INSPIRE Environmental Hires New Principal Scientist, Expands Portfolio for Predicting and Monitoring Offshore Wind Impacts

Kathy Vigness-Raposa bio picture

Kathy Vigness-Raposa has joined INSPIRE Environmental (Newport, Rhode Island), bringing experience in monitoring the impacts of offshore energy installations on marine mammals to the leading marine environmental company. She hails from Marine Acoustics, Inc., and will take on a leadership role as INSPIRE continues its current expansion into fisheries and acoustics.

“We’re really expanding our technical expertise by hiring a PhD-level senior scientist who is bringing more capability to our company, allowing us to serve our clients better,” says INSPIRE CEO Drew Carey.

INSPIRE Environmental is known for using SPI (Sediment Profile Imaging) cameras to assess and monitor the health of the seafloor. When combined with the INSPIRE team’s expertise in modeling seafloor habitats, data gleaned from SPI surveys help developers plan projects that minimally disturb the seafloor, leaving sensitive habitats intact.

Vigness-Raposa and INSPIRE Environmental first collaborated during the planning stages of the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF), working with local fishermen to map out potential impacts while coordinating with state and local regulators. They also monitored how seabed disturbance affected local fisheries and marine habitats once BIWF was operational.

“You know they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and these amazing SPI pictures really show what’s happening out there. We can look at spatial features of the ocean and ask: ‘how can we decrease the human footprint as much as possible on marine animals and seafloor habitats?’”

Dr. Kathy Vigness-Raposa

In a growing offshore energy sector, and by integrating expertise in acoustic impacts with their existing tried and tested workflows, INSPIRE is perfectly positioned to provide a holistic view of seafloor health and fisheries sustainability.

INSPIRE has worked national and international industry and government clients, including Deepwater Wind/Ørsted, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and British Petroleum (BP; INSPIRE mobilized following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to monitor seafloor recovery).

“As a company we are committed to quality, innovation, and to being a collaborative and responsive partner to our clients,” says COO Jeanine Boyle. “We’re excited to bring in someone with Kathy’s experience and caliber, someone who can promote both the science and our high level of client support.”



We Are Moving!

An inside look at INSPIRE’s new office located at Innovate Newport (Photo Credit: Tuni Renaud Schartner / Innovate Newport)

After the long wait, INSPIRE is moving to its permanent home at Innovate Newport on June 1st.

Formerly known as the Sheffield School, Innovate Newport is located at 513 Broadway.  As an anchor tenant and Newport “native,” INSPIRE has been committed to the Innovate Newport project since its inception. Innovate Newport offers workspace for professionals and businesses, providing a connection and touchpoint to Newport’s vibrant downtown community. Billed as an incubator and co-workspace, Innovate will provide INSPIRE the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded innovators from synergistic sectors including design, engineering, and Blue Tech. We are excited to take part in this thriving community that Newport, and INSPIRE, are uniquely positioned to support.

Dr. Drew Carey Presenting at OTC 2019 Conference

Drew Carey is set to present at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) 2019, in Houston, TX, from May 6–9. Dr. Carey’s presentation will take place during the Offshore Renewables: Site Investigation Challenges for Environmental and Engineering Assessment technical session from 9:30 am – 12:00 pm on Thursday, May 9th. He will present a paper co-written with Fugro that discusses new approaches to offshore renewable energy site characterization using Sediment Profile Imaging (SPI) and Multibeam echosounder (MBES). This year marks the 50th year of the OTC, one of the leading conferences in offshore technology and development.

Forward Scouting: Use of Sediment Profile Imagery in Conjunction with Multibeam Echosounder Mapping for Offshore Wind Cable Routes and Site Characterization
Drew A Carey (INSPIRE Environmental), Daniel F Doolittle, Kevin Smith (Fugro)

INSPIRE at the International Partnering Forum (IPF) for Offshore Wind 2019

(from left) Jeanine Boyle, Brian Gervelis, Dustin Varnell, and Marisa Guarinello manning INSPIRE’s booth at IPF 2019.

The INSPIRE team participated in the International Partnering Forum (IPF) for offshore wind in New York City last month. Hosted by the Business Network for Offshore Wind and attended by over 1,200 individuals, the conference provides an industry-focused forum for stakeholders representing all facets of offshore wind development. Drew Carey, Jeanine Boyle, Marisa Guarinello, Brian Gervelis, and Dustin Varnell met with developers, engineers, environmental consultants, attorneys, and State and Federal agencies at INSPIRE’s booth and in one-on-one sessions to explain how SPI technology has been used to develop BOEM-compliant benthic assessments and support G&G ground truthing in support of wind farm planning and permitting at multiple U.S. sites.

On Thursday, Drew and Jeanine participated in an international meeting of over 25 Dutch and U.S. leaders in offshore wind to assess best practices and lessons learned from 25 years of development in the Netherlands and the North Sea. Drew presented INSPIRE’s work at the Block Island Wind Farm as an example of U.S. practices for environmental monitoring.

INSPIRE’s Ana Marroquim Earns Distinguished Shell Health and Safety Award

Ana

Out of over 500 nominations, INSPIRE’s Ana Marroquim was awarded Shell’s Upstream Impact Award for performance in safety leadership. As part of an AECOM team working for Shell, Ana was awarded this distinction for exemplary work supporting the permitting for offshore drilling operations off the coast of Mexico. The developed Environmental Baseline Survey (EBL) was conducted for several leased areas and included both water column and seafloor sampling. Ana’s focus on health, safety, security, and the environment while reporting EBL results and engaging with the marine crew, survey team, AECOM management, and Shell management garnered her this notable recognition.

Great job Ana!

SPI Published in Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences

SPI, a driving technology at INSPIRE, has finally made it into the books! Soon to appear in the third edition of the Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, literature with INSPIRE’s Dr. Kersey Sturdivant as co-author has been published. Sampling Techniques for the Marine Benthos, currently available online (here), can shed some light on what makes SPI technology so unique.

Reuscher, M.G., P.A. Montagna, and S.K. Sturdivant. 2019. Sampling Techniques for the Marine Benthos. In: J.K. Cochran, H. J. Bokuniewicz, and P. L. Yager, Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences, 3rd Edition, 2:752-764.

INSPIRE’s Dr. Drew Carey Invited to ICES Annual Working Group on Offshore Wind Development

Dr. Drew Carey (far left) among other scientists at this year’s WGMBRED meeting.

This past week Dr. Drew Carey co-chaired the panel for the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s (ICES) Working Group on Marine Benthal and Renewable Energy Developments (WGMBRED) during their annual meeting in Brussels. ICES is the world’s oldest intergovernmental science organization and Dr. Carey joined the conversation between international scientists moving forward to ensure the health of coastal and offshore marine ecosystems among a rapidly expanding renewable energy economy. Meeting annually over a three-year period, the WGMBRED working group develops working plans and guidance concerning the effects of offshore wind energy and development on local fisheries and seafloor ecosystems. National leadership around the North Atlantic Ocean—including the United States and the EU—look to the guidance developed by this working group to further pursue offshore renewable energy interests while managing the ocean’s shared resources. Dr. Carey will join WGMBRED next year, and the work completed by this group will continue to aid future research in this area, where the complex relationships between energy developments influence the benthic communities along coastlines around the world.

Next year the working group is headed to Rhode Island! WGMBRED is scheduled to reconvene at URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography in April 2020.

INSPIRE at the Battelle Sediments Conference 2019

The INSPIRE Team is headed to New Orleans!

We are attending Battelle’s Tenth International Conference on Remediation and Management of Contaminated Sediments on February 11-14. Principal Scientist Kersey Sturdivant will present a paper co-written with INSPIRE founder, Joe Germano titled, Trapped in Plato’s Cave: Benthic Indices and the Illusion of Objectivity. Kersey is also chairing an exciting session on Data Visualization.

INSPIRE’s Marisa Guarinello will be presenting recent projects that demonstrate the utility of Sediment Profile and Plan View Imaging as a sediment management tool. Steve Sabo will also be demonstrating our innovative data visualization tools to interested conference-goers.

This biannual conference is attended by over 1,000 scientists, engineers, regulators, remediation site owners, and environmental professionals, representing universities, government agencies, consultants, and R&D and service firms from over 20 countries. The technical scope for the 2019 Sediments Conference focuses on emerging issues and initiatives in sediments remediation and management.

INSPIRE Wins Two Prime Contracts with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

INSPIRE Environmental has been awarded two, 5-year, $5M prime contracts to support the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New York and New England.  Under contract with the New York District, INSPIRE will provide scientific and engineering services for monitoring dredged material at the Historic Area Remediation Site (HARS) off of New York and New Jersey – including support for an update to the site management and monitoring plan. 

The scope for the New England District contract includes harbor testing, Disposal Area Monitoring System (DAMOS) monitoring, and archaeological studies at disposal sites along the New England coast. Many of the INSPIRE team members have been working on these projects with the Corps for many years. We are excited about the opportunity to help both Districts as they move forward into a new era of monitoring!

INSPIRE Welcomes Two New Scientists to the Team

Brian Gervelis joins INSPIRE as our new Project Scientist, sharing his expertise in fisheries science and passion for local apex predators.

INSPIRE Environmental is proud to introduce two new members to our team as we build out our capabilities to support new endeavors in 2019. Born and raised in Rhode Island and a self-professed “shark kid,” Brian Gervelis joins us as INSPIRE’s new Project Scientist. Brian received his BS in Marine Biology and his MS in Fisheries Science from the University of Rhode Island, where he developed a love of thresher sharks while volunteering and then working for NOAA Fisheries’ Apex Predators Investigation.  “Little did I know the biggest shark tagging program in the Northeast is in Narragansett,” Brian recalled. Since then he has worked for the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program as a data manager and Northeast area lead assistant, and at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center as a data analyst focusing on cooperative fisheries research with commercial fishing vessels from New Jersey to New Hampshire. Brian is looking forward to doing fisheries work that supports the renewable energy sector with a young company and committed staff.

Dustin Varnell brings his experience in offshore facilities management to INSPIRE as our new
Equipment Manager.

New Equipment Manager Dustin Varnell is excited about INSPIRE’s innovations above and below the surface. Dustin is responsible for our growing inventory of SPI, PV, and underwater camera equipment and makes sure equipment gets safely to and from any of our global projects. After working globally for the Merchant Marines and in the Oil and Gas sector, Dustin has been “excited to work more closely with scientists and dive into unique tangents that serve INSPIRE’s diverse project portfolio.” He holds a BS in Marine Transportation and a MS in Facilities Planning and Management, both from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, and is eager to dive into the unique challenges posed by the myriad of locations that INSPIRE scientists conduct fieldwork. Dustin recognized that INSPIRE “excel[s] in benthic science and image analysis; There are immense challenges to putting something under the water and making it work.” After witnessing environmental degradation and mismanagement in the United States and abroad, Dustin noted, “Future solutions involve what INSPIRE is doing: accounting for the marine environment as we build more underwater infrastructure with advancing technology.”

Welcome to INSPIRE, Brian and Dustin!

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