SOME RECENT & ONGOING PROJECTS

TIDE ENERGY GENERATION FACILITY STUDIES, EASTPORT MAINE

In June 2009, CR conducted hydrographic and geophysical surveys for Ocean Renewable Power Company, LLC (ORPC) in portions of Lower Cobscook Bay and the Western Passage near Eastport, Maine. The survey included coverage of the seabed at the location of the Western Hemisphere's largest and strongest whirlpool, the "Old Sow". CR successfully completed the survey despite a >20 foot tidal range and currents in excess of 6 knots. Acquired data included bathymetry, seabed geology based on side scan sonar and sub-bottom sonar instruments, and marine magnetics. Data were used for bottom texture and habitat characterization, mapping of potential seabed obstructions along cable routes and generator installation locations, and for archaeological review.

Offshore Habitat Mapping, Trinidad, Caribbean British Commonwealth 
Client: ESL, Ltd., Trinidad

For ESL, LLC, CR developed detailed benthic habitat maps of greater than 1,000 square kilometers of seafloor off the eastern and southern coasts of Trinidad .  The mapping effort was conducted to assist with avoidance and mitigation of disturbance to reef complexes associated with energy exploration and production.  CR developed a multifaceted approach to seafloor characterization which utilized data collected with a QTC-V single-beam based backscatter system, high-frequency side scan sonar, video sled recordings, and bottom grabs.  Data were redundantly processed using several statistical approaches and combined into a coherent GIS project detailing small- and large-scale habitat characteristics.  

see http://www.questertangent.com/upload/docs/PingerV4N1.pdf

Penobscot River Restoration Project Studies:
Great Works and Veazie Dam Removal ; Howland Bypass Channel.

CR supported Kleinschmidt Associates and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust’s FERC license transfer application and NEPA analyses by documenting riverbed morphology and substrate composition in four river reaches which would be effected by removal or bypass of three dams. Project challenges included limited access, navigation in swift currents and acquisition of defensible data in very shallow water. CR collected and analyzed 200-kHz bathymetric data, 500-kHz side scan sonar data,  and 10-kHz sub-bottom sonar data. Extensive underwater video recordings were used to verify observations and to aid selection of appropriate sediment sample locations.  Analysis of survey data required documentation of river gradients at each reach, and detailed analysis of tidal influence on river gradients below Veazie Dam.  Hydrographic, geophysical and video data were analyzed using GIS.   Maps classifying substrate composition were produced and provided in GIS format.  Side scan sonar mosaics were created using a resolution of 10-cm.  Models and maps representing bathymetry at 1.0 foot contour inter val s were produced and delivered in CAD and GIS formats.