Our research philosophy
The ocean is a vast and formidable place to work, yet knowledge of the ocean is crucial to understanding its relationship to the rest of the planet, including humans. WHOI scientists and engineers take on difficult questions in challenging environments in order to expand our knowledge of this critical part of the earth system.
Areas of Research
WHOI scientists and engineers address a wide range of questions to form a multi-dimensional picture of the global ocean and its relationship to the rest of the planet, including human society. Areas we study include
- Climate and oceans
- Coastal science
- Ocean life
- Ocean resources
- Pollution
- Seafloor and below
- Tools and technology
Departments, Centers & Labs
Nearly 400 scientists and engineers at WHOI are organized into one of six research divisions and also address a range of cross-disciplinary issues through several centers and labs as well as four Ocean Institutes.
The Ocean Institutes
WHOI’s four Ocean Institutes focus research around key, interdisciplinary issues and also provide in-house funding to scientists who are pursuing high-risk, high-reward lines of inquiry.
Programs & Projects
WHOI directly manages or contributes to a number of community-wide scientific efforts that help advance ocean research both nationally and internationally.
Technology Transfer
Many advances by WHOI researchers have proven commercial applications, and the Institution remains committed to making this technology available to potential partners.
Scientific Facilities & Services
WHOI offers a variety of facilities and services for use by researchers inside and outside the Institution.
Recent Publications
Povinec, P. P., Burnett, W. C., Beck A, Bokuniewicz, H., Charette, M., more..., Isotopic geophysical and biogeochemical investigation of submarine groundwater discharge IAEA UNESCO intercomparison exercise at Mauritius Island, Journal of Environmental Radioactivity (2012)
Mouw Colleen B, Yoder, James A., Doney, Scott C., Impact of phytoplankton community size on a linked global ocean optical and ecosystem model, Journal of Marine Systems (2012)
Renz, Jasmin, Stegert, Christoph, Peters, Janna, Moll, Andreas, Hirche Hans Jürgen, Linking stage resolved population models with field observations an integrated approach on population dynamics of Pseudocalanus elongatus in the German Bight, Journal of Plankton Research (2012)
Treibitz Tali, Schechner Yoav Y, Kunz, Clayton, Singh, Hanumant, Flat Refractive Geometry, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (2012)
Estapa, Margaret L, Boss, Emmanuel, Mayer Lawrence M, Roesler Collin S, Role of iron and organic carbon in mass specific light absorption by particulate matter from Louisiana coastal waters, Limnology and Oceanography (2012)