- 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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World Seagrass Day!
Seagrasses are critical to coastal and ocean ecosystems, protecting coastlines from erosion, stabilizing ocean sediment, and improving water clarity. They provide food and shelter for aquatic life, including seahorses, turtles, thousands of species of fish, and more. In addition, they are amazing carbon sequesters, meaning they absorb atmospheric carbon reducing greenhouse gases. On World Seagrass Day, we…
Fire Detection Support
CSS provides fire detection support to the Atmospheric Science and Technology Applications team with NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services. CSS Surface Characteristics Scientist serves on the Fire Emissions and Fire Detection teams, providing data manipulation, algorithm development, and performance evaluation for the system. This ensures fast and reliable satellite data to stakeholders,…
Webinar Support for Emergency Chemical Release Response
Our staff assisted the EPA team in developing the webinar event, acted as moderator, and provided technical support.