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“High Tide” Harold, as he’s known, makes music with the goal of “joyfully uniting our hearts with sacred sounds for sun, moon, and sea,” in this case playing seven giant conch shells.

Enjoy this beautiful performance of La Cathédrale engloutie by Claude Debussy, as Keith Lockhart elegantly brings to life the beauty of our ocean from the depths to the surface.

Are you considering graduate studies in ocean science/ocean engineering? Are you interested in STEM? You’ll hear from several graduate students on their experiences in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program. If you need advice about the application process or have a question about graduate student life, volunteer graduate students are here to help.

Support science, for our planet, our ocean, and our future

This video shows a timelapse of the virtual event production for Ocean Encounters: Our Enchanted Ocean recorded on October 28, 2020.

A night of art, performances, and science

WHOI’s new president Peter De Menocal joins esteemed UN economics expert Jeffrey Sachs to explore the paths ahead for humanity and for life on Earth at a time of widespread environmental change

Sea stories from ancient oral traditions to modern-day pirates. The ocean has been a source of inspiration throughout human history. Where did we come from? What’s over the horizon? How does our planet work? Join us to learn how different storytelling traditions have helped inform and enrich our knowledge about ourselves and our planet for generations.

It all starts with one drop, one insight, one eureka moment that can ripple across the planet. Every atom, particle, and molecule means we’re connected. Every step we take, every discovery we make, shapes our future. When faced with uncertain times, we turn to science for answers. And this is an uncertain time. Will our leaders rise to the challenge of climate change? Will we have the vision and the technical prowess to end hunger through sustainable fishing and farming of the ocean? Will rising seas consume our coastlines? Will understanding outpace industrialization in time to save coral reefs, right whales, and threatened ecosystems around the globe? For more than 90 years, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been on call for our oceans. Driving discovery and providing the fundamental knowledge needed to respond to disasters, shape enlightened policies, and inspire individual action. It starts with one drop. One insight. One moment. Advancing together for uncertain times. Together for science. Together for our ocean, our planet, and our future.

Earth’s ocean is essential to life and may have even given rise to life on our planet billions of years ago. We now know that vast oceans of liquid water also exist beneath the icy shells of moons in our own solar system. These ocean worlds provide compelling targets in the search for extraterrestrial life, perhaps within the next human generation. Join us for a stimulating discussion of how the exploration of the depths of our ocean can help inform the search for life beyond Earth.

Learn more by visiting our official Ocean Encounters website.

The ocean, our life-support system, is changing faster than almost any other part of the planet. What’s in store for the ocean as these changes continue to play out and how is technology shaping our ability to better understand, predict, and prevent these changes? Two pioneers of ocean research and exploration will sit down to share their thoughts on the future of life on our ocean planet.