CSA International Staff Participate in Aerial Marine Mammal Surveys

Posted in 2012

CSA International, Inc. (CSA) is pleased to report that Ms. Mary Jo Barkaszi, Business Line Manager of the newest CSA Business Line, Marine Mammals, is currently participating as part ofthe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) science team conductingaerial surveys for marine species in the northeastern U.S. AMAPPS is a multi-agency program designed to collect broad-scale data over multiple years on the seasonal distribution and abundance of marine mammals, marine turtles, and sea birds using direct aerial and shipboard surveys of coastal U.S. Atlantic Ocean waters.

These important surveys are designed to fill existing data gaps and provide vital information essential to the support of conservation initiatives mandated under the National EnvironmentalPolicy Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Endangered Species Act. Weather permitting, the team conducts daily aerial surveys from a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft fitted with special bubble windows and a "belly window." Flight patterns follow track lines covering the coastal waters from Cape May, New Jersey to the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (Canada), from the coast line to about the 2,000-m depth contour.

For more information about the program, visit http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/psb/AMAPPS/. For more information on CSA marine mammal services as well as our seven other business lines, visit www.csaintl.com.

Photo caption: Membersof the AMAPPS science team getting ready for a survey on the Twin Otter.

CSA International, Inc. Acquires ECOES Consulting

Posted in 2012

CSA International, Inc. (CSA) has acquired ECOES Consulting, a leading Marine Mammals and Protected Species Consulting firm in Florida, expanding the capabilities of CSA's Marine Mammals Business Line. As part of the acquisition, Ms. Mary Jo Barkaszi, former President of ECOES, will be responsible for managing the expanded CSA Marine Mammals Business Line, including marketing efforts and scientific oversight.

The CSA Marine Mammals Business Line provides a wide variety of services to the Energy, Government, Defense, and Commercial markets, including Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) services, Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) services, Protected Species consulting, and associated biological and fisheries consulting. The Business Line will support customers around the world through CSA's international offices and alliance partners.

"We are extremely pleased to have Ms. Barkaszi and her team join CSA," stated Mr. Kevin Peterson, CEO of CSA. "She brings to CSA a wealth of experience in this very important field and is ideally suited to lead the further development of CSA's Marine Mammals Business Line both domestically and internationally. We're focused on providing a reliable and responsive service, combined with the latest in PAM and marine sound technology."

CSA International, Inc. Expands Underwater Mapping Capabilities with Shark Marine Technology

Posted in 2012

CSA International, Inc. (CSA) has taken delivery of Shark Marine Technologies, Inc.’s Navigator, a self-contained, highly portable, diver-directed mapping system with high accuracy positioning.  Accuracy and precision is critical in creating quality data and mapping products, and CSA wanted a compact, user-friendly system that could be used independently of any vessel-mounted antennas, transceivers, or external hardware to quickly and precisely map a wide range of underwater features.  This system uses a hard?wired floating GPS, the internal Doppler Velocity Log, or both.  It contains an internal 128GB hard drive, built-in navigation software, and a highly visible LCD screen showing the diver tracks, targets, and notes made by the diver.

Up until now, the Navigator has primarily been used by the military for mine counter-measures and search and recovery operations, but it has multiple applications, including environmental, salvage, and wreck removal.  CSA plans to use the Navigator for a wide range of applications, including habitat mapping and delineation, natural resource damage assessments associated with vessel grounding and anchoring incidents, fish habitat utilization surveys, pipeline and cable corridor clearance surveys, locating underwater survey markers and pins for in situ environmental data collection, and diver-directed hydrographic and bathymetric surveys.  The digital data, which can be linked spatially with real-time video, generate high-quality, GIS-compatible, and computer-aided drafting products.

As a multi-disciplinary international marine environmental consulting firm that provides services for the oil and gas industry, engineering/surveying firms, the marine salvage industry, utility companies, law firms, land development companies, and local, State, Federal, and international government agencies, CSA needed a system that could be rapidly deployed anywhere in the world with minimal support equipment.

For more information, visit www.csaintl.com and www.sharkmarine.com.

CSA International, Inc. Develops Seabed Restoration Methodology Program

Posted in 2012

CSA International, Inc. (CSA) has initiated a program to develop a remediation methodology that can be successfully utilized with marine sediments that have been subjected to excessive loading with organic compounds, particularly in deepwater environments where biodegradation processes are slowed due to low temperature.  To address this problem and in consideration of the inherent difficulties associated with working in deepwater, CSA has combined proven mechanical and biologic technologies to be applied in a unique way.

CSA has assembled the engineering and scientific team to take the program forward and has now completed the Preliminary Design Effort.  The concept incorporates proven subsea equipment modified to deploy specific tools developed by the program to properly restore the deepwater seabed through the use of both mechanical and biological systems.

“The capability and capacity advancement of free flying and seabed crawling remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) has finally allowed us to deploy technology to the seabed in a way not previously possible,” stated Kevin Peterson, President and CEO of CSA.  “By combining proven ROV tooling technology with the application of known biological compounds, we’re able to positively effect the remediation of marine sediments, speeding up its natural recovery.”

Phase II of the program includes a Pilot Study, during which the efficacy of the prototype will be evaluated in the lab.  Phase III will build and test the full size tooling required to be deployed by ROVs of opportunity.

For more information on CSA services or studies, please contact our main office at 772-219-3000 or visit our website at www.csaintl.com.