Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Research Highlights July 22, 2009Buoys Help Avert Whale-Ship Collisions Exploiting technology used to build better tires, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution engineers built a remarkable mooring line that was stable and quiet enough to detect whale calls, yet strong and stretchy enough to survive stormy seas. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 15, 2009Turning a Toy into a Scientific Tool WHOI scientist Hanu Singh reasoned that a low-flying, remote-controlled model airplane with a digital camera in its belly could provide a low-cost way to collect data on melting Arctic ice floes and storm-damaged Caribbean coral reefs. WHOI engineer John Bailey was the perfect guy for the job. Source: Oceanus Magazine  June 4, 2009Nereus Soars to the Ocean's Deepest Trench Engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution surmounted a host of technological challenges to create a new type of deep-diving robot—named after a mythical Greek god with a fish tail and a man’s torso. (First in a six-part series on the development of Nereus.) Read the interviews with the engineers: Miles Under the Sea, Hanging on by a Hair-Thin Fiber A conversation with WHOI engineer Andy Bowen 2,000 Batteries Under the Sea A conversation with WHOI engineer Daniel Gomez-Ibañez Armed and Dexterous A conversation with WHOI engineer Matt Heintz Let There Be Light in the Dark Depths A conversation with WHOI engineer Jonathan Howland Floating Without Imploding A conversation with WHOI engineer Don Peters Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 3, 2009Jason Meets the Carnivorous Sea Squirt "It was truly one of those transcendent moments," said the cruise’s lead scientist. "We were flying over these deep-sea structures that look like English gardens, but are actually filled with all of these carnivorous, Seuss-like creatures that no one else has ever seen." Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 30, 2008A Deep-sea Chemical-Sniffing Bloodhound Mass spectrometers are often big and delicate instruments that require their own environmentally controlled rooms. WHOI engineer Rich Camilli developed one that scientists can bring into the depths to sensitively detect and measure tiny amounts of chemicals. 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  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 10, 2008Building the Next-Generation Alvin Submersible A two-phase plan to replace the stalwart Alvin research sub provides more room, power, maneuverability, and better views by 2010, with the option to dive past its current 4,500-meter limit all the way to 6,500 meters deep by around 2015. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 14, 2008Deeply Submerged Volcanoes Blow Their Tops A 2007 expedition to the remote Gakkel Ridge beneath the Arctic Ocean brought back tantalizing clues that volcanoes can erupt explosively—even under the intense pressure at the bottom of the sea. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 8, 2008New Robot Sub Surveys the Deep off the Pacific Northwest Scientists and engineers from WHOI and the University of Washington have successfully completed the first scientific mission with Sentry, a newly developed robot capable of diving as deep as 5,000 meters into the ocean. The vehicle surveyed and helped pinpoint several proposed deep-water sites for seafloor instruments that will be deployed in the Ocean Observatories Initiative. Source: Media Relations  August 8, 2008Researchers Successfully Forecast 2008 Red Tide A new computer model offers officials and fishermen a means to help minimize health risks and economic losses caused by shellfish tainted by the toxic algae, Alexandrium fundyense. Source: Oceanus Magazine  May 19, 2008Pilot Whales—the 'Cheetahs of the Deep Sea' Using innovative tags that monitor whales' sounds and movements in the depths, a new study has shown that different whales have evolved different hunting styles. That lets them coexist in the same territory—much like cheetahs amid other big cats on the Serengeti Plains. Source: Oceanus Magazine  May 9, 2008Can't Bring Deep-sea Samples Up? Send a Lab Down. To study deep-sea phenomena that can't be analyzed in the lab or at the surface, WHOI engineers Sheri White and Chip Breier are working on ways to modify a useful laboratory device known as a laser Raman spectrometer for work in difficult undersea conditions. Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 24, 2008Researchers See Potential for Significant 2008 "Red Tide" Season Researchers from WHOI and North Carolina State University are preparing for a potentially big bloom of harmful algae in New England waters this spring. A combination of abundant beds of algal seeds and excess winter precipitation have set the stage for an Alexandrium bloom similar to the historic “red tide” of 2005. Weather patterns and ocean conditions over the next few months will determine whether this year’s algal growth affects coastal shellfishing. Source: Media Relations  April 15, 2008DNA in Shipwrecked Jars Reveals Clues to Ancient World Newly developed genetic technique can reveal the contents of amphorae, the two-handled earthenware jars commonly used to store and transport goods in the ancient world, especially by sea. Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 15, 2008Arctic Voyage Tests New Robots for Ice-covered Oceans In the summer of 2007, an international team led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution sailed to the Arctic Ocean aboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden. Their missions: to test new robotic vehicles designed for use in ice-covered oceans and to search for volcanic activity and new deep-sea life forms on the previously unexplored Gakkel Ridge. Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 10, 2008Happy as a (Newly Discovered) Clam A biologist put pieces of wood on the seafloor to see what animals might settle on them, relying on a WHOI engineer to find them again. What she found was unusual—and so was the way she paid tribute to the engineer. Source: Oceanus Magazine  December 13, 2007Robot Paints Stunning Map of Deep-sea Volcano To create the map, the underwater vehicle known as ABE meticulously and methodically maintained a constant, low height above the rugged terrain of the active Brothers volcano, north of New Zealand. Source: Oceanus Magazine  October 1, 2007CSI Deep Water Like forensic investigators hunting for strands of DNA at a crime scene, researchers have for the first time used a genetic technique to detect archaeological clues that are invisible to the naked eye. Source: Media Relations  October 11, 2007Put the D-tag on the Manatee A sensor package originally designed to stick temporarily to smooth-skinned whales is adapted by WHOI engineers to attach to manatees Source: Oceanus Magazine  September 30, 2007Building International Bridges to Explore Ridges 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  July 3, 2007The Deepest Divers It's as small as a sandal, not much more sophisticated than an iPod, and has opened a window on the mysterious behavior of whales. Source: Oceanus Magazine  June 21, 2007Explorers to Use New Robotic Vehicles to Hunt for Life and Hydrothermal Vents on Arctic Seafloor Researchers will probe the Gakkel Ridge during expedition that begins on July 1. Source: Media Relations  April 12, 2007A Ridge Too Slow? An international expedition finds gushing hydrothermal vents for the first time on an ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridge, which were once thought to be hydrothermally inactive. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 10, 2006Gone Fish Assessing Scientists at WHOI are applying new technologies to help the National Marine Fisheries Services assess fish stocks and maintain critical habitats. Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 4, 2006Jason Versus the Volcano Undersea robot provides a rare close-up view of a deep-sea eruption. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 25, 2006Ocean Microscope Reveals Surprising Abundance of Life Using a new automated digital underwater microscope called a Video Plankton Recorder, scientists can observe and count bacteria and other tiny organisms over wide stretches of the ocean depths. Source: Oceanus Magazine  April 19, 2006ABE—The Autonomous Benthic Explorer The pioneering deep-submergence vehicle, now 10 years old, continues to demonstrate its versatility on each new cruise. Source: Oceanus Magazine  March 15, 2006New Sonar Method Offers Window into Squid Nurseries Squid fishing has increased substantially in the past decade, with no way to assess the continuing viability of the stock—until now. Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 11, 2006Going Wireless in the Deep Blue The experimental Nootka moored buoy observatory demonstrated how researchers can get data from, and send commands to, instruments on the seafloor in real time, using acoustic modems and Iridium satellites. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 23, 2005Action, Camera ... Lights Exploring the sunless seafloor can be like using a flashlight to find something in a dark basement. Now Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists and engineers have built a portable light system to illuminate the depths, essentially transforming areas of the deep sea into a photography studio. Source: Oceanus Magazine  November 18, 2005Scientists Find a New Twist in How Squids Swim Engineers had presumed that squid would take advantage of a hydrodynamic phenomenon known as vortex rings to propel themselves efficiently. It made sense theoretically, but when WHOI scientists Erik Anderson and Mark Grosenbaugh actually observed real-life squid swimming, they found that something else was going on. Source: Oceanus Magazine  September 1, 2005An Experiment to Dye For Airborne lasers track the ocean's swirling currents Source: Oceanus Magazine  August 18, 2005At the River's End In science, some of the most confounding and interesting questions come from the borderlands, where one physical world collides with another. In marine science, one of the most dynamic environments is where rivers meet the sea, in partially enclosed bays called estuaries. Here rivers tumble into tides, salt water mixes with fresh, and material washed from the land churns with sediments, nutrients, and chemicals imported from the sea. Source: Oceanus Magazine  July 15, 2005Red Tide—Gone for Now, But Back Next Year? WHOI researchers extend investigations of the Alexandrium bloom of 2005 and look for signs of future trouble Source: Oceanus Magazine  June 1, 2005Seeing Red in New England Waters WHOI researchers detect a massive bloom of algae before it hits the coast Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 28, 2005Robo-Sailors Navy-sponsored research spawns a new generation of underwater vehicles Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 25, 2005Where Are Mines Hiding on the Seafloor? Eternally and incessantly, waves and currents stir up sand from the seafloor near the coast. Sediments get suspended in the ocean, carried onshore and off, and deposited elsewhere. In the process, objects on the seafloor—natural and unnatural—can get buried and uncovered. Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 6, 2005The New Wave of Coastal Ocean Observing Shore stations and seafloor nodes provide connections for long-term studies of coastal processes Source: Oceanus Magazine  October 4, 2004Shaping the Beach, One Wave at a Time New research is deciphering how currents, waves, and sands change our shorelines Source: Oceanus Magazine  February 22, 2004Seeding the Seafloor with Observatories Scientists extend their reach into the deep with pioneering undersea cable networks Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 1, 2000Putting H2O in the Ocean A major obstacle impeding our ability to understand many of the earth’s fundamental, ongoing dynamics--quite frankly--has been a dearth of electrical outlets and phone jacks on the seafloor. Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 1, 2000Seafloor to Surface to Satellite to Shore The next great leap in our understanding of the earth-ocean system will require us to put our "eyes" and "ears" in the ocean to observe the dynamic processes going on there as they are happening, in real time. Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 1, 2000Where the Surf Meets the Turf The gentle lapping of waves on the beach is a metaphor for enduring tranquility. However, the thin zone where the surf meets the turf is one of the most turbulent, complex, fast-moving, constantly changing places on Earth. Source: Oceanus Magazine  January 1, 2000New Coastal Observatory Is Born The Martha's Vineyard Observatory will continually monitor a host of variables from two depths in the waters off Cape Cod. Source: Oceanus Magazine Last updated: October 9, 2009 | |||||||||||||
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