Coastal waters are important for reasons that include weather, national defense, shipping, fishing, human health, shoreline hazards, and mineral extraction. We affect the coastal ocean through our fishing practices, industrial pollution, habitat modifications, and agricultural runoff. And these environments affect us through fluctuating food supplies, water quality, harmful algal blooms, and the accumulation of wastewater. The coastal ocean is the most biologically productive part of the ocean. Nutrients from the deep and from the land well up into surface waters where there is sufficient light for plants to grow. Some mechanisms for this delivery are broadly understood but in general, we know very little about why our coasts are so productive.The Coastal Ocean Institute and Rinehart Coastal Research Center responds to these scientific and societal phenomena by supporting innovative experiments and field expeditions, and by communicating the scientific results to the public. Support the Coastal Ocean Institute Support the Coastal Ocean InstituteThe Coastal Ocean Institute engages in cutting-edge research, encouraging the multidisciplinary science required to resolve the complexities of many of the phenomena of the coastal zone. Learn how you can support its research. » Visit Web site Recent Research Highlights [more highlights] October 2, 2009The Hunt for Microbial 'Trojan Horses' In an age-old struggle, single-celled organisms have been eating bacteria. But some bacteria, including some that could cause diseases in people or animals, can survive within organisms and re-emerge. Is that also going on in the ocean, and does it pose a threat? Source: Oceanus Magazine  February 13, 2009Hurricane Hunter In a layer cake of mud cored from the bottom of lagoons, Jon Woodruff finds evidence for nameless unrecorded hurricanes and typhoons that throttled coastlines in the past—a record that can help scientists predict hurricane activity in the future. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 19, 2008Shellfish's Mysterious Pathways to Adulthood Christine Mingione is filling in the blanks between the larval and adult stages of shellfish such as scallops. Such fundamental missing information is essential for efforts to sustain and restore natural populations. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 31, 2008Cytobot Gives Early Red Tide Warning Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution biologists designed the Imaging Flow Cytobot as a basic research tool to reveal the ebb and flow of microscopic plant and animal life in the ocean. But it has already proved to have practical uses, too. Source: Oceanus Magazine  May 28, 2008Popular Way to Assess Oil Spills Can Be Misused The technique offers a rapid, low-cost way to locate large areas where oil has sunk to the bottom of rivers and oceans. But that doesn’t mean it can also effectively identify lesser levels of oil that can have harmful impacts on ecosystems and public health. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 2, 2007A 3-D Underwater Soundscape A venerable squadron of vessels and vehicles, as well as tons of equipment and dozens of people, are called in for the largest oceanographic field experiment in the 76-year history of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 23, 2007Still Toxic After All These Years Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 7, 2006Lakes and Climates Have Their Ups and Downs Probing the depths of New England lakes, scientists are reconstructing the rise and fall of the lakes and their underlying water tables through history, seeking clues to understand potential climate change in the region. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 27, 2006Chilly Scenes of Winter off Cape Cod Like the atmosphere with its ever-moving high- and low-pressure systems, the oceans have the equivalent of “undersea weather.” Our mission was to reveal how water masses off Cape Cod change during the winter. Source: Oceanus Magazine  March 22, 2006What Brings the Food that Brings the Whales? WHOI biologist Carin Ashjian leads a team of scientists examining the ecological and oceanic conditions that lead to annual bowhead whale migrations off the coast of Barrow, Alaska. Will climate change disrupt this ageless rhythm? Source: Oceanus Magazine Last updated: November 9, 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
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