Physical Oceanography Highlights & Events
Upcoming Events
Physical Oceanography Seminars
Seminars are held in Clark 507 on Tuesdays at 3 p.m., unless noted otherwise. Occasional special seminars are on Thursdays at 10 a.m. Refreshments (cookies) are available 15 minutes before the seminar.
Buoy Lunch
The Buoy Lunch will be held on the second and fourth Mondays of the month at noon in Clark Annex Conference Room 271 unless noted on schedule.
WHOI Calendar
View listings for seminars happening around WHOI.
Online Expeditions Featuring PO Researchers
To the Denmark Strait
August 23 - September 24, 2011
Researchers hunt for the origins of a mysterious current in the North Atlantic
Dynamite: Dynamics of Abyssal Mixing and Interior Transports Experiment
May to June, 2011
Follow researchers as the study deep mixing and circulation in the North Atlantic ocean.
Fukushima Radiation in the PacificFukushima Radiation in the Pacific
June 3 - 17, 2011
Follow scientists on board the R/V Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa examine many of the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of the ocean that either determine the fate of radioactivity in the water or that are potentially affected by radiation in the marine environment.
Vanishing Arctic
August 28, 2010
Dallas Murphy reports back from Bob Pickart’s expedition aboard the U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Healy to study the effects of warming and climate change in the Arctic.
Irminger Sea
information about the water and atmosphere to learn how storms influence the sea.
Polar Discovery
2007-2009
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) are on their way to a North Pole ice camp to deploy instruments that will make year-round observations of the water beneath the Arctic ice cap to learn more about the changing global climate.
Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project
A series of nine expeditions from 2003 to 2011
The purpose is to study fresh water accumulation and release mechanism and the role of fresh
water in Arctic climate variability.
Ocean InSight: Irminger Rings in the Labrador Sea
September 19 to 28, 2007
Join oceanographer Amy Bower as she travels on the R/V Knorr to the Labrador Sea to install a deep water mooring and technology to observe currents. She will be posting interactive updates on the OceanInsight website, which has special enhancements for the visually impaired.
Cruising Where Currents Collide
August 2004 and February 2005
At Cape Hatteras offshore North Carolina, scientists are learning about the turbulent meeting of two powerful Atlantic currents. See photos and read about their research.
Edge of the Arctic Shelf
2002-2004
A series of three expeditions from 2002 to 2004, the Edge of the Arctic shelf covers cruises that represent the physical oceanographic component of the Western Arctic Shelf Basin Interactions (SBI) Experiment. The overall goal is to understand how the Arctic shelves communicate with the interior basin from a coupled physical--biogeochemical standpoint.
Recent Research Highlights [more highlights]
November 1, 2012
Storms, Floods, and Droughts
The cycle that transports water around the Earth is intensifyingSource: Oceanus Magazine
October 12, 2012
Calculating Evaporation from the Ocean
Scientists strive to unravel a mix of dynamic factorsSource: Oceanus Magazine
July 20, 2012
A Robotic Albatross?
Soaring seabirds offer lessons on glider technologySource: Oceanus Magazine
June 7, 2012
Beneath Arctic Ice, Life Blooms Spectacularly
Pools of water atop ice act as lenses to focus sunlightSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 23, 2012
A Newfound Cog in the Ocean Conveyor
Scientists confirm existence of a previously unknown currentSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 9, 2012
Lessons from the 2011 Japan Quake
What have scientists learned about its cause and consequences?Source: Oceanus Magazine
February 14, 2012
The Great South Channel
Where marine life meets to feast every springSource: Oceanus Magazine
January 25, 2012
Powerful Currents in Deep-Sea Gorges
What energy drives these currents in hundreds of seafloor Grand Canyons?Source: Oceanus Magazine
November 10, 2011
Between the Beach and the Deep Blue Sea
Student explores the dynamic gateway of the shallow inner shelfSource: Oceanus Magazine
August 11, 2011
The Ghost Mooring
WHOI engineers find equipment lost in the Antarctic a decade agoSource: Oceanus Magazine
May 13, 2011
Another Piece in the Arctic Puzzle
Latest Ice-Tethered Profiler installed to monitor polar conditionsSource: Oceanus Magazine
April 28, 2011
Where Ocean and Ice Meet
An audio slideshow on working in Greenland's glacial fjordsSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 23, 2011
Gliders Tracked Potential for Oil to Reach the East Coast
Finding the location shifting Gulf Loop Current was criticalSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 17, 2011
Of Wings, Waves, and Winds
WHOI oceanographer explores the mysteries of albatross flightSource: Oceanus Magazine
February 25, 2011
When 'The Fish Are Biting' Is Bad News
Researchers found cause of mysterious damage to mooring linesSource: Oceanus Magazine
February 1, 2011
Where the Food Is in the Sea, and Why
Student unravels the physics at the fertile continental shelf breakSource: Oceanus Magazine
January 19, 2011
Exploring the Arctic in the Midst of Change
The polar region's distinctive feature also makes it hard to study: iceSource: Oceanus Magazine
December 10, 2010
Building Them Tough, Bringing Them Back
WHOI's pioneering Buoy Group celebrates its 50th anniversarySource: Oceanus Magazine
November 24, 2010
WHOI Engineer Turns Author
An audio slideshow: New book chronicles fateful expeditionSource: Oceanus Magazine
October 29, 2010
The Icebot
A video documents expedition to use robots under Arctic iceSource: Oceanus Magazine
August 25, 2010
Boy Scouts Get a Taste of Oceanography
WHOI engineer helps Scouts earn merit badges at national JamboreeSource: Oceanus Magazine
June 18, 2010
The Call of the Sea
An ocean engineer-turned-businessman returned to WHOI and the work he loves mostSource: Oceanus Magazine
June 18, 2010
Basic Sea Cable Gets a High-tech Upgrade
WHOI engineer's discovery will help scientists track undersea contaminants from Gulf oil spillSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 25, 2010
Mysteries at High Latitudes
A WHOI graduate student explores tip jets and deep convectionSource: Oceanus Magazine
February 4, 2010
Into the Wild Irminger Sea
WHOI ship, scientists, and crew probe strategic oceanic gatewaySource: Oceanus Magazine
October 9, 2009
Floats Reveal Unknown Ocean Pathways
The North Atlantic's circulation is more complex than previously thoughtSource: Oceanus Magazine
February 20, 2009
As the World Turns and the Oceans Flow
In his lab, Jack Whitehead gets to the essence of complex phenomenaSource: Oceanus Magazine
January 9, 2009
Ocean Conveyor's 'Pump' Switches Back On
How will climate warming affect ocean circulation? The answer isn't so simple.Source: Oceanus Magazine
December 23, 2008
What Makes the Great Ocean Currents Flow?
Audio slideshow: A graduate student explores the Gulf Stream and the KuroshioSource: Oceanus Magazine
October 7, 2008
The Ultimate Fluid Environment for Scientists
An audio slideshow celebrates the 50th year of the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Program at WHOISource: Oceanus Magazine
September 25, 2008
'Green' Energy Powers Undersea Glider
Thermal glider uses heat from the ocean to fly through the deep blueSource: Oceanus Magazine
September 17, 2008
The Spiral Secret to Mammal Hearing
... and other recent research findings by WHOI scientistsSource: Oceanus Magazine
September 11, 2008
Corralling the Wild and Wooly Southern Ocean
Graduate student creates supercomputer model to tame a vast, remote oceanSource: Oceanus Magazine
November 30, 2007
OceanInsights for the Blind
WHOI scientist creates a bond with visually impaired studentsSource: Oceanus Magazine
October 25, 2007
A New Way to Monitor Changes in the Arctic
Ice-Tethered Profilers go with the floe, relaying daily data from the ice-covered oceanSource: Oceanus Magazine
September 24, 2007
A Warm Eddy Swirling in the Cold Labrador Sea
A conversation with WHOI physical oceanographer Amy BowerSource: Oceanus Magazine
June 27, 2007
The Ocean—Captured in a Box
An "experimentalist" encapsulates ocean fluid dynamics in the labSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 30, 2007
Measuring Raindrops in the Ocean
A quest to engineer sensitive but tough meteorological instruments for buoys at seaSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 27, 2007
Letter from Kangiqsujuaq
A mooring in the remote Hudson Strait offers a finger on the pulse of unfolding Arctic changeSource: Oceanus Magazine
March 15, 2007
Current Events off Antarctica
Graduate student helps discover a previously unknown ocean currentSource: Oceanus Magazine
February 8, 2007
Why the West Wind Wobbles
Are changes in wintertime climate random or predictable?Source: Oceanus Magazine
January 31, 2007
Reaching Up Into Perilous, Icy Waters
The 'Arctic Winch' sends sensors toward the underside of sea ice—and back againSource: Oceanus Magazine
January 26, 2007
A Mooring Built to Survive the Irminger Sea
It takes a tough buoy to stand tall when tip jets howl off the Greenland ice capSource: Oceanus Magazine
Recent People Highlights [more highlights]