Ocean tech

Researchers use a variety of instruments and tools to sample and study the ocean.

SENTRY meets the submersible ALVIN during a testing expedition off Bermuda in April 2006. SENTRY is a robotic underwater vehicle used for exploring the deep ocean; it will often be used to complement ALVIN by surveying large swaths of ocean floor to determine the best spots for close-up exploration. SENTRY joined the National Deep Submergence Facility in 2008. (Photo by Chris German, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Key Takeaways

Ocean technology spans human-occupied submersibles, remotely operated and autonomous vehicles, moorings and buoys, observatories, acoustics, imaging, and research ships.
Each tool is engineered to withstand crushing pressure, cold, and corrosion while collecting data humans cannot gather directly.
Building and deploying these systems is central to WHOI’s identity as a home to both scientists and engineers.

To study a place as vast and hostile as the deep ocean, WHOI scientists and engineers build the tools to reach it — crewed submersibles, robots, moorings, observatories, acoustic instruments, imaging systems, and research ships. This technology turns the inaccessible into the observable.

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Topography of the Havre caldera. Credit: Rebecca Carey, University of Tasmania, Adam Soule, WHOI, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Acoustics

A strong understanding of how sound behaves in different conditions in the ocean helps scientists answer fundamental questions about the planet, the ocean, and marine life.

Imaging

Underwater imaging continues to advance in technology, allowing research to be conducted in the pressure-filled, extreme environments of the ocean.

Moorings & buoys

An oceanographic mooring consists of a long cable with an anchor at one end, a float at the other, and instruments attached to the line in between or to a float.