. In 1980, USFWS declared them as extinction in the wild.in 1987, the USFWS started to release red wolves back into Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern North Carolina! in 2014, they were declared extinct again due to many people accidentally killing them, thinking they were coyotes( allegedly), or poaching. 30 years of restoration efforts were lost. as of 2024-2025, there are 16 collard red wolves in the wild. And in captivity, there are 290! American red wolves are the most endangered wolf species. (As well as canine species.)

From EndangeredwolfCenterBy.org "At the Endangered Wolf Center, a family pack of red wolves blend into what was once their native Missouri habitat."

Physical characteristics

American red wolves have big heads with broad muzzles with tall pointed ears and long lags. They are Brown with black along their back as well as black tip tails and reddish fur on their ears, neck, and legs. along with white chins. male and female red wolves typically are 27 inches from the ground to the shoulder and four feet long. But male wolves are heavier than females. Males are 50-80 ponds and females being only 45-67 pounds.

From EndangeredwolfCenter.org. "a trio of American red wolves howl on a Brisk Missouri Day at the Endangered Wolf Center."

Behavior

Red Wolves live in packs that consist of a breeding pair, and their offspring from prior years older puppies help rear their younger siblings along with helping hunt.when most red wolves turn 2 , they disperse from the pack to start looking for a mate and creating their own.

Red wolves mate for life unless one of them are killed. They mate in February and give birth in April-May. They make their dens in Hollow trees, stream banks,and holes dug near Fallen trees, where they have litter consisting of 4-6 pups. When they are born, they are blind and deaf. at 14-22 day, their eyes open and can waddle. By the time they are 4-8 months, they learn how to hunt and fend for themselves.

Red wolves have territories that they maintain as protection against predators such as other wolves their territories can be up to 200 miles.

Red wolf portrait, B. Bartel/USFWS, Public Domain.

Diet/hunting

American Red Wolves' diet changes depending on what pray is in the area. They mostly hunt Whitetail dear, raccoons, opossums, and other small mammals. They can search over 20 miles for food and eat 2 to 5 lb of food in a sitting.

The pack will hunt with the two matriarchies, and they're older offspring depending on the age and role in the pack they have different jobs while hunting.

Conclusion.

American red wolves are amazing creatures who used to live in some of our backyards but now due to ignorance and politics have nearly gone extinct they are not one of but are the most endangered wolf and canine species in the world there are also the only native large predator in the US that are only in the US. Due to conservation, they're slowly coming back. There's Hope!! in the past, we've brought them back, and it can happen again!! Red wolves help the ecosystem and make a stronger population of deer and other animals. Red Wolves being there too balanc raccoon, and opossums population actually help sea turtle populations by decreasing their natural predators. they are not aggressive or out to hurt anybody they just want to live their life like the rest of us we took over their natural home killed almost all of them. Then, we brought them back and then did it all over again they deserve better! I have left my sources here and a great YouTube video that I really recommend watching. Have a lovely day!

( If you have any recommendations on what animal to do next comment, also if there's anything that you see that is incorrect, please let me know nobody's perfect, and I will fix it! Thankyou.)

American red wolves

[mylittlesecrethaven]

Let's Look At Where We Would Be In Panem

I'm doing all 50 states, so let's fucking go. (I'm not doing exact, so if it's only partially in the wilds, I'm not stating that)

Alabama - 11 (Agriculture) Alaska - None Arizona - 5 (Power) Arkansas - Southern = 11 (Agriculture), Northern = 8 (Textiles) California - 4 (Fishing) Colorado - 2 (Masonry) Connecticut - Wilds Delaware - Wilds Florida - Wilds Georgia - Wilds Hawaii - None Idaho - Southern = 1 (Luxury), Middle = 4 (Fishing), Northern = 7 (Lumber) Illinois - Southern = 8 (Textiles), Northern = 3 (Technology) Indiana - Southern = 12 (Coal), Norhtern = 3 (Technology) Iowa - 3 (Technology) Kansas - 8 (Textiles) Kentucky - 12 (Coal) Louisiana - Wilds Maine - Wilds Maryland - Wilds Massachusetts - Wilds Michigan - Southern = 3 (Technology), Northwestern = 6 (Transportation), Northeastern = 13 (Nuclear) Minnesota - Western = 9 (Grain), Eastern = 3 (Technology) Mississippi - 11 (Agriculture) Missouri - 8 (Textiles) Montana - Southern = 1 (Luxury), Northern = 7 (Lumber) Nebraska - 9 (Grain) Nevada - 4 (Fishing) New Hampshire - Wilds New Jersey - Wilds New Mexico - 2 (Masonry) New York - 13 (Nuclear) North Carolina - Wilds North Dakota - 9 (Grain) Ohio - 12 (Coal) Oklahoma - 11 (Agriculture) Oregon - 4 (Fishing) Pennsylvania - Wilds Rhode Island - Wilds South Carolina - Wilds South Dakota - 9 (Agriculture) Tennessee - 8 (Textiles) Texas - Western = 10 (Livestock), Eastern = 11 (Agriculture) Utah - Southern = 5 (Power), Northern = 1 (Luxury) Vermont - Wilds Virginia - Wilds Washington - 7 (Lumber) West Virginia - 12 (Coal) Wisconsin - Western = 3 (Technology), Eastern = 6 (Transportation) Wyoming - Southern = Capital, Nothern = 1 (Luxury)

This isn't perfectly exact, but I tried my best.

(Btw, I'd be in District 11. Lemme know where y'all would be.)

[stele3]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-gives-israel-30-days-improve-gazas-humanitarian-situation-or-risk-aid-reports-2024-10-15/

[alatmosphericcenter]

ZCZC MIATWOAT ALL

TTAA00 KNHC DDHHMM

Tropical Weather Outlook

NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL

200 PM EDT Thu Sep 5 2024

For the North Atlantic...Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico:

1. Northwest Gulf of Mexico:

A large area of showers and thunderstorms continue in association

with a broad area of low pressure interacting with a weak frontal

boundary located over the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. Upper-level

winds are expected to become less conducive for development by late

Friday and Saturday as another frontal boundary approaches the

system. Although development is unlikely, heavy rainfall is

expected across portions of the northern Gulf Coast during the next

day or so. Additional information on this system can be found in

products issued by your local National Weather Service Forecast

Office.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...10 percent.

2. Northwestern Atlantic (AL99):

Showers and thunderstorms have become better organized in

association with a non-tropical area of low pressure located a few

hundred miles east of North Carolina, and recent satellite data

indicates the system is producing winds to near gale-force. This

system could acquire some tropical or subtropical characteristics

over the next day or two while it moves generally

north-northeastward, remaining offshore of the northeastern United

States. Once the low moves over cooler waters by early Saturday,

further development is not expected. Additional information on this

system, including gale warnings, can be found in High Seas Forecasts

issued by the National Weather Service.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...30 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...30 percent.

3. Eastern Tropical Atlantic:

An elongated trough of low pressure over the eastern tropical

Atlantic is producing limited shower activity. Development is not

expected through this weekend while the system moves little. Some

slow development appears possible early next week when the

disturbance begins moving slowly northwestward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.

4. Northwestern Caribbean Sea and Southwestern Gulf of Mexico:

Shower and thunderstorm activity remains disorganized in

association with a westward-moving tropical wave located over the

western Caribbean Sea. Development is not expected before the

system reaches Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula by early Friday.

Some gradual development is possible late in the weekend into early

next week after the system emerges over the southwestern Gulf of

Mexico.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.

5. Central Tropical Atlantic:

Another tropical wave located a few hundred miles east of the

Leeward Islands is producing limited shower and thunderstorm

activity. Strong upper-level winds are expected to inhibit

development of this system during the next few days while it moves

west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. By early next week,

environmental conditions could become more conducive for some slow

development while the system moves over the southwestern Atlantic

Ocean.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...10 percent.

High Seas Forecasts are issued by the National Weather Service

under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1 and WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online

at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php

Forecaster Hagen/Delgado

[atlantichurricanes]

Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook issued by the National Hurricane Center in Miami, FL, USA

2024-09-04, 20:00 EDT

Northwestern Atlantic: A non-tropical area of low pressure located a few hundred miles east of North Carolina is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. This system could acquire some subtropical characteristics over the next few days while it moves north- northeastward, remaining offshore of the northeastern United States. Additional information on this system can be found in High Seas Forecasts issued by the National Weather Service.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.

Northwestern Caribbean Sea and Southwestern Gulf of Mexico: A tropical wave moving quickly westward at about 20 mph is producing a broad area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms across portions of the west-central Caribbean Sea. Some development is possible in a few days when the system moves over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...30 percent.

Central Tropical Atlantic Ocean: Another tropical wave located several hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles is producing disorganized shower and thunderstorm activity. Development of this system, if any, is expected to be slow to occur over the next couple of days while it moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph. Environmental conditions are expected to become less favorable for additional development by the end of the week.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...10 percent.

Eastern Tropical Atlantic Ocean: A broad area of low pressure over the eastern tropical Atlantic is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Some slow development of this system is possible during the next several days while it drifts northwestward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent.

* Formation chance through 7 days...low...20 percent.

&& High Seas Forecasts are issued by the National Weather Service under AWIPS header NFDHSFAT1 and WMO header FZNT01 KWBC, and online at ocean.weather.gov/shtml/NFDHSFAT1.php

$$ Forecaster Pasch

[plethoraworldatlas]

The Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina provided names for four critically endangered red wolves: a breeding male and female and their two daughters. They make up one of only two packs of red wolves in the wild.

The last 20 wild red wolves live in the northeastern corner of North Carolina on the ancestral lands of the Tuscarora Nation. The Tuscarora Nation has been living with red wolves in the region for more than 2,400 years.

“Our ancestors occupied a large territory which included Goose Creek State Park, an area well known for red wolves,” said Rahnàwakęw Donnie McDowell, public relations officer for Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina.

“Red wolves are sacred animals to us,” said Runęhkwáʔčhęʔ Duane Brayboy, a linguist and historian for the Tuscarora Nation of North Carolina. “One of our clans among the Tuscarora is the Wolf Clan. The Tuscarora and red wolves have a deep shared history.”

The Tuscarora Nation named the breeding male Pathmaker (Rahahę́·tih). Pathmaker, the last surviving male of his pack, is blazing a trail for his family through the swamps and forests of eastern North Carolina.

The breeding female is named Hope (Yerharahčrę́·tih). Hope carries the legacy and future of her pack as the only remaining breeding female.

The two female yearlings are named Hawkeye (Yęʔnewęyéhsthaʔ) and Shield (Kayęʔnaʔnęnę́thyar). Shield looks after her sister, and Hawkeye is an astute and careful observer.

[rjzimmerman]

Pollution from East Palestine train derailment rained down in 16 states, study says. (Washington Post)

On Feb. 3, 2023, a train carrying toxic chemicals crashed in northeastern Ohio, sending up a large black cloud over Ohio and Pennsylvania after officials decided to burn off the hazardous materials. As the chemicals lofted into the air, the pollution spread as far as 16 states, according to a new study.

“I didn’t expect to see an impact this far out,” said David Gay, lead author of the study. “There’s more going on here than most people would have guessed, including me.”

Toxic chemicals rained down from South Carolina to Wisconsin to New England following the accident, according to the new analysis in the Environmental Research Letters journal. Overall, the pollution spread over 540,000 square miles, or 14 percent of U.S. land area.

People closer to the accident reported rashes, nausea and headaches — but Gay said the low chemical concentrations farther away from the accident weren’t “toxic, but are pretty unusual at a lot of places.” Many of those pollutants can run off and affect marine and plant life.

The accident occurred around 9 p.m. on Feb. 3 near East Palestine, a town of almost 5,000 residents on the Ohio-Pennsylvania border. The train, operated by Norfolk Southern, experienced a mechanical issue that caused more than 50 cars to derail. Some of the trains were carrying hazardous materials, including a known human carcinogen called vinyl chloride.

In an emergency decision, officials authorized a controlled burn of the hazardous chemicals to prevent a catastrophic explosion. But as the vinyl chloride burned, it broke into separate chloride and hydrogen ions in the atmosphere that got carried by the wind to other locations.

When it began to rain in various places, the pollutants were pushed from the air and deposited on the ground. The National Atmospheric Deposition Program, at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, collects these ground depositions weekly across 260 sites across North America. Gay, who serves as coordinator of the program, routinely analyzes the data to monitor air pollutants.

He and his team analyzed ground depositions from the week of and following the train accident (Jan. 31 to Feb. 14), and then compared them to the previous decade or so. Many samples taken during the week of the accident in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and New York were flagged for contamination, showing soot, ash and dirt.

Initially, Gay expected to see only a few abnormally high chloride signals nearby in Pennsylvania, but the impact was much higher than he anticipated. High chloride concentrations spanned as far as Virginia, South Carolina and Wisconsin. The highest concentrations were located near the Canada-New York border, which was downwind of East Palestine.

The pollutants disappeared within two to three weeks after the accident.