Research Departments
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The autonomous underwater vehicle REMUS is released in Belize during a pilot study of the effect of ocean currents on fish larvae spawned on coral reefs. Similar population studies have been done near Papua New Guinea, and scientists hope to expand their efforts using the latest technology. (Photo by Andrey Shcherbina, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering Department
The Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department
(AOPE) is a unique collection of scientists, engineers, technical
support personnel and students conducting research into ocean processes
from the turbulent surf zone to the abyssal depths. This research
encompasses air-sea interaction on local and global scales, mixing
processes, sediment transport, estuarine and coastal hydrodynamics,
ocean acoustics, underwater communication, internal waves, signal
processing, mooring dynamics, and physical-biological processes.
AOPE engineers design a wide array of instruments, vehicles and
observing systems that extend the reach of WHOI scientists and the
entire oceanographic community to the furthest depth and breadth
of ocean research and exploration.
AOPE is home to the world renowned manned submersible Alvin and
unmanned vehicles Jason and ABE. The department also develops advanced
moored and bottom-mounted observation systems for short- and long-term
measurements. The recently constructed Martha's Vineyard Coastal
Observatory integrates atmospheric and oceanographic measurements
into a high-bandwidth, real-time data feed to WHOI and the worldwide
web, providing a continuous source of interdisciplinary data for
coastal and meteorological researchers.
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At a coral reef located offshore Lee Stocking Island in the Bahamas, a sea slug feeds on a sea whip. (Photo by Kristen Whalen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Biology Department
Oceanic biology is extraordinarily complex in the diversity of organisms
that inhabit the seas, their life habits, and in how they interact
with and contribute to essential global processes. Research in the
Biology Department at WHOI continues to be very broad in the subjects
studied and the approaches employed to identify and understand the
diversity of organisms and their functions. WHOI biologists study
organisms from the smallest scale (marine viruses and bacteria) to
the largest (whales). At each of these levels Department members address
questions from genetic make-up and biochemistry to population structure
and ecology. Aspects of oceanic life are investigated using powerful
techniques of molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology, sophisticated
acoustic and optical methods, and informatics applied to modeling
molecular, behavioral and population structures.
WHOI biologists perform studies in local Massachusetts and coastal
New England waters, and at sites around the globe (Polar Regions,
Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans). Special strengths in the department
continue to include the ecology and physiology of microbes, bio-optical
studies of phytoplankton, advanced optical and acoustic techniques
for zooplankton distribution and behavior, the ecology, behavior,
development and genetic history of invertebrates, mathematical analysis
and computer modeling of life history, population dynamics and physical-biological
interactions, toxicological and molecular biological research on pollution
effects in the sea, and acoustical, anatomical and behavioral studies
of marine mammals.
Related Links
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Geologist Ken Sims (left) and fellow climber Dennis Jackson prepare to descend into Masaya Volcano. By gathering gas samples from volcanoes worldwide, Sims is exploring how our planet is evolving and how volcanic gases cause climate changes that may even have led to the extinction of dinosaurs. Studying the gases also helps scientists understand when the volcano might next erupt and what effect gas emissions may have on human health. (Photo by Amy E. Nevala, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Geology & Geophysics Department
The Department of Geology and Geophysics (G&G)
conducts research into the role of the
oceans in past climate change, the geologic structure and tectonics
of the ocean basins and their margins, and the composition and dynamics
of the Earth’s mantle. The Department today consists of about
35 Ph.D. level Scientific Staff and another 27 Technical Staff (many
of whom hold Ph.D. degrees). In addition there are about 25 graduate
students pursuing their Ph.D. and 14 Postdoctoral Scholars, Fellows
and Investigators.
The Scientific and Technical staff carry
out research in a wide variety of disciplines in the marine geosciences
including marine geophysics (seismology, electromagnetism, magnetics
and gravity), tectonics, petrology and geochemistry, paleoceanography
and coastal and margins geology. The G&G Department hosts a number
of state-of-the-art analytical or instrumentation facilities including
the National Ocean Sciences Accelerator Mass
Spectrometry Facility
(NOSAMS), the Northeast
National Ion Microprobe Facility (NENIMF),
the Ice-Ocean Environmental Buoy Program (IOEB),
and part of the Ocean Bottom Seismic Instrumentation Pool.
Related Links
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When hot hydrothermal fluid jets from the seafloor and mixes with cold seawater, fine particles of dark metal sulfides precipitate out of solution, creating the appearance of black "smoke." (Image from IMAX film by William Reeve and Stephen Low, Stephen Low Productions)
Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry Department
Chemical reactions play a central role
in Earth processes, from the photosynthetic fixation of carbon by plants and
the cycling and availability of nutrients, to the reactions that influence the oxidation
state of the atmosphere and the oceans, to the weathering of continents and
formation of the Earth’s mantle and oceanic crust. Scientists and staff in the
Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry (MC&G) Department seek to address major
questions concerning processes that govern the chemistry of the ocean, and how
ocean chemistry impacts, and is impacted by, ocean life, climate, and geology
over a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. Particular emphasis is placed
on aspects of ocean chemistry that impinge on marine and global biogeochemical
cycles, including those that are influenced by anthropogenic activity. The development and application of analytical
approaches that advance our understanding of the environmental distribution
of chemicals is a major strength of the Department. In addition to fundamental studies on ocean
chemistry, these tools are increasingly applied as part of multifaceted,
interdisciplinary research programs to examine the chemically-driven processes
in the oceanic water column, at the sea floor and at the ocean’s interfaces
with the atmosphere and continents. This
is exemplified by the research involving analytical chemistry, biochemistry,
and molecular biology that WHOI scientists in the new Biogeochemistry
Laboratory are currently undertaking.
MC&G scientists also have considerable expertise in
devising new ways to obtain environmental samples from difficult to access
regions and under challenging conditions.Their studies take them from the local ponds and estuaries of Cape Cod
to the far reaches of the planet, from the most remote corner of the Pacific
Ocean to the dry valleys of the Antarctic continent, from the Greenland
ice cap to the deep-sea hydrothermal systems on mid-ocean ridges. Much current work focuses on the pathways and
geochemical processes at play in interactions between the continents and the
oceans, the influence and sensitivity of biogeochemical processes in low
nutrient regions of the oceans in relation to global climate, how ocean
chemistry has evolved in the geologic past, and the complex interplay between
ocean chemistry and microbial activity across the broad range of environments
that the oceans host. WHOI scientists
are continually developing new models to assess change, acquiring and inventing
new instruments, and pioneering new methods to make ever more sensitive
chemical analyses that improve our understanding of this extraordinarily
complex natural system. MC&G scientists are bringing their research
expertise to policy discussions and public debates on climate change and on
many other issues of environmental and societal concern.
Related Links
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WHOI scientist Claudia Cenedese (in dark shirt) simulates fluid flow and eddies around seamounts using a rotating table and colored dyes. Rachel Bueno de Mesquita (in pink) is a visiting researcher from the University of Rome. (Photo by Tom Kleindinst, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Physical Oceanography Department
Physical oceanography is the exploration and study of the physics
and geography of the ocean currents
and water properties. Some major components of physical oceanography
are the dynamics of ocean currents on scales from centimeters to
global, the variability of these currents on time-scales from seconds
to millennia, ocean wave phenomena, the distribution of heat and
salt and their transport through the ocean basins, the exchange
of momentum, heat and freshwater between the ocean and the atmosphere,
and interactions between oceans and rivers, estuaries, ice and marginal
seas. Physical oceanography has important applications in global
climate, oceanic mixing, and coastal studies, as well as being a
key element in interdisciplinary studies of primary production,
hydrothermal vents, and oceanic flux and storage of carbon dioxide.
The Physical Oceanography department began as a separate entity
at WHOI in 1962 with a total scientific staff of 20 and Fritz Fuglister
as our first chairman. Since then, the department has grown to its
highest ever population of 34 scientists at present. The scientific
foci include the general circulations of the oceans, climate variability,
shelf/slope dynamics, mixing, and air-sea interaction. Our department
is an active participant in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program with staff
giving courses and advising graduate students. Besides a population
of students, we have a number of Post Doctoral Scholars/Investigators
who provide an influx of new ideas and sometimes become new members
of our scientific staff. The department continues to maintain leadership
in ‘blue water’ oceanography and has grown to be one of the leaders
in coastal oceanography as well.
While ocean observations remain one of our principal missions, we
have increasingly developed modeling expertise, both analytical
and numerical, to support seagoing science and to better understand
fundamental ocean processes. The seagoing groups have evolved into
a number of technical and scientific groups having specialized equipment.