- 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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Over 2000 River and Stream Samples Analyzed
Every five years teams supporting U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Aquatic Resource Survey—consisting of tribal, state, and federal partners—collect samples from over 2000 river and stream reaches throughout the United States. CSS analytical chemists support this effort by processing the samples and then analyzing them for various chemicals to help characterize their water quality. The…
Happy World Ocean Day
The ocean covers about 71 percent of the Earth’s surface, and life on this planet depends heavily on the ocean. We celebrate its vast being and presence each year on June 8. With CSS so heavily dedicated to Earth and environmental science, it makes sense that many CSS employee owners are deeply embedded in ocean…
Assisting With Maui Wildfire Recovery
As part of our support to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 Superfund Technical Assessment & Response Team (START)—for which we are subcontracted through Weston Solutions, Inc.—CSS employee owners have been on-site in three-week rotations to assist throughout the rigorous recovery process.