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HydroQual Marine Researchers Deploy Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) in 280 feet of water in the Strait of Hormuz
HydroQual staff Stephen Ertman, Darren Birmingham, and Jim Reilly of our Dubai Office recently deployed two ADCPs in 280 feet of water in the Strait of Hormuz. These ADCPs are low-frequency models that measure ocean current profiles (hourly) throughout the water column. The data will be used by a petroleum company for oil-spill contingency planning. Our partner company, ASA, is involved in the oil-spill modeling component.
The ADCPs and associated equipment rest in a frame on the seabed and are not tethered to the surface. Collected data is stored internally, and the ADCP itself is powered by an external battery pack. Every four months the ADCPs must be recovered from the seabed and fresh ones redeployed. The recovery and redeployment process is described below.
In the photos above, you will notice two sets of paired floats attached to canisters. Inside each canister is a coiled length of rope, one end of which is shackled to the metal frame that rests on the seabed and holds all of the equipment. Each buoyed canister is held in place by an acoustic release mechanism, and each acoustic release responds to a different signal frequency. When the HydroQual staff is on station and ready to recover an ADCP, they hang an acoustic transponder over the side of the boat and send the appropriate signal for one of the rope canisters. If everything works properly, the acoustic release will respond to the signal, release a rope canister, which is buoyed by the floats and releases the rope coiled up inside as it rises to the surface. Once the floats and rope canister are spotted on the surface, the staff brings the boat carefully alongside, snags the floats with a boathook, recovers the free end of the rope that is attached to the ADCP frame, wraps the rope around a capstan winch, and slowly pulls the ADCP frame back to the surface and onto the boat. At 280 feet, the water is much too deep for divers, so having two rope canisters provides redundancy in case one fails. In the unlikely event that both rope canisters fail, then the decision must be made whether the ADCP and stored data are valuable enough to rent a ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) to attempt recovery.
For additional information, please contact Dr. Paul J. Anid or Dr. Stephen C. Ertman at the following email addresses: panid@hydroqual.com or sertman@hydroqual.com.
HydroQual's participation in a NOAA-EPA REServ2010 project, Ecosystem Services Assessment Using Bioextraction Technologies for Removal of Nitrogen and Other Substances in Long Island Sound and the Great Bay/Piscataqua Region, was initiated with a presentation by NOAA colleague, Suzanne Bricker, in Portugal at the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) Conference during the week of September 14-19, 2010. The multidisciplinary project leverages public and private expertise toward development of eco-friendly, sustainable solutions for nitrogen management in two United States northeastern estuaries. Click here for PowerPoint presentation.
Joe Cleary, Andy Bohner, Gary Grey, and Rob Orlando will be speaking at the NJWEA 2010 Fall Technology Seminar, September 20-23, 2010 at the Sheraton Eatontown, Eatontown, NJ. Click here for more information.
Joseph G. Cleary was a speaker at the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Workshop: Conventional and Micropollutants, April 27-29, 2010. Click here for conference information.
Aaron Redman gave a presentation on 'Implementation Guidance for the Use of the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) to Derive Fixed Monitoring Benchmarks", on Friday April 16th at the Annual Conference of the Water Environment Association of Utah (WEAU) which will be held in St. George, Utah , April 13-16, 2010.
Robin Landeck Miller was a presenter at the EPA Symposium on Integrated Modeling and Analysis to Support the Management and Restoration of Large Aquatic Ecosystems on January 20-21, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Her presentation addressed Completed Modeling Activities in Long Island Sound.
"Treatment dollars could be saved in [total maximum daily loads (TMDLs)] if it were more clearly understood how much of the mercury put out by a [WWTP] actually becomes methylmercury," said Robin Landeck Miller, a HydroQual associate and leader of natural waters fate and transport operations. Click here for a link to the article titled, "Demystifying Methylmercury", published in the December 2009 issue of WE&T.
HydroQual is pleased to announce the recent appointment of K. Benjamin Wu as an Adjunct Research Fellow in the River and Coast Environment Research Institute of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, a policy and technology supporting academy to China Ministry of Environmental Protection in Beijing, China. Ben, a HydroQual Associate Engineer, has been developing a complex water quality modeling platform and water supply security and emergency response system to help the City of Wuhan, China reduce water pollution, improve water quality and provide better environmental management of Wuhan’s water resources. Ben will provide technical assistances to the Academy on their National Water Project for topics of TMDL, Drinking Water Security and Pre-warning System, and Water Quality Standards.
Dr. Sri Rangarajan submitted testimony on behalf of the NJ chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers to the NJ Department of Environmental Protection's Hearing on Climate Change Impacts on Water Quality (December 7, 2209). This testimony highlights the importance of risks due to Climate Change and suggests some mitigation strategies. Click here for testimony.
Robin Miller was a speaker at the International Workshop on Nutrient Remediation (focus is biomass harvesting), being held on December 3rd and 4th 2009 at the University of Connecticut's Stamford Campus. Click here for more information.
Benjamin Wu presented a paper on "Bloom of Microcystis Aeruginosa in the Upper Potomac River Estuary: Interactions between Primary Productivity, pH and Sediment Phosphorus Release" at the 13th World Lake Conference in Wuhan, China, November 4, 2009. Ben will also co-chair Conference Session 510 - Concepts and New Technology on Lake Eutrophication Control on November 2nd and 3rd 2009.
Sri Rangarajan, Ph.D., D.WRE was a speaker at the Sustainability Shoptalk Series sponsored by Baruch College, CUNY Program on LIQUID ASSETS-Capitalizing on the Water & Energy Nexus (New York City Case Studies),October 28th 2009,8:30-11;30 am at the Newman Conference Center. Click here for more information.
Benjamin Wu made a presentation on A Modeling Approach to Exposure and Risk Assessment at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science in Beijing, China on October 26th 2009
HydroQual staff presented at the WEF Microconstituents and Industrial Water Quality Conference, July 26-29, 2009 in Baltimore, MD. Click here for more information.
Thomas Gallagher was invited to speak at WERFs August 11-12th event on the latest in phosphorus and bioavailability research using the Spokane River as a backdrop for the event. He discussed water quality/nutrient modeling in general but also specifically as it relates to HydroQual's work on the Spokane River TMDL Model for the City of Spokane. Click here for more information.
Joseph G. Cleary at the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Workshop
Joseph G. Cleary was a speaker at the Advanced Wastewater Treatment Workshop: Conventional and Micropollutants, April 27-29, 2010. Click here for conference information.
Aaron Redman at the Annual Conference of the Water Environment Association of Utah
Aaron Redman gave a presentation on 'Implementation Guidance for the Use of the Biotic Ligand Model (BLM) to Derive Fixed Monitoring Benchmarks", on Friday April 16th at the Annual Conference of the Water Environment Association of Utah (WEAU) which will be held in St. George, Utah , April 13-16, 2010.
Robin Landeck Miller at the EPA Symposium on Integrated Modeling and Analysis to Support the Management and Restoration of Large Aquatic Ecosystems
Robin Landeck Miller was a presenter at the EPA Symposium on Integrated Modeling and Analysis to Support the Management and Restoration of Large Aquatic Ecosystems on January 20-21, 2010 in Washington, D.C. Her presentation addressed Completed Modeling Activities in Long Island Sound.
K. Benjamin Wu appointed as Adjunct Research Fellow in the River and Coast Environment Research Institute of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences
HydroQual is pleased to announce the recent appointment of K. Benjamin Wu as an Adjunct Research Fellow in the River and Coast Environment Research Institute of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, a policy and technology supporting academy to China Ministry of Environmental Protection in Beijing, China. Ben, a HydroQual Associate Engineer, has been developing a complex water quality modeling platform and water supply security and emergency response system to help the City of Wuhan, China reduce water pollution, improve water quality and provide better environmental management of Wuhan’s water resources. Ben will provide technical assistances to the Academy on their National Water Project for topics of TMDL, Drinking Water Security and Pre-warning System, and Water Quality Standards.
EPA's Science Challenged - New Approach Required for Developing Nutrient Criteria
Dominic DiToro, Ph.D., P.E. of the University of Delaware and HydroQual, Thomas W. Gallagher of HydroQual and John C. Hall, Esq. and William T. Hall of Hall Associates prepared the attached paper (click here), "Critical Evaluation of EPA's Draft Empirical Approaches for Nutrient Criteria Derivation" and presented it to the EPA Science Advisory Board as part of the Board's review September 9-11, 2009 of the new draft EPA guidance entitled "Empirical Approaches for Nutrient Criteria Derivation" (EPA, August 17, 2009). The HydroQual and Hall Associates team argued that EPA's science supporting its approach to the derivation of nutrient criteria was seriously flawed. The Board's final report can be downloaded from the EPA's web site here.
Robin Landeck Miller on methylmercury
"Treatment dollars could be saved in [total maximum daily loads (TMDLs)] if it were more clearly understood how much of the mercury put out by a [WWTP] actually becomes methylmercury," said Robin Landeck Miller, a HydroQual associate and leader of natural waters fate and transport operations. Click here for a link to the article titled, "Demystifying Methylmercury", published in the December 2009 issue of WE&T.