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 data are available at the U.S. EPA National Aquatic Resource Survey website where more information is provided on this program.

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Large-Scale Decontamination Proves Successful

In the spring of 2022, we worked with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard on a project called Analysis for Coastal Operational Resiliency-Wide Area Demonstration (WAD) which tests large scale decontamination following the release of surrogate bioagents. The team conducted a WAD at a military base in Virginia to test decontamination…

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Assisting Career Growth for Future Coastal Managers  

NOAA’s Margaret A. Davidson Fellowship is a two-year fellowship for graduate students that provides an opportunity for them to work side by side with researchers at one of the 30 National Estuarine Research Reserves. The fellowship provides each cohort of fellows with hands-on and cross-disciplinary research experiences, networking opportunities, and professional development and mentoring, helping to prepare them…

A humpback whale swims along the water surface with blow spray hovering just above

Training Marine Mammal Programs to Use Drones to Collect Dolphin and Whale Respiratory Health Data

CSS employee owner and Marine Mammal Drone Specialist supports NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Marine Mammal Health Assessment team with collecting respiratory health data from marine mammals in local waterways. Using specialized drones equipped with petri dishes provides a non-invasive method to collect exhaled breath (i.e. blow) samples from dolphins and whales.…