- Success Stories
- Environmental Resource Assessment & Management
Contributing to Wind Energy Area Designations
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently announced two Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Gulf of Mexico. The WEAs are located off the coasts of Galveston, Texas, and Lake Charles, Louisiana and have the potential to power nearly three million homes.
BOEM collaborated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to identify the most appropriate location for the designation. Our staff supporting NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science worked with the team to build an ocean model that analyzed the entire Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Through this analysis, BOEM was able to locate areas that have the least conflict with other uses and the lowest environmental impact.
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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.…
Remediating Soil Surrounding Abandoned Mines
CSS employees have been providing field, lab, and horticultural support for the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to develop and test methods for the remediation and revegetation of contaminated soils around selected abandoned mines in the western United States. One of the promising approaches is to incorporate biochar into the soil. Using biochar helps effectively adsorb trace metals and reduce their…
New Data and Reports on the U.S. Marine Economy
Each year CSS economists on contract with NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management work with other federal agencies to process the most recent economic and labor data, and extract the portions related to marine-dependent sectors.