JASCO Applied Sciences

JASCO Applied Sciences is a Canadian scientific consulting and engineering firm focused on underwater acoustics and the environmental effects of sound in marine and freshwater environments. Headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the company operates from seven international locations and serves clients across offshore energy, renewable energy, marine construction, fisheries, maritime transportation, oil and gas, and defence. Its work combines field measurement, acoustic instrumentation, numerical modelling, software development, ocean systems engineering, and biological interpretation. The firm's core activity is the measurement and analysis of underwater sound. JASCO deploys calibrated hydrophones and related oceanographic sensors to record sound generated by vessels, seismic surveys, pile driving, bridges, ports, wind turbines, tidal-energy devices, sonar, and other industrial or natural sources. The resulting data can be used to characterize ambient noise, determine the acoustic signatures of vessels and industrial equipment, identify marine-mammal vocalizations, and evaluate whether operations comply with environmental requirements. JASCO also conducts predictive acoustic-modelling studies for environmental-impact assessments and operational planning. These studies estimate how sound propagates through the water column and seabed and commonly produce sound-contour maps and exclusion-zone or safety-radius recommendations. In addition to modelling sound fields, the company models the movement and behaviour of marine animals, using simulated animals known as animats to estimate acoustic exposure and potential effects on species such as marine mammals and fish. This work supports impact assessment, mitigation planning, regulatory review, and monitoring during construction or operations. A further part of the business is the development of hardware and software for autonomous and real-time ocean observation. JASCO's OceanObserver system performs onboard processing of underwater acoustic data, including automated detection of marine-mammal calls and anthropogenic sound. Processing data at the instrument can reduce the communications bandwidth required for remote observatories, robotic vehicles, buoys, and cabled ocean-monitoring networks. The company also supplies the AMAR family of autonomous multichannel acoustic recorders, which can be connected to multiple hydrophones and oceanographic sensors. JASCO's project portfolio includes marine infrastructure, offshore wind, port expansion, bridge construction, shipping, mining-related marine transport, national defence, and scientific observing networks. Notable work has included acoustic assessments for Vineyard Wind, South Fork Wind Farm, Block Island Wind Farm, Hywind Scotland, LNG Canada, and the Port of Vancouver's ECHO Program. The company also participated in the Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network and large-scale acoustic studies in the Chukchi Sea. One of its most prominent engineering projects is the Boundary Pass Underwater Listening Station in the Salish Sea. Commissioned by Transport Canada and completed in June 2020, the approximately C$9.5 million cabled observatory is designed to monitor underwater sound and marine activity. JASCO has also worked on underwater listening infrastructure associated with the Port of Vancouver and the VENUS ocean observatory, as well as an underwater-warfare-suite upgrade for Canada's Department of National Defence. The company employs acousticians, bioacousticians, physicists, marine-mammal scientists, engineers, technologists, and project managers, positioning it at the intersection of environmental science, marine technology, and specialist consulting.

JASCO Applied Sciences developed as a specialist scientific and engineering firm serving marine industries and ocean-observation programs. Its expertise centres on underwater acoustics: the measurement, interpretation, modelling, and mitigation of sound in marine environments. Rather than operating as a conventional equipment manufacturer alone, JASCO combines consulting, field science, software, instrumentation, and systems engineering. Its staff includes acousticians, bioacousticians, physicists, marine-mammal scientists, engineers, technologists, and project managers. The company’s work expanded alongside the growth of marine infrastructure, offshore energy, port development, shipping, and environmental regulation. Industrial activities such as seismic exploration, bridge and terminal construction, offshore-wind installation, vessel traffic, and sonar operations can generate underwater sound with potential consequences for marine mammals, fish, and other aquatic organisms. JASCO’s monitoring programs measure these sources using calibrated acoustic recorders and hydrophones, while its analytical services characterize source signatures, ambient conditions, biological vocalizations, and compliance with operational thresholds. A major element of JASCO’s consulting practice is predictive modelling. Before or during a project, numerical models can estimate how sound propagates from a pile-driving operation, seismic source, vessel, turbine, or other activity. The results may be presented as acoustic contours or safety radii used by marine-mammal observers and project operators. JASCO also applies three-dimensional sound fields to simulated animal movements, or animats, allowing analysts to estimate the exposure of different species under varying behavioural assumptions. These methods support environmental-impact assessments and the design of mitigation measures. JASCO has also built a technology portfolio for persistent and remote observation. Its AMAR recorders collect multichannel underwater sound and can interface with hydrophones and oceanographic sensors. The OceanObserver system performs selected detection and processing tasks at the instrument, including recognition of marine-mammal vocalizations and human-generated noise. This approach is useful where instruments are deployed on gliders, buoys, seabed stations, or cabled observatories and where transmitting all raw data would be impractical. The company’s notable work has covered both commercial and public-sector projects. It has contributed to acoustic monitoring and analysis for the Port of Vancouver’s ECHO Program, the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, the Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program, offshore-wind developments including Block Island, South Fork, Vineyard Wind, and Hywind Scotland, and infrastructure projects such as the Tappan Zee Bridge and Pattullo Bridge. It has also supported studies associated with LNG Canada, the Mary River Mine, and marine transportation. JASCO’s ocean-systems engineering role is illustrated by the Boundary Pass Underwater Listening Station in the Salish Sea. Commissioned by Transport Canada and completed in June 2020, the cabled observatory represented an approximately C$9.5 million project and extended the company’s role beyond data analysis into the design and delivery of large monitoring infrastructure. JASCO has additionally been associated with underwater listening infrastructure linked to the Port of Vancouver and the VENUS ocean observatory. Its participation in Canada's Underwater Warfare Suite Upgrade demonstrates the application of its acoustic and engineering capabilities to defence requirements as well as environmental and scientific work. The firm remains an active international provider of underwater-acoustic services and equipment. Its operating model is project-based and multidisciplinary, with work ranging from short-term measurements of an industrial source to multi-year, wide-area monitoring programs. Its principal distinction is the integration of acoustic science, marine biology, environmental assessment, autonomous instrumentation, software, and engineering within one specialist organization.

• 2020

  Boundary Pass Underwater Listening Station completed

  [1]JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org

  The cabled Salish Sea observatory commissioned by Transport Canada was completed in June 2020.

• 2017

  ADEON participation

  [1]JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org

  JASCO participated with the University of New Hampshire in the Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network.

• 2015

  Port of Vancouver and VENUS observatory work

  [1]JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org

  JASCO began or continued projects involving the Port of Vancouver ECHO Program and an underwater listening station associated with the VENUS ocean observatory.

• 2014

  Roberts Bank Terminal 2 studies

  [1]JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org

  JASCO contributed underwater-noise measurement, analysis, and modelling for the Port of Vancouver Roberts Bank Terminal 2 construction project.

• 2011

  Hywind Scotland acoustic analysis

  [1]JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org

  The company conducted analysis of the acoustic signature of the Hywind Scotland floating wind-turbine project.

• 2009

  Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program work begins

  [1]JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org

  JASCO is identified as contributing to large-scale acoustic monitoring and analysis for the Chukchi Sea Environmental Studies Program, with work continuing through 2016.

A specialist marine-science and technology partner that integrates underwater acoustic measurement, modelling, biological expertise, instrumentation, software, and ocean-systems engineering for industrial, regulatory, research, and defence applications.

• Acoustic acquisition and processing system

  OceanObserver

  OceanObserver is an underwater acoustic acquisition and processing platform that performs selected sound-analysis tasks onboard an instrument. It can detect marine-mammal vocalizations and anthropogenic noise without requiring all raw recordings to be transmitted to shore. This reduces communications requirements for remote deployments and supports real-time or near-real-time applications such as pile-driving compliance monitoring, marine-mammal detection and avoidance, vessel-noise assessment, robotic vehicles, spar buoys, research buoys, and cabled observatories.

• Autonomous underwater sound recorder

  AMAR G4

  AMAR G4 is an autonomous multichannel acoustic and oceanographic recorder. Its electronics are housed in a watertight pressure case, with removable storage capacity of up to 10 TB and Wi-Fi communications. The system can support as many as 16 hydrophones and up to seven oceanographic sensors, including instruments for dissolved oxygen, salinity, acidity, and temperature. It is intended for extended underwater monitoring deployments.

• Autonomous underwater sound recorder

  AMAR G3

  AMAR G3 is an earlier generation of JASCO’s autonomous multichannel acoustic recorder family. It records underwater sound and oceanographic information in a pressure-resistant housing and can connect to as many as eight hydrophones, with sampling rates reaching 128 kHz. Multiple AMAR G3 units were used on the Strait of Georgia branch of the VENUS ocean observatory, whose recordings were made publicly available for research and observation.

• 2020

  Delivery of the Boundary Pass Underwater Listening StationOther

  Background

  Transport Canada commissioned a cabled underwater listening station in the Salish Sea to support ocean monitoring and acoustic observation.

  Action taken

  JASCO delivered or participated in the engineering and implementation of the Boundary Pass observatory, completed in June 2020.

  Aftermath

  The station became a persistent underwater-monitoring installation. The reported project value was approximately C$9.5 million.

  Project value. C$9.5 million (Completed June 2020)

  Source

1. 1JASCO Applied Sciencesen.wikipedia.org