Multimedia Items
Whoops, Woman Overboard!
One of this year’s contestants falls off her “unboat” in WHOI’s Anything-But-A-Boat Race – community event in Woods Hole, Mass., that attracted hundreds of spectators on Sept. 16. Race […]
Read MoreWill Oxygen in the Ocean Continue to Decline?
Levels of oxygen in the ocean have decreased in the past, causing catastrophic losses of marine life. Scientists worry that oxygen levels may be decreasing now and into the future. […]
Read MoreWho is WHOI?
We are scientists, engineers, and technicians pushing the frontiers of ocean research. Meet Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Read MoreForecasting Where Ocean Life Thrives
Where do plankton grow more prolifically in the ocean? At “fronts” where different water masses meet. In this case, less-salty, less-dense water from the Atlantic Ocean enters the Mediterranean Sea, […]
Read MoreReassessing Guidelines for Oil Spill Cleanups
Dispersants contain detergents, not unlike those people use to wash dishes, which help break oil into small droplets that can become diluted in the ocean. They also contain an organic […]
Read MoreAlbatross Flight Dynamics
Albatrosses extract energy from winds to soar, as seen in these diagrammatic views from the side (left) and from overhead (right).
LEFT DIAGRAM: Above a wave, winds blow progressively faster the […]
Read MoreGroundwater and the Ocean
Groundwater comes from precipitation that falls on land. Some of this water evaporates into the atmosphere, gets taken up by plants, or flows into streams, but some infiltrates into the […]
Read MoreEl Niño and La Niña
The El Niño-Southern Oscillation is a natural cycle that recurs over two to seven years. When surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific are warmer than usual (an El Niño […]
Read MoreArctic Halocline
When sea ice forms, it releases salt into surface waters. These waters become denser and sink to form the Arctic halocline’s layer of cold water that acts as barrier between […]
Read MoreSamoa Chain
Island chains such as Samoa and Hawaii are known as hotspots, where magma from the mantle erupts through the crust. This creates seafloor volcanoes that often rise above the ocean […]
Read MoreTale of the Tuna
Elemental Journeys
Enormous amounts of chemical elements move throughout the surface of the Earth. This illustrates how much is moved by various natural processes or human activities, in units of petagrams (Pg […]
Read MoreLethal Interactions
Researchers created this diagram to summarize their findings about lethal interactions among 185 strains of Vibriobacteria. Individual strains of bacteria are represented by the black lines protruding from the rim of […]
Read MoreHow a Biofilm Forms in the Sea
Biofilms form when bacteria settle onto a hard surface (1), where they proliferate and produce slime (2). Most efforts to fight biofouling have targeted these steps. WHOI biochemist Ben Van […]
Read MoreClimate Change and Ancient Civilizations
(Illustration by Amy Caracappa-Qubeck, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreRAFOS Floats
RAFOS floats are designed to take measurements of temperature, salinity, and pressure in layers of ocean water at any depth.They are deployed using one of two methods. Some floats are […]
Read MoreSource of Radioactivity in the Ocean
Human and natural sources of radioactive isotopes in the ocean. NOTE: colored ovals not drawn to scale. (Illustration by Jack Cook, courtesy of the Coastal Ocean Institute, Woods Hole Oceanographic […]
Read MoreWhere the Whales Are
A relatively fresh coastal current carrying tiny marine organisms called copepods flows into the Great South Channel. The current collides with saltier, denser water to form an ocean front. The […]
Read MoreListening in on Whales
Because the Arctic and subarctic regions are seasonally ice-covered, it is impossible to keep track of whales visually throughout the year. So scientists eavesdrop on bowhead whale calls using moorings […]
Read MoreDeep-sea Gorges
The seafloor is filled with thousands of deep canyons, where powerful currents appear to be flowing uphill along the canyon floors. These currents could play a major role in driving […]
Read MoreTypes of Estrogen
(Illustration by Amy Caracappa-Qubeck, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreBacteria and Diatoms
Bacteria and unicellular marine plants called diatoms depend on each other for some essential nutrients, but they also compete for other nutrients. So life gets complicated in the chemical soup […]
Read MoreDoes Sand Move Bacteria at the Beach?
(Illustration by Jack Cook, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read More2010 Haiti Earthquake
The Jan. 12 earthquake in Haiti alleviated built-up stress along one segment (blue gridded area boxes) of the Enriquillo fault, which cuts across the island. But scientists calculated areas (red […]
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