News – original

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”

Aqua Survey’s Dr. Jon Doi will be a platform speaker on Friday April 15th at the THIRD INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE ON UNDERWATER MUNITIONS held in Sopot, Poland.  The title of Jon’s presentation is Environmental Risks of UXO/MEC Contaminants in Sediment Addressed by Laboratory Toxicity Testing.  As excited as we are to see Dr. Doi and the other speakers present, being in country with as rich a cultural history as Poland also has a charm to it.  Take for instance, the castle … Continue reading “THIRD INTERNATIONAL DIALOGUE ON UNDERWATER MUNITIONS”

Specialized Sampling and Surveying in Challenging Environments Aqua Survey has just acquired its first landing craft-style jet-boat. This shallow-draft vessel will be able to work at sea and also be able to land personnel and heavy equipment, such as all-terrain vehicles and vibracoring equipment, right on a beach. We have named the 30-foot research vessel The R/V Tesla to honor the inventor Nicola Tesla who gave the world electric motors, electromagnetic coils, fluorescent lighting and radio-controlled electric boats. Tesla was … Continue reading “Introducing the R/V Tesla”

If you were to ask the nearly 200,000 people that go over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge each day about what their biggest concern was about their commute, probably very few of them would mention anything about a lost barge-load of military munitions tucked neatly under the world’s eighth largest suspension bridge. It wouldn’t have been on my list of concerns either, until last Saturday night when I received a call from commercial diver Gene Ritter who had made an alarming discovery … Continue reading “UXO Found Near Major NYC Bridge”

Saturday, October 16th, Philadelphia, PA – over a hundred people jammed into the Franklin Institute’s auditorium to hear Aqua Survey captain and marine archeologist Eric Wartenweiler Smith present on his work with world-renowned archeologist Franck Goddio.  Smith, who divides his time between Aqua Survey and Goddio, has been a member of Goddio’s dive team for over a decade, most notably diving on Cleopatra’s sunken palace off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt. The event’s timing couldn’t have been more perfect as … Continue reading “Aqua Survey Staff Member Presents at the Franklin”

By David Allen and Chiyomi Sumida Stars and Stripes YOMITAN, Okinawa – A large plume of white smoke spotted about 875 yards off the beach at Torii Station turned out to be a rare spontaneous detonation of a World War II-era explosive, a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force spokesman said Friday. “The bomb just happened to wash up onto the reef by the forces of nature, exposing the content to air, which led to ignition,” 1st Lt. Masakazu Karimata, spokesman for … Continue reading “World War II bomb ignites off Okinawa beach”