Ready to Roll

Whit, a guide dog who works with oceanographer Britt Raubenheimer, keeps an eye on oceanographer Steve Elgar from the seat of a WHOI jet ski. Elgar took this photo from a neighboring slip in La Conner, Wash., on Puget Sound. The jet ski is equipped with sonar, GPS, and pitch and roll sensors the researchers use to map the seafloor in the shallow water of the Skagit Tidal Flats, a crucial migratory habitat for salmon and seabirds. Raubenheimer, Elgar, and their students studied how the flats change due to tides, winds, and storms. Today is Whit’s 11th birthday.(Photo courtesy of Steve Elgar, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)