In completing over 85% of all energy resources assessments for the domestic scene, Partrac have established themselves as the leading survey company able to deliver high quality data from these environments.
Technical Director Kevin Black said: “We have just completed internal reviews for our 2012 Annual Report, and last year was an exciting year for us with projects in every area of our business. The projects, some of which are ongoing, provide a firm foundation for continued success, and we look forward to working with our clients this year to help them deliver consented projects”.
In 2012 Partrac delivered resource assessments for five commercial sites. By working with industry and listening to their needs, the company reported a lead involvement in the collection of the first high resolution, low noise turbulence data for the industry. Turbulence remains a significant issue for the industry and data were collected over the full ocean depth at a commercial site and at the famous Corryvreckan tidal race on the Scotland west coast.
Elsewhere the company was commissioned within several new port development frameworks to provide sediment monitoring surveys to measure natural (estuarine) and anthropogenically-related (dredging, reclamation-related) sediment flux using the ADCP-Sediview methodology, and to provide static, long-term real-time turbidity assessments in support of compliance monitoring for capital dredging works.
The survey team has clocked up over 150 ADCP-Sediview surveys making it, most likely, the most experienced team within the UK with this capability. These projects also involved monitoring of sediment (and water) quality, and to date over 1500 samples have been collected, processed and reported on for contamination levels.
Partrac also report conclusion of a sediment tracking project on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i for the US Geological Survey which provided data on the remobilisation and re-distribution patterns of terrestrially-derived volcanic silts on a fringing reef system, design of a project for the US Army Corps of Engineers/US Environment Protection Agency to label a shallow contaminated sediments cap to assess mixing and stability, and an ongoing project funded by Defra to apply the particle tracking technique to assess the effectiveness of buffer strips in preventing soil loss into watercourses.
The consultancy division within Partrac was also busy, and completed Technical Chapters on Coastal Processes for respective EIAs for 3 major offshore wind farm developments.
Going into 2013 Partrac are leading a US$0.5 million project for the US Navy aimed towards providing a greater understanding of the fate of outfall-derived contaminated sediments in military and adjacent waters, developing full spectrum turbulence data acquisition strategies for the tidal sector, and undertaking seabed mobility and scour potential assessments for several offshore wind clients.
[mappress]
Press release, February 7, 2013; Image: Partrac