Fossil records that reveal how new animals evolve is key not only to understanding the history of life on Earth, but could play a role in guiding modern conservation efforts in predicting responses to future climate change, according to West Virginia University geologist James Lamsdell.
Grafton's historic and industrial districts will be redeveloped by West Virginia University’s Northern West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Center in an effort to preserve local history and revitalize the community. The Center was awarded a $300,000 grant by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to jumpstart redevelopment of former industrial sites in West Virginia.
The Office of Health Services Research, in the West Virginia University School of Public Health, has launched an online map that shows all COVID-19 testing sites in the Mountain State from Newell to Bluefield and all points in between.
Geography graduate student Kristen de Graauw and her mentor, Professor Amy Hessl, uncovered evidence of the significant growth of trees in what may have been a previously cleared area. That growth in the late 17th century coincided with the estimated timing of Native American population decreases following the arrival of European immigrants. This corroborated the hypothesis that a change in the land’s use caused forests to regrow, they explained.
Jason Hubbart, a professor of hydrology and water quality at the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, was asked by Barbuda officials in 2018 to come help assess the island’s freshwater resources. Apparently, throughout the island’s history, the quality of water has never been professionally tested.
To the casual observer, Japanese stiltgrass appears as a harmless, leafy green plant that blends into the majestic scenery of your weekend hike through the woods. Plant biologists like Craig Barrett know better.
A West Virginia University researcher used science and data to solve the timeless argument of nature versus nurture – at least when it comes to microorganisms. Ember Morrissey, assistant professor of environmental microbiology in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, uncovered that nature significantly affects how the tiny organisms under our feet respond to their current surroundings.
Depending on your side of the aisle, climate change either elicits doomsday anxiety or unabashed skepticism. Jason Hubbart, director of Institute of Water Security and Science at West Virginia University, takes a more centered approach. He’s studied the undisputable changing patterns in West Virginia’s climate. And, believe it or not, there is at least one silver lining stemming from changing climate, he insists: The growing season is getting longer.
Dr. Nicolas Zegre, director of the Mountain Hydrology Laboratory at WVU, describes his research analyzing seasonal changes in the Appalachian region which are leading to hotter, wetter and dryer weather forecasts.
Out of the 10 million acres of land damaged by extractive industries in Appalachia, about 500,000 lie in the borders of West Virginia. Rather than discarding the region’s history, West Virginia University researcher Zachary Freedman sees the future of that land remaining in the energy sector. But instead of removing something from the earth, he’ll put something back.