Multimedia Items
A pop of red in the twilight zone
This bejeweled beauty is a strawberry squid (Histioteuthis reversa), sampled from the ocean twilight zone, a mysterious stratum of the ocean between the sunlit surface layer and extending down to about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) deep.
Read MoreBrisingids sea stars are the velcro of the deep sea
This festive collection of bright orange filter-feeding brisingid sea stars and scavenging sea urchins were found on a rocky seamount about 700 meters (~2,300 feet) deep in the Phoenix […]
Read MoreAn icebreaker pauses
WHOI senior engineer Jeff O’Brien offloads an ice-tethered profiler buoy and winch from the CCGS Louis S. St-Laurent, a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker, during the 2019 expedition (17th year) of WHOI’s Beaufort Gyre Expedition Exploration Project
Read MoreA tipping point
Emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) are the largest species of penguin and one of the most charismatic animals on Earth. Their lifecycle is dependent on sea ice for breeding, feeding and […]
Read MoreTremors of the deep sea
We can all imagine the devastation hurricanes bring ashore. Well it turns out that hurricanes could be just as devastating to denizens of the deep ocean.
Read MoreI spy a pilot whale
This spy-hopping adult female short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) was photographed offshore of Hawai‘i Island while checking out the Cascadia Research Collective field team during one of their field projects […]
Read MoreSparring Partner
The crew and science team on R/V Neil Armstrong deployed newly designed, 60-foot spar buoy for sea trials about 100 miles south of Cape Cod last week.
Read MoreNereid Under Ice explores Aurora hydrothermal vent field
The newly upgraded Nereid Under Ice, a hybrid remotely operated vehicle, is deployed from the Norwegian Icebreaker KronPrins Haakon to conduct its first deep ocean dives to 4,000 meters (over 13,000 feet) along the Gakkel Ridge in the Arctic Ocean.
Read MoreJellies of the Twilight Zone
Jellyfish have lived on earth more than 600 million years, and boast a diverse evolutionary history. Most jellyfish species live in the Twilight Zone. Little is known about this ocean region since it is vastly unexplored, but Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is on a mission to change that. With their new Mesobot, the institution plans to study the Twilight Zone and the creatures that call it home.
Read MoreThe ghoulish grimace of the viperfish
Bred in darkness, raised to kill, this is the fearsome viperfish – Chauliodus sloani. (Photo by Paul Caiger, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreMicroplastics in the Ocean: Emergency or Exaggeration (event recording)
October 15, 2019 – Watch this recorded public event entitled Microplastics in the Ocean: Emergency of Exaggeration? with a keynote presentation by Dr. Kara Lavender Law on the science of ocean plastic pollution and laying the foundation for solutions.
Dr. Law is a faculty member at Sea Education Association, where she studies the distribution of plastic marine debris driven by ocean physics and the degradation and ultimate fate of plastics in the ocean.
Keynote presentation is followed by a panel discussion on the international perspectives on marine microplastics research moderated by Dr. Heather Goldstone, host of Living Lab, WCAI, Cape & Islands NPR. Panelists include:
Dr. Chelsea Rochman
University of Toronto, Canada
Dr. Hauke Kite-Powell
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, U.S.A.
Dr. Gunnar Gerdts
Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany
Dr. Hideshige Takada
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan
Dr. Collin Ward
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, U.S.A.
Sponsored by the Elisabeth W. and Henry A. Morss, Jr., Colloquia Endowed Fund
Learn more about marine microplastics here:
https://www.whoi.edu/know-your-ocean/ocean-topics/pollution/marine-microplastics/
Mola mola parade
A formation of four mola mola (ocean sunfish) paraded through the water past the starboard side of #RVNeilArmstrong last week, while mooring operations continued on the Ocean Observatories Initiative Pioneer Array, 130 miles southeast of Martha’s Vineyard. These giant omnivores are the largest bony fish (Osteichthyes) in the ocean, measuring up to 11 feet in height and weighing up to 2.5 tons. They get their common name from the fact that they can be sometimes be found turned sideways on the ocean surface basking in the sun. Leo Fitz, who has crewed on WHOI ships for decades said he’s never been so fortunate to see so many at once: ‘Never, it’s always one! Never THIS many!”
Read MoreNew Eyes in the Twilight Zone
Members of WHOI’s Ocean Twilight Zone team, particularly the lab led by marine biologist Annette Govindarajan, are pioneering the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling and analysis to provide a more finely tuned picture of what lives deep beneath the surface of the ocean.
Read MoreLightning Deployment
The Sentry Team and deck crew on the research vessel Atlantis had to move quickly in order to launch the autonomous underwater vehicle between squalls off the West Coast recently.
Read MoreExtraordinary Footage of Octopus Garden
Need a break? Sit back, relax, and enjoy this stunning and calming underwater footage from Octopus Garden, two miles below the ocean’s surface in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), where thousands of mother octopuses were discovered nursing their eggs. Meditative soundtrack included.
Read MoreDiving to Octopus Garden in a Submarine
Check out this amazing footage taken from WHOI’s submersible Alvin in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), where thousands of mother octopuses were discovered nursing their eggs in a place known as Octopus Garden. WHOI principal engineer Andy Bowen talks with Chad King, a research specialist with MBNMS, about the animals and how federally-protected marine sanctuaries are critical to the health and protection of these incredible ecosystems.
Read MoreDiscover Octopus Garden
Watch this amazing footage and learn some cool facts about octopus living two miles below the ocean’s surface, where thousands of mother octopuses were discovered nursing their eggs in a place known as Octopus Garden in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS).
Read MoreObserving Mooring Deployment at Pioneer Array
Logan Johnsen, chief mate on the research vessel Neil Armstrong, stood watch on the bridge recently during a mooring deployment at the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) Pioneer Array. Instruments on the array record physical, chemical, and biological data from the seafloor to the surface and above around the clock, 365 days a year. Twice each year, a team from WHOI visits the Pioneer site, located about 100 miles south of Marthas Vineyard, to replace all of the moorings in the array and to deploy autonomous underwater vehicles that record data further afield.
Read MoreOrpheus explores the ocean’s greatest depths
Orpheus, an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed by WHOI, begins its descent into Veatch Canyon on the continental shelf off of the U.S. Northeast during one of several dives from the R/V Neil Armstrong in September 2019.
Read MoreThree things you may not know about sea level rise
Since the turn of the 20th century, seas have risen six to eight inches globally. New technologies, along with a better understanding of how the oceans, ice sheets, and other components of climate interact, have helped scientists identify the factors that contribute to sea level rise.
Read MoreCamp Harbor View Whale Watch
In August, WHOI participated in a whale watching trip for 85 Leaders-in-Training, ages 15 to 17, from Camp Harbor View, an organization that provides unique experiences for underserved youth in […]
Read MoreBasking sharks filmed by an AUV for the first time
Three things you may not know about basking sharks:
1. The basking shark is the 2nd largest fish in the ocean.
2. While it’s gaping mouth can fit a human, it filter feeds on tiny plankton.
3. WHOI’s SharkCam captured the first Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) footage of basking sharks.
Learn more here: go.whoi.edu/basking-sharkcam
Minion robots in the Ocean Twilight Zone
Phytoplankton use sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, forming the base of the ocean food web. Phytoplankton are eaten by zooplankton, which are eaten by other animals. Dead zooplankton and other particles become marine snow drifting in the ocean, but how much marine snow sinks below the sun-lit ocean surface? Scientists are developing a new device
that will follow marine snow into the ocean’s twilight zone.
The MINION is a small (2 Liters) inexpensive instrument. It is equipped with… cameras, seawater sensors, acoustic recorder, ballast weight. Once deployed, MINION will sink to the twilight zone and drift with currents.
Cameras on the side record the rate and quantity of particles falling through the ocean. Falling particles also accumulate on a clear glass panel. A camera on top will record the particle type and accumulation rate.
Similar images have revealed the twilight zone is a perpetual snowstorm, of organic debris. Particles such as this fecal pellet from a jellyfish-like salp are extremely carbon-rich. Pellets like this will sink quickly to deeper waters, or even become buried in the seafloor. Any marine snow that reaches the deep ocean means less carbon in the atmosphere.
The MINION is designed to listen for underwater sound sources. This will determine their location as they drift.
After a MINION has finished its mission, it will release weight and float to the surface. At the surface, it sends a homing signal so it can be recovered. The next generation of MINION will send compressed data-sets via satellite. Allowing them to be deployed by the dozens. Data from MINIONS will help scientists learn more about the ocean’s role in Earth’s climate system.
Read MoreCreatures of the Ocean Twilight Zone
The ocean twilight zone is home to innumerable mysterious creatures. Most of them are very small. Some glow in the dark. Others are just plain bizarre. They all play an important role in maintaining the health of this complex ecosystem. An ecosystem we are only beginning to understand.
This was part of a mission in spring of 2019 where several members of the OTZ Project team conducted an expedition aboard OceanX’s research vessel, the M/V Alucia, out of the Bahamas. The main goal of the expedition was to examine how the OTZ project site off the coast of New England differs from this distant –yet connected– region of the twilight zone. The team worked closely with OceanX to share their journey through video diaries and photographs of the extraordinary creatures brought on board throughout the cruise. The Ocean Twilight Zone is supported by the Audacious Project, a collaborative endeavor, housed at TED, to surface and fund ideas with the potential to create change at thrilling scale.
Video by Erik Olsen
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