 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  December 23, 2008What Makes the Great Ocean Currents Flow? Powerful currents drive the oceans' circulation and Earth's climate. MIT/WHOI Joint Program graduate student Stephanie Waterman has investigated the underlying physics that drive the currents. (Production and audio by Ari Daniel Shapiro.) Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 19, 2008The Turtle and the Robot In a field known as biomimetic robotics, the goal is to observe nature’s solution to a problem and apply it to engineering—in this case, watching turtle flippers to make a more manueverable underwater vehicle. Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 12, 2008Tracking Nitrogen's Elusive Trail in the Ocean Fertilizers have leaked into the oceans, loading coastal waters with excess nitrogen and possibly leading to another greenhouse gas to watch: nitrous oxide. Any attempts to restore the nitrogen balance on our planet requires more understanding of how nitrogen moves through the environment. Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 12, 2008Another Greenhouse Gas to Watch: Nitrous Oxide Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 5, 2008A Tale of Two Oceans, and the Monsoons If we could forecast the Asian monsoons, we could prepare for droughts and floods. But so far, the monsoons have defied prediction, partly because they arise from complex interactions among land, air, and the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 25, 2008A Most Ingenious Paradoxical Plankton Meet 'Team Tricho'—a trio of MIT/WHOI graduate students investigating the splendid diversity of a critical marine bacteria called Trichodesmium. 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  November 13, 2008A Tag Fit for a Porpoise When it comes to research technology for marine mammals, one size doesn't fit all. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 3, 2008Listening In As Bacteria 'Talk' to Each Other The multitudes of single-celled bacteria that inhabit the oceans have evolved a way to communicate with each other, come together, and coordinate their behavior. Source: Oceanus Magazine  October 22, 2008How Does Nature Deal with Persistent Pollutants? How do notorious man-made pollutants such as mercury, DDT, and PCBs reach dangerous concentrations in animals at the top of the food chain—even when concentrations of these pollutants in the ocean are low and considered "safe"? Source: Oceanus Magazine  October 15, 2008One Man's Swamp Is a Fish's Nursery As a kid, Kelton McMahon was dazzled by the fish on coral reefs. As graduate student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program, he is exploring ways to save them. Source: Oceanus Magazine  September 3, 2008Testing the Waters and Closing Beaches Current methods to determine if water quality meets public health standards create a lag time in which beachgoers might be swimming in bacteria before the results are in. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 26, 2008Biochemical Warfare on the Reef Graduate student Kristen Whalen discovers that a tropical marine snail detoxifies compounds soft corals produce to discourage predation, letting it feed on the corals undeterred. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 24, 2008For Graduate Student, Research Is a Gas Naomi Levine is tracking how the oceans absorbs carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas that is warming the Earth, and how the ocean is venting dimethylsulfide, a gas that helps make clouds that help cool the planet. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 1, 2008Antarctic Andrea In her second year in graduate school, Andrea Burke fulfilled a dream to explore Antarctica, packing her pickax for a month-long expedition in a remote camp on the lava flows near Mount Morning. Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 3, 2008Protecting Public Health by Preventing Pollution "The old adage, ‘It’s easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission,’ doesn't apply with Mother Nature," says MIT/WHOI graduate student Desirée Plata.“We need to be proactive about preventing future environmental catastrophes." Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 20, 2007Plumbing the Plume That Created Samoa Instead of shovels, Matt Jackson uses seismometers to see what’s happening deep inside our planet, teasing out clues about the long plumes of magma rising from Earth's mantle beneath ocean island chains. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 9, 2007Eavesdropping on Whales' Mealtime Conversation Orcas swim circles around schools of herring to herd them together, before slapping them with their tails to stun them and then eat them—a behavior known as "carousel feeding." Source: Oceanus Magazine  June 20, 2007What Does It Take To Break a Whale? Graduate student Regina Campbell-Malone's research on the strength, flexibility, and breaking points of whale bones will help set vessel speed limits to prevent collisions that kill North Atlantic right whales. Source: Oceanus Magazine  March 15, 2007Current Events off Antarctica The newly found Antarctic Peninsula Coastal Current may play an important role in recharging the fertile marine ecosystem off the icy continent Source: Oceanus Magazine  February 21, 2007Young Pup Teaches Old Undersea Robotic Bloodhound New Tricks Mike Jakuba's Ph.D. mission was to create sophisticated computer programs that allow a free-swimming deep-sea robot to assess data, make "decisions," and reprogram itself to chart a new course—to begin to "think" the way a scientist would. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 6, 2006A Rare Glimpse Into the Ocean's Crust A seismic shift on the Atlantic Ocean floor sloughed off the top layer of rock, exposing a view of the usually hidden lower crust and upper mantle. Source: Oceanus Magazine  June 19, 2006A Laser Light in the Ocean Depths For decades, researchers have used a technology called laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to determine the chemical composition of rocks or other samples. But light doesn't work in quite the same way at the bottom of the ocean as it does in air. Source: Oceanus Magazine  February 10, 2006Graduate Student Discovers an Unusual New Species Several marine bacteria incorporate magnetic compounds that orient them northward (and downward in the Northern Hemisphere) along Earth's magnetic field lines, where they find low-oxygen waters. The "barbell" bacterium inexplicably orients itself southward. Source: Oceanus Magazine  October 24, 2005Scientific (and Surfing) Safari Eric Montie is—undeniably—a surfer dude. But watch him spend hours in the lab developing methods to learn if chemical contaminants are affecting dolphin brains. It's evident that his interest in the ocean runs much deeper than finding the gnarliest wave. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 26, 2005Double Duty for Ensign/Student Allison Berg Ensign Allison Berg won the first Pittenger Fellowship for naval officers in MIT/WHOI Joint Program. In collaboration with WHOI Research Specialist Eugene Terray, Berg will conduct a field experiment using Sonic Detection and Ranging (SODAR) systems to study winds near the ocean’s surface. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 26, 2005Meet the Class of 2005-2007 Nine U.S. Navy officers are pursuing graduate degrees in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering through a special arrangement between the institutions. Source: Oceanus Magazine  May 18, 2005Rambling Atop an Active Volcano With machete in hand and 60 pounds of satellite receiver and tripod on his back, Jeff Standish looked up into the lush tropical brush that covered the volcano, up a steep escarpment, and up again to the summit 3,000 feet above sea level. Then he turned to Rhea Workman, a graduate student in the WHOI/MIT Joint Program, and said, "We're going up where?" Source: Oceanus Magazine  March 30, 2005MIT/WHOI Graduate Leads the World's Tsunami Awareness Program Laura Kong, a 1990 joint program graduate, was one of the first people in the world to learn the magnitude of the Sumatran earthquake of 2004 Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 1, 2003Erik Anderson A dolphin should not be able to swim. So said Cambridge University zoologist James Gray in the 1930s. The friction caused by water moving over a dolphin's skin, he said, should be like swimming in cold molasses. But dolphins obviously can swim, and Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering student Erik Anderson wants to find out why.  August 1, 2003Emily Van Ark Peering into the hot, dense bowels of the Earth, Geology and Geophysics student Emily Van Ark is helping to develop a picture of the planet's interior.  November 1, 2003Linda Kalnejais Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry student Linda Kalnejais works in the coastal zone, studying the toxic metals that can accumulate there through pollution released into rivers, drainage systems and groundwater.  February 24, 2004Diane Poehls On her 22nd birthday, Biology student Diane Poehls received a most unusual present: a chance to spend the next day under 2500 meters (1.5 miles) of seawater.  October 1, 2003Timothy Prestero Timothy Prestero wants to change the world. He's doing it, through a company he co-founded while working on his MIT/WHOI Joint Program degrees.  December 1, 2003Geoffrey "Jake" Gebbie Physical Oceanography student Jake Gebbie uses data collected from ships and satellites to develop numerical models that help scientists understand long term weather and climate change.  April 1, 2004MIT/WHOI Joint Program, Biology Vanja Klepac-Ceraj and Petra Klepac are sisters studying in Massachusetts. But their home is Croatia, where childhood sailing trips sparked their interest in marine science careers. Today they are both students in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program. Last updated: November 9, 2009 | |||||||||||||
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