Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry
WHOI helps lead groundbreaking study on the human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics
For the first time, leading researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic’s considerable risks to all life on Earth. The Minderoo-Monaco Commission on Plastics and Human Health report, released today, presents a comprehensive analysis showing plastics as a hazard at every stage of their life cycle.
Read MoreA Better Understanding of Gas Exchange Between the Atmosphere and Ocean Can Improve Global Climate Models
If scientists can improve the way models represent physical processes such as gas exchange, they can have more confidence in future simulations.
Read MoreExcess Nutrients Lead to Dramatic Ecosystem Changes in Cape Cod’s Waquoit Bay
The Bay Is a harbinger for estuaries worldwide, say researchers
Read MoreWHOI Scientist Weighs In On Risks Of Radioactive Wastewater
Despite opposition, Japan may soon dump Fukushima wastewater into the Pacific
Grappling with the biggest marine plastic spill in history
Looking to the Mighty Mississippi for climate solutions
Researchers measure alkalinity flowing into the Gulf of Mexico to assess a carbon dioxide removal strategy
Read MoreWhy Indigenous perspectives matter in the climate conversation
Wampanoag Tribal Member Leslie Jonas talks WHOI, Native rights, and a timely partnership
Read MoreThe teetering balance of coastal CO2
WHOI scientists Matt Long and Aleck Wang explain the incredibly important role of coastal seagrasses and rivers in the global carbon cycle
Read MoreWhat happens to natural gas in the ocean?
WHOI marine chemist Chris Reddy weighs in on a methane leak in the Baltic Sea
Read MoreSunlight and the fate of oil at sea
Danielle Haas Freeman draws on the language of chemistry to solve an oil spill puzzle
Read MoreOcean acidification is no big deal, right?
WHOI’s Jennie Rheuban discusses the very real phenomenon of an increasingly acidic ocean and the toll it’s taking on marine life.
Read MoreAn aquatic outbreak
Stony coral tissue loss disease continues devastating Caribbean reefs. Here’s what we know about it so far
Read MoreCarbon sequestration sites may prevent earthquakes
New evidence suggests that CO2-rich springs may be buffering quakes along areas of the San Andreas Fault
Read MoreA toxic double whammy for sea anemones
Exposure to both oil and sunlight can be harmful to sea anemones
Read MoreClimate change could lead to a dramatic temperature-linked decrease in essential omega-3 fatty acids
The effects of global climate change already are resulting in the loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer and more intense heat waves, among other threats. Now, the first-ever survey of planktonic lipids in the global ocean predicts a temperature-linked decrease in the production of essential omega-3 fatty acids, an important subset of lipid molecules.
Read MoreWHOI joins world leaders at UN Ocean Conference: June 27 – July 1, Lisbon, Portugal
Thousands of participants from around the world will converge in Lisbon beginning June 27 as part of the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference. Among them will be representatives from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s largest independent organization dedicated exclusively to ocean research, engineering, and education.
Read More4 Potential Solutions for Corals in Crisis
Racing against the clock, WHOI researchers and colleagues are developing innovative solutions to rebuild reefs and improve coral resiliency–before it’s too late.
Read MoreOCIA: Accelerating the pace of ocean-climate research
The first five projects funded by the Ocean Climate Innovation Accelerator (OCIA) are set to advance research at the intersection of oceans and climate.
Read MoreA bed of roses in the ocean
Flower-shaped corals blossoming off the island of Tahiti offer hope for reefs
Read MoreWHOI scientist elected as Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist elected as Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology Colleen Hansel, associate scientist at WHOI, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy…
Read MoreWHOI scientists discuss the chemistry behind Sri Lanka’s flaming plastic spill
Eight months after the M/V X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka, WHOI investigators talk about their research on the unique chemistry of the spilled plastic nurdles
Read MoreHow do corals form colonies?
If you stare at just one spot on a coral reef, your eyes could be seeing more than 1,000 animals per square foot. That’s because the thing that makes up most of these marine ecosystems are tiny living animals called coral polyps, which exist on the surface of reef formations.
Read MoreDissolving oil in a sunlit sea
A team of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers discovered that nearly 10 percent of the oil floating on the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon disaster was dissolved into seawater by sunlight – a process called “photo-dissolution”. The findings were published today in the paper “Sunlight-driven dissolution is a major fate of oil at sea” in Science Advances.
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