Coastal Ocean Institute

The Coastal Ocean Institute and Rinehart Coastal Research Center promotes scientific inquiry into the phenomena that shape our coastal waters and ecosystems. Through grant programs, scientific gatherings, and state-of-the-art facilities, the Institute encourages innovative, interdisciplinary research and high-risk technology development to improve our understanding of the fundamental processes at work in the coastal ocean. COI strives to translate the results of this basic research for citizens and policymakers, while providing a solid information base for better resource management.

Deep Ocean Exploration Institute

The Deep Ocean Exploration Institute (DOEI) seeks to understand how Earth works. The Institute’s goal is to promote interdisciplinary investigations of planetary processes occurring in the deep oceans and within the planet’s interior. These processes help to regulate the chemistry of the oceans, determine the nature of magmatic activity observed on Earth’s surface, and impact microbiological, chemical, and geological processes that shape the Earth and affect its inhabitants. Development of technology that provides access to the seafloor for exploration of the dynamic regions below it is a key component of the Institute's activities. Through deep ocean exploration, the Institute seeks scientific discoveries that provide a fuller understanding of the planet for the benefit of humankind.

Ocean and Climate Change Institute

The Ocean and Climate Change Institute:

• identifies the climatic effects of changing ocean circulation
• develops an ocean-monitoring network to forecast climate changes
• examines past records to expand understanding of ocean behavior
• studies ocean dynamics that may trigger large, abrupt climate shifts
•evaluates the ocean’s response to the buildup of greenhouse gases

The oceans store a thousand times more heat than the atmosphere. They circulate this heat around the planet in shifting patterns that dramatically affect world and regional climates—on time scales ranging from days (storms and hurricanes), to seasons (monsoons), to years (El Niños), to centuries (“little ice ages”).

Ocean Life Institute

The Ocean Life Institute is one of four ocean institutes WHOI established in 2000 that encompass areas of significant concern to the public and policymakers. The Institutes' goals are to close gaps that hinder scientific discoveries and to convey discoveries expeditiously into the public realm.

The Ocean Life Institute's mission is to launch high-risk, high-reward research that would not otherwise get off the ground—or in the water. The OLI builds bridges between different scientific disciplines to catalyze innovative thinking and collaboration that can open up wholly new scientific vistas.