Unique aerial of the Offshore-Windpark (OWP) five kilometers off the coast of Copenhagen, Denmark. Converted from RAW.

Congratulations to CSS employee owners supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science for their nomination for the NOAA Gold Medal Award! CSS employee owners have been critical members of the team charged with the rapid development of spatial models that aid in offshore wind planning in the Gulf of Mexico. The team has collected authoritative data, developed maps and spatial models, engaged with partners, and managed the project to inform siting of ocean use, environmental review, and permitting. This effort provides guidance to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency responsible for identifying and leasing wind energy areas. This is a tremendous accomplishment that advances the President’s offshore wind energy priority and notably reduces conflict. 

A big congratulations to the entire team of NOAA and CSS employee owners on this well-deserved nomination!

Map of Gulf of Mexico waters showing principal ports and two options for wind energy areas.
Map of Gulf of Mexico showing shipping lanes in blue lines and wind energy areas identified in yellow blocks.

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woman pointing to a sign talking to a group of students

Training the Next Generation of Researchers 

CSS staff support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Division of Occupational Safety and Health by providing Safe Techniques Advance Research Science (STARS) training to summer interns. Following a pause during the pandemic, staff resumed training May 15, 2024. During the in-person STARS training, CSS staff cover key concepts from the pre-requisite NIH Lab Safety…

Organizing Teams to Monitor Coastal Contaminants

For nearly 40 years NOAA’s National Mussel Watch Program has been monitoring contaminants in coastal waters in over 400 sites around the U.S. by testing sediment and bivalves, such as oysters and mussels. A CSS employee owner organizes and coordinates the regional missions to collect and test samples. This includes developing a schedule and coordinating…

1000 Samples of Lake Water Collected and Processed 

Congrats to our team supporting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development for completing the processing and initial chemical analyses of 1000 lake water samples!  They received lake water samples from across the continental U.S. this past summer and have completed the initial chemical analyses as part of the U.S. EPA 2022 National…