ITT Analytics’ AADI and The University of North Carolina partner to monitor oil and gas releases in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys

ATLANTA, GA., April 28, 2011— ITT Corporation (NYSE:ITT) announced that its AADI brand has teamed up with the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill to develop two new multi-sensor arrays to detect light hydrocarbons and oxygen depletion associated with oil and gas releases such as recent occurrences in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This research is vital to monitor the long-term effects of water contamination and its threat to coral reef and other coastal ecosystems. The multi-sensor arrays, built on AADI’s SEAGUARD platform, have enabled scientists in the University’s Department of Marine Sciences to set new standards for the efficiency of analyses while offering unmatched precision and simple deployment.

The AADI SEAGUARD platform from ITT Analytics is a multi-parameter instrument offering advanced flexibility and real-time capabilities for underwater observation. The first of the new arrays developed from the platform, nicknamed HANDI by the UNC-Chapel Hill scientists, was deployed for testing in 2010 at Conch Reef off Key Largo, Florida. The array assisted the team by effectively detecting oxygen depletion and potential oil and gas transport along the reef ecosystem’s border with fast-moving water in the Florida Straits. Equipped with two of AADI’s fast-response optodes from ITT Analytics, HANDI offers the team immediate and reliable dissolved oxygen measurements without the need for repeated calibrations.