Offshore Environmental Surveys

Introduction to UK Legislation and Guidelines

This is a brief introduction to UK offshore marine environmental survey legislation and guidelines, written from a fairly narrow perspective: that of a contractor providing such survey services to the oil & gas industry. Legislation requires environmental surveys of the North Sea but the extent and definition of these is open to interpretation, with quite a variety of standards and guidelines to choose from or ignore. Legal FrameworkUK environmental legislation transposes European Community (EC) directives on the environment. The prime EC directives are Council Directive 92/43 ‘on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora’ (‘the Habitats... (read more)

2007-05-09 12:00:00

Environmental Aspects of Dredging

During a two-day Seminar, to be held on 10th and 11th March 2011 in Delft (The Netherlands), dredging experts and professionals present invaluable information on the interface of dredging and the environment. In addition, participants are challenged through case studies to apply this knowledge in order to get an understanding of the scope and significance of the environmental aspects of dredging projects, the management of dredged material, and effects of environmental guidelines. Dredging is a necessary activity in society's development. Under the right circumstances dredging is also an indispensable tool for remedying past environmental interferences. By its very nature, however,... (read more)

2010-12-16 08:56:27

Environmental Data Display Software

AXYS Technologies has upgraded their interactive web application used to display environmental data. SmartWeb, previously WebView, is intuitive software used by clients to view their data anytime and anywhere. Views of both current and historical data can be readily displayed and can be imported into Windows spreadsheets and databases for further analysis. This software upgrade includes features that now allow clients to look at multiple DMS databases for station data to display and graph; view and graph multiple data messages from numerous stations independently and customise the look and feel of the web application to match company colours, logos, etc.SmartWeb... (read more)

2010-09-23 09:59:19

Environmental Planning for USACE

Woods Hole Group has been awarded a contract by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) New England District to provide environmental planning and consulting services for various projects located throughout the 14 northeastern states from Maine to Virginia and the nation's capital. The contract can extend for up to five years, with an estimated budget of USD15 million. "The USACE contract represents a significant building block for Woods Hole Group and the organisation's strategic plan," said Bob Hamilton, Vice President for Business Development and Coastal Engineer at Woods Hole Group. "We are fortunate to secure a... (read more)

2008-11-27 10:13:35

On-Line Environmental Monitoring

GEMS recently completed a five-month environmental compliance monitoring programme in Fos-sur-Mer on the south coast of France. Two surface buoys were deployed to monitor sediment plume dispersal during dredging operations, and offer protection for the commercially sensitive oyster beds in the vicinity. Each buoy was interfaced to a subsea YSI-6600 sonde fitted with turbidity, conductivity, temperature and pressure sensors. Data were relayed to GEMS UK-based ARTEMeS server at ten minute intervals via a GSM modem programmed with GEMS proprietary firmware. The systems were designed, built and deployed within one week of order using the joint expertise of GEMS Survey... (read more)

2007-12-05 09:32:43

Titan Environmental Surveys Limited

Key business: coastal and hydrometric surveys

Following the privatisation of the UK Water industry, Titan Environmental Surveys Limited was established in March 2000 through a Management Buyout of elements of the Scientific Services Section of the Laboratories and Sciences Division of Hyder Consulting Limited. However, Titan’s history spans more than thirty years. In the beginning the company’s main business activity was performing cable-route landfalls, but over the past few years markets have started to shift and Titan’s services are now developing towards marine renewables and, more recently, archaeological investigations. Today, Titan Environmental Surveys is a leading UK contractor in the environmental survey and monitoring business. In... (read more)

2008-01-01 01:00:00

ROV Assists Environmental Groups

A coalition of environmental groups from New York and New Jersey are using Fishers SeaOtter ROV to gather evidence on the state of the marine environment in the area’s coastal waters. \"One of our main concerns is the use of contaminated material to fill holes in the bottom of New York harbour that were created by previous dredging operations\", says spokesman Frank Crescitelli. Another concern is the dredging operations that remove contaminated material from the bottom of the harbour. These types of operations put contaminants back into the water which can then spread throughout the entire marine ecosystem. Frank operates... (read more)

2007-03-16 03:45:25

Environmental and Bathymetric System

Optech has released the airborne Optech CZMIL Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar system, an airborne coastal zone mapping system producing simultaneous high-resolution 3D data and imagery of the beach and shallow-water seafloor, including coastal topography, benthic classification and water column characterisation. According to Optech, CZMIL performs particularly well in shallow, turbid waters. Its bathymetric Lidar is integrated with a hyperspectral imaging system and digital metric camera. Optech's automated workflow includes an integrated end-to-end software suite, handling all three sensors simultaneously, from mission planning to the production of fused Lidar and imagery datasets. Optech CZMIL was designed by Optech for... (read more)

2012-05-09 09:33:34

Environmental Monitoring Buoy

UK-based OSIL recently launched its new 1.2m Tern buoy. The platform is designed for extended deployment in harsh coastal environments in deeper water depths, and is suitable for all applications, including scientific studies, water quality monitoring, coastal engineering projects, harbour and coastal monitoring, and maritime traffic control. The system is robust, with all instrumentation and cables held internally, protected by the rugged enclosed top section, which has been designed to minimise damage from the elements or interference. All sensors... (read more)

2012-04-02 01:16:34

Long-term Environmental Monitoring

The Marine Institute in Ireland has ordered two YSI 6600 EDS environmental probes from OSIL. The EDS (extended deployment sonde) was carefully selected for its ability to measure environmental parameters over a long deployment period. The YSI probes will be used for monitoring work in the vicinity of aquaculture production sites such as salmon farms and mussel lines to learn more about harmful algal bloom in Irish coastal waters. Each YSI 6600 EDS will be measuring fifteen parameters that include turbidity, chlorophyll, rhodamine, dissolved oxygen, and pH. The YSI data will then be used for research purposes on the Biological... (read more)

2004-02-02 12:00:00