Sediment & Dredged Material Evaluations Service

In-place sediments dredged from ports, harbors, and inland waterways must be carefully evaluated to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective disposal option prior to removal (i.e. beneficial reuse, ocean disposal, in-bay/harbor disposal, or upland disposal); Nautilus (and predecessors) has over 15 years experience providing logistical and analytical support services for dredged material evaluations. Our comprehensive experience covers a wide variety of protocols and procedures for both the marine and inland dredged material evaluation projects. Our state-of-the-art facilities in San Diego have been designed to accommodate a high volume of testing, while employing strict QA/QC guidance procedures to ensure high quality data for these critical decision-making processes.

Our staff applies a collective knowledge of sediment toxicity, chemistry, physio-chemical impacts, ecology, and regulatory issues to evaluate potential ecosystem effects due to contaminated sediments; this knowledge further helps to provide guidance and sound experimental design. Nautilus scientists routinely invest in sediment test methodology research and development to better understand and strengthen the link between laboratory test results and environmental effects in these extremely complex matrices and systems.

Our services include:

• Acute, Chronic, and Bioaccumulation Bioassays
• Solid-phase (whole sediment), Water Column (elutriate), and Porewater Exposures
• In situ Testing
• Life Cycle Testing
• Microtox Testing
• Sediment Toxicity Identification Evaluation (TIE) Studies
• Ash-Free Dry Weight Analyses
• Grain Size Characterization