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Sunspots, Sea Changes, and Climate Shifts

Sunspots, Sea Changes, and Climate Shifts

Natural materials such as shells, ice, corals, and tree rings contain clues to help scientists piece together how our oceans, atmosphere, and land have changed in the past. The history…

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Lakes and Climates Have Their Ups and Downs

Lakes and Climates Have Their Ups and Downs

Between 5,400 and 3,000 years ago, something happened to New England’s climate. The region became drier. Water levels in lakes dropped. Several droughts persisted for hundreds of years, changing the…

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The Once and Future Circulation of the Ocean

The Once and Future Circulation of the Ocean

The short history of modern oceanographic observations—less than a century’s worth, really—doesn’t give us a long track record to evaluate how the ocean’s circulation has operated and changed in the…

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The Coral-Climate Connection

The Coral-Climate Connection

Are the climate changes we perceive today just part of the Earth system’s natural variability, or are they new phenomena brought about by human activities? One way to find out…

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Lessons from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

Lessons from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will convene two special conferences this fall to learn from the devastating 2004 tsunami that left more than 220,000 people dead or missing. In July, another…

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Listening for Telltale Echoes from Fish

Listening for Telltale Echoes from Fish

In the 1970s, scientists happened upon a curious phenomenon about sound waves in the ocean and swim bladders in fish: Bony fish have gas-filled sacs inside their abdomens called swim…

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Legions of Legionella Bacteria

Legions of Legionella Bacteria

Salty ocean water can be a nuisance. It’s undrinkable and it corrodes nearly everything it touches. But salt water’s inhospitality has always had one benefit: The salt kills microbes, making…

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Lullaby for Larvae

Lullaby for Larvae

Like many babies, these tiny offspring arrived this spring amid much fanfare and a little trepidation. Never before had scientists witnessed the birth of deep-sea Antarctic corals, which unlike like…

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Swimming in the Rain

Swimming in the Rain

Twilight zones, witch hunts, and crossbows usually don’t find their way into tales about new oceanographic instruments. This story isn’t typical, but it does start in the usual way, with…

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Gone Fish Assessing

Gone Fish Assessing

Scientists at WHOI are applying new technologies to help the National Marine Fisheries Services assess fish stocks and maintain critical habitats

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