- Success Stories
- Environmental Resource Assessment & Management
Studying Mesophotic Coral Health

Mesophotic coral can live at depths of 500 feet below the ocean surface. Even at this depth, some of the mesophotic corals in the Gulf of Mexico were affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Our coral scientists supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science are studying the extent of this impact.
Three of our employee owners participated in a mission to extract the corals from the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico) that were then transported to laboratories in Galveston, Texas, Gainesville, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina. Once the Charleston specimens were housed in custom-made tanks, our scientists began studying and caring for the corals. They feed the colony multiple times daily, and study their growth and reproduction. In an effort to restore the damaged coral colonies in the Gulf of Mexico, the team is studying how to maximize growth and outplanting at a larger scale.
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CSS Receives 10-year Renewal of the NIEHS National Toxicology Program QA Contract
CSS is pleased to announce that we have received a 10-year renewal for our contract with National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) National Toxicology Program Quality Assurance. For 40 years, CSS employee owners have been providing quality assurance reviews for the NIEHS National Toxicology Program identifying inconsistencies and safeguarding data integrity across large-scale toxicology…
Praise for Spatial Modeling Work
Congratulations to our staff who helped support the Gulf of Mexico wind spatial modeling work! Through our contract with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, this team is helping to lay the groundwork for the new Wind Energy Spatial Modeling Program as offshore wind continues to gain momentum.…
Evaluating Chemical Transfer from Pregnant and Nursing Animals
CSS scientists supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs are reviewing modeling data that evaluates the potential for transfer of chemical residues from pregnant and nursing animals to fetuses and infants. The vast majority of data come from pharmaceuticals, but staff are reviewing some data from pesticides and other environmental contaminants as well.…
