NEWS ARTICLES

Blue Peter Awards Gala Nominees Released

Celebrating Excellence in the Field of Environmental Remediation -June 11th Princeton, NJ- The Nominees are: Steven Sands – Clean Earth Stewart Abrams – Langan George Hicks – Tetra Tech Cynthia Liu – ERRG Kris Hallinger – ERM Carol Shobrook – JT Cleary Rick Beach – GZA Environmental Ram Mohan – Anchor QEA Eric Stern – Tipping Point Resource Group Andrew Timmis – J.F. Brennan Diane Evers – NOAA Beth Styler Barry – The Nature Conservancy Al Modjeski – American Littoral

Read More »

CASE STUDY: A Million Dollar Difference

Client avoids excess project expense via experience and wide toolset. CLIENT NEED: For years the gun club shot at targets launched over an estuary.  For decades this seemed harmless.  But the shot was lead and after many years the State wanted to figure out where all the lead was and wasn’t.  Under several feet of water was a layer of unconsolidated sediment—black mayonnaise.  Below this strata was a layer of more consolidated sediment and then under all of this, bedrock. 

Read More »

Can Grain Size predict a sample’s potential for contaminant loading?

We live sediment.  Sometimes we even dream about it. If you need thousands of Grain Size analyses or just a few, Aqua Survey can collect the samples and perform Sieve or Hydrometer analyses for you. “Can Grain Size predict a sample’s potential for contaminant loading?” The answer is YES. A sample’s grain size can be a good indicator of contaminant loading. The amount of silt and clay in large part determines the level of potential contamination in a sample. Have

Read More »

SAME Flatscreen TV Contest

We’d like to congratulate the following winners of our SAME contest! Grand Prize TV Winner Anthony Moore, Environmental Works, Inc. Amazon Gift Card Winners Colleen Rust, Sundance Consulting Horace Walker, Florabama Geospatial Solutions, LLC

Read More »

UXO Survivor to Break-Dance Advocate

l just finished watching Ken Burn’s 10 episode documentary series on the Vietnam War. It was a tough watch. It has rekindled my determination to help rid Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam of the millions of unexploded bombs (UXO) that lie in wait; hidden in soils and rice paddies. It’s amazing that after all these years, they still accidentally detonate killing or maiming village children (mostly boys) and farmers. Aqua Survey is pleased to announce the availability of a new UXO

Read More »

CASE STUDY: 2,825 Sediment Cores in 3 Weeks

Time was running out for the State of New Jersey.  They needed it done and done right. Client Needs: As a result of Super Storm Sandy, New Jersey’s channels experienced massive sedimentation. The question was, how much was directly attributable to the superstorm and what was the result of normal buildup processes? FEMA would provide the state with 75% matching funds for the dredging of any Sandy-related buildup. The State needed close to 3,000 sediment vibracore samples to be taken

Read More »

Case Study 19: Amityville Handgun

With the recent release of the latest reboot of the Amityville Horror franchise, we thought it’d be interesting to revisit this case study from a few years back. Client Need: A documentary filmmaker was producing a three part series exploring the real-life case history of the 1974 homicide case which inspired the Amityville Horror franchise. Entitled Shattered Hopes, the series examined some never fully answered questions in the murder investigation. After extensive research of police files, the filmmaker suspected a

Read More »

Aqua Survey Lunch and Learn Tour – Back with a New Twist

Question: What does the French Algerian War, Cleopatra’s Palace and Bomb-hunting ROV’s have in common? Answer: They are all part of Aqua Survey’s newest Lunch and Learn. Our mixed-media, informal presentations inform and entertain (after all, who said learning has to be painful). Travel around the world with us over lunch (or dinner). Topics include: -Sediment Coring -Bathymetric and Side Scan Sonar Surveys -On-Water Geophysical Surveying -Environmental Toxicology Tests/Studies -Unexploded Ordnance (Bombs) Surveys -Geophysical-Based Treasure Hunting -Globe Trotting Adventures -And

Read More »

CASE STUDY #38: UXO Unearthed During Construction

Client Needs: An engineering firm was in the process of refurbishing a relatively small ferryboat terminal in the Northeast.  In this process, an intact, massive (and potentially explosive) Rodman cannonball was unearthed by a backhoe.  To provide worker safety, the work zone had to be surveyed for other unexploded ordnance (UXO). Services Provided: Aqua Survey utilized their customized military-grade electromagnetic induction (EMI) metal detection electronics (marine and terrestrial platforms) to locate ferrous and non-ferrous objects within the work zone.  None

Read More »

CASE STUDY #37: 50 Mile Pipeline

Client Needs: A client south of the Mason-Dixon Line needs to pinpoint a 50 mile pipeline in XY&Z dimensions.  It’s a 16 inch, ferrous pipe believed to be buried under about 3 feet of sand.  The water depth is 3-9 feet. ASI’s Solution: Aqua Survey would trailer a shallow draft survey vessel to a boat launch near the survey area. Using Hypack software on our Panasonic Toughbook for track and control, a vessel-mounted RTK-DGPS system for positioning, we would tow

Read More »

Jacques Cousteau and the Assassin

Whenever we deploy our inflatable Rossfelder barge, it’s amazing to think that Jacques Cousteau’s son, Phillipe, used to go bombing around the South Pacific with it tucked away in Cousteau’s seaplane, the Flying Calypso. When I watch our field techs using one of Andre Rossfelder’s vibracore units, I think about some of the James Bond-like stories Andre told me about his youth, including his attempts to assassinate Charles De Gaulle. Andre was a fascinating man. If you have a few

Read More »

Vibracore Assassin: the Real Day of the Jackal

It’s been a couple of years since Andre Rossfelder passed.  Before he died, he shared with me incredible stories of his past life.  I had known Andre because of the sediment vibracoring systems he had invented and we found so practical to use.  Although Andre died recently many governments and individuals wanted him dead long before then. Now if you don’t have a few minutes to read about Rossfelder’s many brushes with death and his amazing accomplishments, that’s ok.  But

Read More »

Master Inventor and Man of International Intrigue

Prepared to die: Andre Rossfelder played a key role defending his homeland of French Algeria during WWII’s Operation Torch. Seventeen, tied to a post, firing squad ready, he was prepared to die for his country, but the fascists never fired.  Andre Rossfelder had dodged what seemed his inevitable demise. A life defining moment for many, for Andre it was just another scrape with death. Question: What does a device considered to be the most effective technology to collect sediment cores

Read More »

What does April 17, 2018, mean to you?

To hundreds of coal power-plant facilities across the United States, 4/17/18 is D-Day. The EPA published its final rules (April 17, 2015) governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals produced by electric utilities. Where these impoundments are no longer in use, the rules provide a somewhat less strict set of requirements. In order to take advantage of the special rules applicable to inactive Coal Combustion Residuals surface impoundments, the final closure must be completed by April 17, 2018. There are

Read More »

Traces of Nicotine, Cannabis and Coca Plant found in Egyptian Mummies

How did tobacco leaves and tobacco beetles, both New World species, end up in the body cavity of the mummy of Ramses II, a man that lived in Egypt and died in the year 1213 B.C.? Many of you will remember Dominique Gorlitz’s 2007 Abora III expedition, in which he attempted to sail a prehistoric-style reed vessel across the Atlantic from New York to Spain. Aqua Survey enjoyed the opportunity of supporting the expedition as its sailors trained here in

Read More »