Partrac Ltd

Formed in 2003, Partrac is a marine data acquisition company that specialises in providing oceanography, marine geosciences and environmental services for projects of an environmental or complex engineering nature. Based in Glasgow, we provide our services across the UK and the world, while always striving to acquire data in a safe, environmentally responsible and cost-efficient way. As well as providing high quality projects, we work with our clients in the project design process to assure that their data objectives are achieved in the most effective and safest way. We can also analyse and interpret data for our clients, to aid them in logistical, engineering and management decisions.

With more than half of our employees qualified to PhD and MSc levels, our staff are most integral to our success, and are all trained and experienced in working in marine environments as well as managing the associated risks.

Our clients span a wide variety of industries and locations, including many clients in the areas of offshore wind, wave and tidal, engineering and environmental consultancies, government and regulators, dredging ports and marine construction, oil and gas, and utilities.

Coastal Oceanography

With experience all over the UK and the world, Partrac is a leading provider of coastal oceanographic surveys. Our extensive range of services covers everything from drogue tracking and dye tracing to ADCP deployments and vessel-mounted current profiling.

Areas of expertise include design, planning and management of surveys, seabed ADCP and AWAC deployments, license applications, turbulence surveys, vessel-mounted ADCP surveys, studies of dilution and circulations, tidal level measurement, CTD and current profile surveys, monitoring of water quality, and data processing, analysis and reporting.

Water Quality Services

At Partrac, we have a wealth of experience in performing water quality surveys. Water quality projects can be anything from discrete sampling and analysis to long-term, estuary wide water quality monitoring (complete with multi-sensor online monitoring systems). Projects that we undertake are often used to demonstrate compliance with legislation, or to provide data for water quality models.

We can monitor, sample and analyse for a variety of parameters, such as nutrients, dissolved oxygen, bacteria, metals, TBT, hydrocarbons and red list substances. We can also perform sediment quality and oxygen demand surveys.

Metocean Services

Our metocean division can acquire high quality data to provide support for the design and installation of offshore projects in the oil, gas and renewables sectors. In addition, we provide design, development and installation of tailored metocean monitoring solutions.

Metocean services that we can provide include current surveys, planning/management of oceanographic surveys, tidal level measurement, meteorological parameters, wave monitoring, real-time metocean monitoring platforms, and data processing, analysis and reporting.

Shallow Geotechnics

Collecting seabed samples is necessary for a range of activities, including seabed geological mapping, delineating benthic habitats and sediment transport model validation. Our seabed sampling services include grab sampling (Day, van Veen and Hamon grabs), gravity coring, box coring and vibro-coring.

Dredge Monitoring

Plumes of high sediment concentration are an inevitable result of the dredging process, and can potentially give rise to environmental issues and problems. To help you to monitor dredge plumes effectively, we have a range of monitoring approaches, including 3D plume mapping, turbidity compliance monitoring using real-time monitoring buoys, depth profiling with autonomous turbidity sensors, and time-integrating and time-series sediment traps.

Sediment and Scour Monitoring

Fluvial, estuarine and coastal sediments exist in a state of dynamic equilibrium, due to erosion, transport and deposition. Cable laying, coastal protection, and offshore wind and tide farm construction (among other activities) can also cause sediment to be mobilised and redistributed.

At Partrac we lead the field of sediment monitoring, using a variety of methods for monitoring in any aquatic environment. Methods include alarmed real-time turbidity monitoring, point sediment flux assessment, spatial sediment flux assessment, towed multi-instrument package systems, in situ particle size measurement, submersible water samplers, in situ surface sediment stability measurement, sentinel in-line time-integrating suspended sediment traps, in situ real-time scour depth measurement, and point bed-level change measurement.

Sediment Tracking

Sediment pathways and rates of transport can be determined through sediment tracking/tracing, which comprises of the introduction of uniquely labelled tracer particles in the study area, and monitoring of their spatial distribution over time. Sediment tracking can be used for a range of applications, including bioturbation studies, siltation impact assessment, contaminated sediment fate/transport field assessments, laboratory sediment transport studies, scaled physical modelling studies, and studies of marine larvae transport.

Our tracers are manufactured in-house with densities from 1050 to 3800 kg m^-3, sizes from medium silts to cobbles, and fluorescent or magnetic signatures. Tracers with magnetic signatures can be captured in any aquatic environment, along with conventional methods such as water and grab samplers.

Sediment Analysis

Our in-house physical sedimentology laboratory can provide a range of analytical services to support environmental and oceanographic projects, including analysis of grain size, grain shape, grain density, organic, carbonate and moisture content, sand and silt settling velocity, critical entrainment stress and total suspended solids. Our analyses meet BS/ISO EN standards, and we also have a comprehensive quality assurance protocol in place.

We can also provide benthic taxonomic identification of offshore samples to DTI North Sea standards, in conjunction with our NMBAQC-certified partner.

Intertidal Ecology

A whole range of factors threaten the intertidal regions of shores and estuaries, including pollution, erosion due to wave action and rising sea levels, infrastructure development and the introduction of invasive species. To help studies on the interactions between intertidal organisms and their environment, we provide a range of services, including tidal, wave and sediment dynamics characterisation, survey management, intertidal sampling, in situ sediment accretion rate measurement, algal surveys, benthic taxonomy, sediment analysis, biotope mapping and zonation classification.

Benthic Survey

Characterisation of the seabed environment is important before a range of large scale projects, such as offshore wind farm and tidal turbine developments, interconnectors, marina developments and dredging activities. Benthic surveys can determine the abundance and diversity of rare or important species and aid applications for conservation status.

Partrac offer a range of site survey support services, including acoustic data analysis, HD video and stills photography, survey management, ROV surveys, taxonomic identification, physio-chemical analysis, seabed sampling, single beam echosounder capabilities, and seabed biotope identification.

Habitat Mapping

Habitat mapping is important for a variety of purposes, including determining the conservation needs of habitats, understanding how human interaction impacts marine habitats, managing marine areas and serving as a precursor to intrusive site investigations.

To design sampling strategies and suitable sampling approaches for littoral and sublittoral habitat surveying, our environmental team are available to participate in offshore data acquisition programmes, and can form synoptic seabed habitat maps based on sidescan and bathymetry data, taxonomic data and benthic videos and photographs.

Our shipboard environmental teams can provide comprehensive habitat reports, map creation (including complete seabed coverage and habitat boundary highlighting) and modelling data.

Marine Mammal Survey

When undergoing seismic exploration or explosive activity, there is the risk of disturbing or injuring marine animals. As such, the JNCC (Joint Nature Conservancy Committee) established protocols stating that vessels involved in such activities need to carry a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) and, during dark or low visibility periods, a Passive Acoustic Monitoring system (PAM). MMOs and PAM operators serve the purpose of observing marine mammals and maintaining watch while operations are underway, as well as advising party chiefs on guidelines and assuring that procedures are followed.

Our experienced MMOs and PAM operators are JNCC accredited, and are available for seismic surveys, explosive activity, windfarm piling operations, environmental baseline conditions and EIA data input.

Offshore Personnel

Our team of skilled environmental scientists can perform contract work on offshore vessels. This can include box coring, biology and physio-chemical grab sampling, interpretation of acoustic data for ground-truthing, water sampling, video and stills surveying, and MMO and PAM operating.

Cohesive Strength Meter

For the measurement of the critical entrainment stress, settling velocity and erosion rate of bedded muddy sediments, we have the portable Cohesive Strength Meter (CSM). This instrument is commonly used for applications in agricultural research programmes, intertidal or fluvial environments, and sediment stability measurement in seabed cores. The CSM can be provided on a direct purchase or hire basis, and comes with a manual, a digital bibliography of scientific papers, quick start instructions, a one year warranty, and instructions for calibration and maintenance.

Benthic Flumes

For in situ sediment stability measurement, we have two benthic flume seabed lander systems, which are suitable for coastal or offshore use. These submersible flumes rest on the seabed and produce a controlled flow across it, while sensors measure the erosion of the seabed. During the 1 to 2 hour experiment time, data is generated on the critical entrainment stress, erosion rate and sediment settling velocity and mass deposition rate. Our benthic flumes can be used for a range of applications, such as scour rate assessment, numerical model validation-calibration, and contaminated sediment resuspension.

The benthic flumes we operate are the Voyager I, a smaller system made for coastal or shallow water applications, and the Voyager II, for offshore applications of depths between 50 and 200m.

Tracers

Whatever application you may need them for, we can provide a range of tracers made at our ISO 9001-certified facility. Densities can range from 1050 to 3800kg m^-3 and heavy or ultra-low density particles can be created through density adjustment. In terms of size, the lower limit for the tracers is ~25 mm, though the density can be adjusted to mimic hydraulic properties when applications call for finer sizes. In addition, our tracers can be provided in fluorescent or magnetic and fluorescent varieties.