BOEM and the Atlantic Sand Assessment Project

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (LDEO) will dedicate the Atlantic Sand Assessment Project (ASAP) core storage repository on Tuesday, October 25 at 11:00 a.m.

The collection is a result of the BOEM-funded project to create a new inventory of potential offshore sediment resources in Federal waters in the Atlantic.

The project involved collecting, analyzing and cataloging sediment cores from federal waters offshore 11 East Coast states from Miami, Florida, to Massachusetts beginning in 2015. The core analysis provides important information on thickness of sediment layers, composition of sediment layers, organic material content, and overall compatibility with beach sands.

The dedication and tour will include remarks by Renee Orr, Chief of BOEM’s Office of Strategic Resources; LDEO Deputy Director Art Lerner-Lam; Maureen Raymo, Core Repository Director; and Nichole Anest, Curator of the core storage facility. There will also be a demonstration of the System for Earth Sample Registration (SESAR) database.

Ms. Anest will also explain the procedures by which researchers will be able to access the 189 physical core samples and the main database. State and university geologists from East Coast states that received BOEM Hurricane Sandy research funds will attend, as will BOEM Marine Minerals Program staff.

The completion of the ASAP project marks great progress for BOEM, its state and academic partners and others concerned with coastal and wetland restoration and resilience planning. The 2016 hurricane season is a reminder of how important partnerships and data sharing are to responding to and planning for changes along the coast.

The new data from the ASAP and other BOEM initiatives will help inform decisions on how to respond to and recover from Hurricane Matthew and future storms.