Author: aswpadminis

Aqua Survey was contracted by LA-based documentary-maker Ryan Katzenbach who had been researching the infamous 1974 DeFeo family mass murder in Amityville, New York. Police at the time recovered one weapon, a .35 caliber Marlin 336 hunting rifle. Based on his research, Katzenbach suspected a second weapon, a snub-nosed .38, was also in the killer’s possession the night of the murders. He called in Aqua Survey to perform an EM survey of a section of canal near the scene of … Continue reading “CASE STUDY: Amityville Handgun Recovery”

It’s official! NASA astronaut Dr. Rick Linnehan will be giving a special presentation to the attendees of the 2012 Mid-Atlantic Contaminated Sediment Symposium.  A veteran of four space flights, Dr. Linnehan has logged over 58 days in space, including 6 EVAs (spacewalks) totaling 42 hours and 11 minutes. In August 2009 Linnehan returned to the Astronaut Office after completing a Master’s degree in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in Boston, MA.  Dr. Linnehan is currently assigned … Continue reading “Symposium News, NASA Astronaut Joins Speaker List”

Archeological diver and Aqua Survey employee Eric Wartenweiler Smith recently returned from an expedition in Egypt diving on Cleopatra’s sunken palace as part of renowned underwater archeologist Franck Goddio’s dive team.  Read on to find out his thoughts on: -Life in post-revolution Egypt -Tantalizing news on what still waits to be found in the murky depths of Aboukir Bay -The future of underwater survey technology Aqua Survey would like to welcome Aqua Survey employee and archeological diver Eric Wartenweiler Smith … Continue reading “Back from Cleopatra’s Palace”

Due to the renovation of the Panama Canal, the Bayonne Bridge is about to receive a similarly impressive upgrade. Read on to find out more about the construction of this fascinating bridge and its currently proposed upgrade. Plus: What services is Aqua Survey providing to support harbor expansion? Last week Peter Zantal, a general manager at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced that the raising of the Bayonne Bridge by 60 feet would be completed by … Continue reading “Iconic New York Landmark Keeps Up with the Times”

Traveling everywhere from gold mines in Laos to military testing grounds near Puerto Rico, and having used just about every conceivable form of transportation from airplane to elephant to do it, it’s been a busy month for Aqua Survey founder Ken Hayes.  Read on to find out more. Did you ever live through a month that no amount of imagination could have ever envisioned? I am in that month right now.  I have traveled to dozens of countries for business … Continue reading “Bombs, Elephants and Puerto Rico”

Notes from the Field: Ancient Oysters “Recently we were collecting sediment cores in New York in support of a harbor deepening project. The goal was simple, penetrate deeply until the glacial till is reached. This was a reasonable goal for one of our heavy-duty vibracoring systems. When the sample was retrieved and split open we discovered a strata of oyster shells from an ancient bed that most likely dates back to the Pleistocene era (1.8 million to 10,000 years ago).” … Continue reading “Glacier Dwarfs Skyscrapers: Icy Past Revealed”

This past week, Flemington-based Aqua Survey participated in a forensic investigation that is looking for new evidence in a murder case that dates back to the mid-1970’s. On November 13th 1974, six members of the DeFeo family were found shot to death in their Amityville, Long Island, New York home.  The eldest son Butch DeFeo was tried and convicted for the murders.  The aftermath of the shootings served as the inspiration for the 1979 film, The Amityville Horror. Aqua Survey … Continue reading “NJ Firm Uses High-Tech Toys in Search for Murder Case Evidence”

Earlier this week Aqua Survey unveiled their latest innovation at the Western Dredging Association’s 31st conference in Nashville, Tennessee.  Beach replenishment projects face costly setbacks when munitions are dredged ashore.  Providing a simple solution to an expensive problem, the Dredger’s Smart Pipe will alert its operator when metallic objects are traveling through their dredge’s discharge pipeline.  The system will detect munitions, bomb fuses and other metallic objects. Aqua Survey will provide technician training.  Orders for the Dredger’s Smart Pipe are … Continue reading “Aqua Survey Unveils Dredger’s Smart Pipe”

Environmental Risks of UXO/MEC Contaminants in Sediment Addressed by Laboratory Toxicity Testing Jon Doi, Ph.D., Aqua Survey, Inc. The primary focus of the detection and removal of underwater munitions has been for the acute effects on humans, i.e., bombs exploding.  However, the greater concern may be on the environmental effects of bomb constituents (propellants and explosives) leaking from bombs for considerable lengths of time. This talk will cover a number of topics on the surveying, sampling and laboratory toxicity testing … Continue reading “Dr. Doi to Present at Third International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions”