2005 News Releases
December 23, 2005
Rerouting of Major Rivers in Asia Provides Clues to Mountains of the Past
Scientists use lab techniques and sediment cores from the ocean to help
explain how rivers have changed course over millions of years.
December 19, 2005
WHOI Seeks to Raise $200 Million in Comprehensive Campaign
Campaign to seek sufficient funds to preserve the Institution's
competitiveness, flexibility and leadership role is the largest WHOI
has conducted.
December 12, 2005
Noah’s Flood: New Evidence of Catastrophic Flooding in the Black Sea
Results from a July 2005 cruise in the Black Sea may settle a longstanding debate over evidence of a megaflood in the Black Sea, the so-called “Noah’s Flood.”
December 7, 2005
Fine-tuning the Steps in the Intricate Climate Change Dance
New scientific findings are strengthening the case that rapid climate change may be related to how vigorously ocean currents move heat between low and high latitude.
December 5, 2005
New Technology for New Exploration of Hydrothermal Vents
Advances in undersea imaging systems, the development of new vehicles and instruments, and improved seafloor mapping capabilities have enabled scientists to explore areas of the deep sea in unprecedented detail.
December 1, 2005
Insight into Freshwater Input to the North Atlantic Ocean
The strongest climate cooling event in the last 10,000 years occurred about 8,200 years ago. Known as the 8.2 ka event, it was an abrupt release of freshwater to the ocean as the superlake Agassiz drained through Hudson Strait into the Labrador Sea.
December 1, 2005
WHOI Blog from AGU
Check the WHOI blog for news updates from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting.
December 1, 2005
Dual Vehicle Operations a Sign of the Future in Seafloor Exploration
Deploying two or more underwater vehicles from a single vessel makes better use of ship time and personnel, but requires specific technical capabilities and careful scheduling.
November 30, 2005
How Squid Swim: The Difference Between Theory and Observation
For years, some engineers believed squid likely propelled themselves through water by creating vortex rings, forcing fluid out of their pipe-shaped funnels to create smoke-ring-like structures. But the experience of WHOI researchers suggested otherwise, so they set up experiments to check the theories against observational evidence.
November 30, 2005
Bouncing Among the Arctic Ice: The Ultimate Arctic Machine?
WHOI scientists exploring the largely unknown currents beneath the polar sea ice have designed and successfully tested a new float that drifts at various depths through the oceans measuring water temperature and salinity.
November 30, 2005
Deep-sea Light Post Transforms the Ocean Floor into a Photography Studio
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists (WHOI) and engineers have designed a portable deep-sea light post to illuminate the dark ocean floor.
October 26, 2005
WHOI Announces New Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean
Jim Yoder, a biological oceanographer well known in the oceanographic research community, will assume his new duties at WHOI November 28.
October 17, 2005
New Genetic Test Can Detect Clam Disease Crippling Shellfish Industry and Threatening Aquaculture Operations
A new genetic test can detect QPX, a deadly disease in clams and a threat to the shellfish industry.
September 30, 2005
Boston Globe, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Journalists To be Honored by WHOI
Three journalists will receive the 2005 Ocean Science Journalism Award from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for excellence in communicating ocean science to the public
September 29, 2005
Marine Organisms Threatened By Increasingly Acidic Ocean
Corals and other marine organisms will find it hard to build shells if increasing carbon dioxide levels continue to change ocean chemistry, according to a new study.
September 28, 2005
WHOI Holds Commencement Ceremonies as Part of 75th Anniversary Celebration
Thirty-four degrees awarded to MIT/WHOI Joint Program graduates in special Woods Hole ceremony.
September 1, 2005
Alvin Is Going to Pieces...Again
The Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin will return home to Woods Hole in mid-October after two years and be taken apart right down to its titanium frame.
September 1, 2005
Studies at the Top of the World
Two Institution scientists spent the past six weeks crossing the Arctic Ocean from Barrow, Alaska, to Svalbard, Norway, onboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden, which has been working with the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to collect data about the stratigraphy of Arctic Ocean water masses, dominant physical and chemical processes, and response to change of Arctic Ocean waters, including the distribution of industrial chemicals.
September 1, 2005
A Trip for the Record Books
Research Vessel Knorr will pass another milestone in its long career when it reaches one million miles traveled for ocean science this month.
August 31, 2005
Freshwater and Saltwater Interactions in Coastal Groundwater Systems May Provide Clues to Chemicals Entering Coastal Waters
Scientists have recently recognized an imbalance in the flow of salty groundwater into the coastal ocean. The timing of that flow may be key to the health of coastal waters.
August 25, 2005
New Images Reveal Different Magma Pools Form the Ocean's Crust
For the first time, scientists have produced images of the ocean crust that begin to answer some lingering questions about where new crust comes from and whether it is all formed the same way.
August 16, 2005
Earth's Ability to Absorb Increased Carbon Emissions May Be Limited
The ability of the planet to absorb increased emissions of carbon dioxide is limited, according to a recent study using a new computer model of Earth's climate that takes into account the planet's carbon cycle.
August 14, 2005
Scientists Use New Methods to Track and Protect Threatened Species
Antibiotics and genetics help researchers track fish populations, and the results are both surprising and encouraging.
July 29, 2005
WHOI Scientists and Engineers Explore "Lost City" in the Atlantic
WHOI biologist goes to sea in a new way, using technology first envisioned more than 15 years ago.
July 28, 2005
Astrobiology Exhibit Visits Woods Hole this Summer
Life on Earth and in the universe is the theme of a traveling exhibit on astrobiology at the WHOI Exhibit Center this summer.
July 22, 2005
Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Study Says Population in Crisis
Ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear threaten the survival of the remaining 350 North Atlantic right whales, and scientists say that unless emergency management actions are taken the population will face a catastrophic decline and become extinct.
July 15, 2005
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Celebrates 75th Anniversary in 2005
The public is invited to join in many of the 75th anniversary activities, which begin August 6 with an Anything- But-a-Boat Regatta.
July 12, 2005
2005 New England Red Tide Media Briefings July 14
July 1, 2005
A Natural Petroleum Spring
Bubbles stream from vents surrounding misshapen cones formed by thick liquid oozing from the sea floor.
July 1, 2005
Life in Extreme Environments
Scientists have long known of organisms adapted to environments that appear in hospitable to any form of life, living in the 600-700°F waters of hydrothermal vents on the sea floor, in pitch dark mine shafts a mile below ground, or clinging to the frigid underside of polar ice sheets.
July 1, 2005
The Internal Weather of the Sea
Currents, fronts and eddies, often called the internal weather of the sea, are major components of ocean circulation and can change the chemical and biological environment in the ocean.
June 22, 2005
Marine Task Force to Develop National Standards for Ocean Aquaculture Announced
Establishment of a Marine Aquaculture Task Force announced by WHOI and The Pew Charitable Trusts
June 16, 2005
How Much Excess Fresh Water Was Added to the North Atlantic in Recent Decades?
Continued Freshening of the North Atlantic Could Slow the Conveyor in the 21st Century
June 8, 2005
Scientists Map Ocean Floor Near Palmer Station in Antarctica
With inflatable boats and an underwater robot, a research team makes the first new chart of Antarctic waters in 50 years.
June 1, 2005
Blooms of a Different Sort
Commonly called "red tides," harmful algal blooms, or HABs, are an abundance or "bloom" of single-celled marine algae called phytoplankton that grow and multiply under the right conditions.
June 1, 2005
What is That in the Water?
As summer vacations approach, beachgoers might want to bring along a guide to what they and their children will see on the beach and in the water.
June 1, 2005
Hurricanes and the Coastal Zone
With hurricane season arriving June 1, along with predictions of an above normal number of major storms in the Atlantic and Gulf States, understanding how the ocean and atmospheric interact and what role changing climate has on the formation of hurricanes is critical.
May 31, 2005
G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation Honored by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Foundation presented the Cecil H. Green Award for outstanding contributions to oceanographic research at the Institution.
May 26, 2005
WHOI Scientists Monitor Largest Red Tide Outbreak in 12 Years in Massachusetts Bay
Faced with a "perfect storm" of red tide, WHOI scientists share data quickly with public health officials
May 25, 2005
New Underwater Volcano Found Near Samoa
An international team of scientists has discovered a new underwater volcano near Samoa, complete with its own "Eel City."
May 9, 2005
Scientists Find Unusual Use of Metals in the Ocean
Cadmium, commonly considered a toxic metal and often used in combination with nickel in batteries, has been found to have a biological use as a nutrient in the ocean, the first known biological use of cadmium in any life form.
May 3, 2005
WHOI Scientist Elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Geologist and isotope geochemist Stan Hart is elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest learned societies in the country.
May 1, 2005
Exploring the Seas from Top to Bottom
WHOI research vessels are exploring the oceans this spring from Bermuda to the Bay of Fundy in the North Atlantic and from Mexico to the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific, conducting studies related to climate change, harmful algal blooms, exotic marine life on the sea floor and the formation of the earth's crust.
May 1, 2005
Diving to the Rosebud Vents - Galápagos Rift
In 2002, researchers diving in the submersible Alvin returned to the Galápagos Rift, a mid-ocean ridge about 250 miles from the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific Ocean where hydrothermal vents and exotic organisms were first found in 1977.
May 1, 2005
Tiny Computer Tag Provides Insight to Reclusive Beaked Whales
A miniature computer weighing less than 5 ounces attached to the backs of beaked whales with suction cups is providing new clues to the behavior and sounds made by the deep-diving reclusive species.
April 29, 2005
Salty Staircase in the Atlantic Provides Clues to Ocean Mixing
Although scientists have known about salt fingers since 1960, when they were discovered at WHOI, they have not understood their role in ocean mixing and the ability of the ocean to absorb heat, carbon dioxide and pollutants from the atmosphere. Results of a new experiment may change all that.
April 20, 2005
Sea Squirt Invasion: Scientists Gather at WHOI for First International Conference
Scientists, natural resource managers and students from four continents will gather at WHOI April 21 and 22 to discuss a growing global problem: the sea squirt.
April 15, 2005
New Coral Dating Technique Helps Resolve Changes in Sea Level Rise in the Past
Corals from Papua New Guinea and Barbados indicate that changes in sea level, one of the key indexes for global climate change, may have been more frequent in the past than previously thought.
April 1, 2005
WHOI Establishes Award to Recognize Contributions of Navy Admiral, Oceanographer
A former Oceanographer of the Navy and Rear Admiral who headed Marine Operations at WHOI has been honored with the establishment of a fellowship, presented for the first time to an Navy student.
March 28, 2005
Changes in Earth's Tilt Control When Glacial Cycles End
Scientists have long debated what causes glacial cycles, which have occurred most recently at intervals of about 100,000 years. A new study finds that these glacial cycles are paced by variations in the tilt of Earth’s axis, and that glaciations end when Earth's tilt is large.
March 24, 2005
Underwater Robot Launched from Bermuda to Cross Gulf Stream
The remote-controlled Spray glider takes historic steps toward a new era of ocean exploration.
March 24, 2005
Deep-Sea Tremors May Provide Early Warning System for Larger Earthquakes
Predicting when large earthquakes might occur may be a step closer to reality, thanks to a new study of undersea earthquakes in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
March 24, 2005
Elephants Imitate Sounds as a Form of Social Communication
Elephants learn to imitate sounds that are not typical of their species, the first known example after humans of vocal learning in a non-primate terrestrial mammal.
March 1, 2005
Scanning the Seafloor
WHOI researchers and colleagues from other laboratories will be able to look at mud from the seafloor in a new way, thanks to a high-tech scanner capable of making rapid, non-destructive, ultra-high-resolution analyses of sediment cores from the seafloor around the world.
March 1, 2005
Assessing Algerian Earthquake Risk
Scientists from WHOI and USGS Menlo Park will be assessing future earthquake risk in Algeria and training Algerian researchers under a new two-year project funded by the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
March 1, 2005
Barnacles and Mangroves
In a lush stand of mangroves on the Pacific coast of Panama, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) biologist is looking for encrusting barnacles and oysters, common on the roots of mangroves in one stand but nearly absent in a nearby mangrove area.
February 24, 2005
Duke, Woods Hole Geologists Discover 'Clockwork' Motion by Ocean Floor Microplates
A team of geologists from Duke University and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has discovered a grinding, coordinated ballet of crustal "microplates" unfolding below the equatorial east Pacific Ocean within a construction zone for new seafloor.
February 10, 2005
Chemical Compounds Found in Whale Blubber Are From Natural Sources, Not Industrial Contamination
Whale blubber provides definitive clues to the source of chemical compounds found in humans and marine mammals, produced for industrial use but also naturally by plants and animals.
January 13, 2005
Major Caribbean Earthquakes and Tsunamis a Real Risk
Major earthquakes have struck the Caribbean through history, and WHOI scientists warn this raises the possibility of a tsunami in the populous region
January 7, 2005
WHOI Scientist to Receive American Meteorological Society Award
Joseph Pedlosky, a physical oceanographer known for his theories of wind driven ocean circulation and the fluid dynamics of the oceans will receive the 2005 Sverdrup Gold Medal from the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
January 1, 2005
Center for Ocean, Seafloor and Marine Observing Systems Established at WHOI
With decades of experience designing, building and operating marine observing systems of many types around the world, the Institution has established a Center for Ocean, Seafloor and Marine Observing Systems (COSMOS) to provide administrative, management and systems engineering oversight of large observatory and observing systems projects underway at WHOI.
January 1, 2005
Tsunami Warning Buoy Deployed off Chile
Scientists from the Chilean Navy Hydrographic and Oceanographic Office (SHOA), in cooperation with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), deployed a SHOA tsunami warning buoy off Northern Chile in the Pacific in December 2004 just prior to the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami.
January 1, 2005
WHOI Celebrates 75th Anniversary with Science Symposium, Open House
The Institution will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2005 with a series of activities ranging from an Anything-But-a-Boat Regatta in August to a public open house and science symposium in September.