Physical Oceanography
Oceanographer wins big money in rainfall forecasting contest
Rainfall forecasting is big money! For over 40 years, Ray Schmitt has been a physical oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Read MoreDense Antarctic water returning to the Atlantic
“This region, the Scotia Sea, is unique in that it hosts several different physical mechanisms which launder dense water to make it lighter within a relatively small basin (the Southern…
Read MoreA tunnel to the Twilight Zone
Scientists track hungry blue sharks as they ride swirling currents down to the ocean twilight zone—a layer of the ocean containing the largest fish biomass on Earth
Read MoreExtreme ice melt in Greenland threatens coastal communities across the world, scientists warn
“We control how much greenhouse gases we put in atmosphere,” said Sarah Das, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “If we can slow down emissions, we can slow down sea level rise.”
Read MoreWHOI prepares for 2019 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Researchers deploy autonomous underwater vehicles to improve forecasts By Evan Lubofsky | July 18, 2019 Hurricane Florence. Image courtesy of NASA. With the 2019 Atlantic Hurricane season underway, Woods Hole…
Read MoreHurricane Clues from a Caribbean Blue Hole
Scientists look to sediment cores from Caicos Island to gain insights about a monster, modern-day hurricane.
Read MoreMining climate clues from our whaling past
Climate scientists work with historians to tap weather records from old New England whaling logbooks. They hope to leverage the historical data to gain new insights into modern-day climate conditions.
Read MoreMining climate clues from our whaling past
Climate scientists work with historians to tap weather records from old New England whaling logbooks. They hope to leverage the historical data to gain new insights into modern-day climate conditions.
Read MoreStudy Finds No Direct Link Between North Atlantic Ocean Currents, Sea Level Along New England Coast
A new study by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) clarifies what influence major currents in the North Atlantic have on sea level along the northeastern United States. The study, published June 13 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, examined both the strength of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)—a conveyor belt of currents that move warmer waters north and cooler waters south in the Atlantic—and historical records of sea level in coastal New England.
Read MoreA new way of “seeing” offshore wind power cables
Eager to share best practices and technical know-how with the offshore wind sector, WHOI researchers test out an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs)—a staple of oceanographic research—to see if it can perform subsea cable surveys faster and more economically than using large and expensive ships.
Read MoreIn a Spin: New Insights into the Beaufort Gyre
Colonization in slow motion
Quotes (Kirstin Meyer-Kaiser)
Read MoreHarnessing the Power
Can wind developers and ocean scientists work together to get US offshore wind cranking?
Read MoreGliders Reveal Tango Between Hurricanes and the Gulf Stream
Spray gliders cruising the east coast are collecting ocean measurement data that hurricane forecast modelers can use to improve storm intensity forecasts.
Read MoreTracking a Snow Globe of Microplastics
Millions of tons of plastics end up in the global ocean each year, but where does all that material go once it gets there?
Read MoreThe Secret Tuna Nursery
WHOI biologists and physical oceanographers combine expertise to reveal a place in the ocean where some tuna are born.
Read MoreOn (and Below) the Waterfront
The expansion of the New York metropolitan area’s harbor over the decades has led to big but hidden changes in tidal flows that have environmental impacts.
Read MoreThe Living Breathing Ocean
Rainforests have been dubbed the Earth’s lung, but like us, our planet has two lungs. The second one is the ocean.
Read MoreMysteries of the Red Sea
The Red Sea also has several characteristics not seen in other oceans: extremely warm temperatures, high evaporation rates, odd circulation patterns, and a rare current that sometimes disappears in winter.
Read MoreThe Current that Feeds the Galápagos
A small fleet of robotic undersea vehicles paints the first detailed picture of a vast and important current within the ocean that had remained beyond our purview.
Read MoreCan We Improve Monsoon Forecasts?
Scientists are exploring the ocean to gain new insights into forecasting the still-unpredictable monsoon rains that billions of people depend on to irrigate their crops
Read MoreAutonomous Ocean Vehicles Supply Key Data on Hurricane Florence
With Hurricane Florence bearing down on the North Carolina coast, researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have mobilized autonomous vehicles and instruments to track changes in the ocean ahead of and beneath Florence.
Read MoreThe Recipe for a Harmful Algal Bloom
Harmful algal blooms can produce toxins that accumulate in shellfish and cause health problems and economic losses. They have increased in strength and frequency worldwide. Can we get advance warnings of when and where they will occur?
Read MoreA Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Ocean
Like someone monitoring the traffic flow on a road system, MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate student Sam Levang is examining the flow of the ocean’s global circulation, which has big impacts of our climate.
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