News & Insights
Why we explore deep-water canyons off our coast
WHOI biologist Tim Shank joins NOAA Fisheries, the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the National Ocean Service, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) to study the ecological diversity and economic value laden in the 90 underwater canyons along the northeast U.S. continental shelf
Read MoreNorth Atlantic Ocean yields clues for better weather predictions
Findings of a new study investigating the interactions between the North Atlantic Ocean and the atmosphere will lead to more attention to how the ocean can be an important source of predictability in weather and climate.
Read MorePutting a value on green infrastructure to protect coastal communities
During an era of increasing sea level rise, WHOI marine policy experts Hauke Kite-Powell, Di Jin, and Porter Hoagland quantify the ecological value of shore-stabilizing ecosystems like wetlands and barrier islands
Read MoreExamining Connections Between the Ocean and Human Health
An ocean sickness is a human sickness according to experts at WHOI’s Center for Human Health and the Ocean. Marine toxicologist John Stegeman and his team are researching better ways to inform the public on the origins and dangers of marine toxins
Read MoreDeciphering the Impacts of a Changing Ocean on Scallop Fisheries
WHOI biologist Rubao Ji and colleagues, along with scientists from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service and UMass Dartmouth, study the spatial distribution patterns of the scallop catch to help determine the effects of a changing climate on the industry
Read MoreHow Long Does Plastic Persist in the Ocean?
It can be hard to predict the average lifespan of plastics in the ocean when so many different types exist. WHOI chemists Chris Reddy and Collin Ward are working to simplify these predictions
Read MoreAs Hurricane Laura raged, silent sentinels kept watch from below
Underwater instruments deployed by WHOI scientists have been taking the temperature of the ocean in Hurricane Laura’s path to measure the water’s heat content.
Read MoreTransformative technology to revolutionize the way we listen to the deep ocean
Using a network of satellites and surface buoys, WHOI scientist Ying Tsong (YT) Lin and a team of engineers are creating the first 3D “acoustic telescope,” capable of listening to a range of discrete activities in the deep sea
Read MoreSpecialized camera system gives unprecedented view of ocean life
With still so much to learn about the planktonic creatures that support the marine food web, scientists with the Northeast U.S. Shelf Long-Term Ecological Research (NES-LTER) project have developed the In-situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS) to take better images of these microscopic organisms in their natural environment
Read MoreCan Seaweed Fuel the Future?
Fuels generated from kelp could provide a low-emission alternative to fossil fuels, and WHOI is breeding new strains of kelp and developing autonomous robots to monitor kelp farms
Read MoreAfter months in the Arctic, scientist returns to a ‘surreal’ world back home
In February, Carin Ashjian traveled to the Arctic Ocean aboard a German icebreaker to study zooplankton as part of the…
Read MoreScientists and fishermen team up to film seals in fishing nets
Seals find ease in taking a meal already ensnared in wall-like gillnets cast by fishermen, but at what cost? WHOI biologist Andrea Bogomolni works with the fishing community to record and observe this behavior with the hopes of mitigating marine mammal bycatch
Read MoreTo sail, not to drift
Navigating a changing ecosystem, funding marine science, and finding hope—WHOI Deputy Director Rick Murray charts the course toward our ocean’s future.
Read MoreWill melting glaciers cool the climate?
As glaciers melt at unprecedented rates, WHOI’s Simon Pendleton is looking back to historical records to predict whether this new cool runoff will slow ocean circulation and cool the northern hemisphere––findings which could mean adjustments to some climate predictions.
Read MoreSea Ahead
Once upon a time, ocean scientists hung up cans on up a tree on Bikini Atoll to measure wave height in the Marshall Islands during nuclear weapons testing. Today, ocean technologies and data harvesting are heading somewhere big, from swarming bots, to more autonomous submersibles, and the miniaturization of ocean sensors
Read MoreLooking to the Future
WHOI researchers discuss various ways that ocean science and technology are enabling a deeper understanding of our blue planet
Read MoreUncharted waters
Our global ocean will change dramatically over the next few decades. What might it look like, and how will humans adapt?
Read MoreJellyfish larger than blue whales?
Recent accounts in the media have described the appearance of lion’s mane jellyfish in waters and beaches in the Northeast as a surprising, sometimes troubling, event, with record sizes and numbers reported from Maine to the Massachusetts south coast. But is this event noteworthy? Or, as some have implied, is it a sign of failing ocean health? Three WHOI marine biologists weighed in to put events into perspective.
Read MoreTeaming up for right whales
Researchers from WHOI and NOAA combine underwater gliders with passive acoustic detection technology to help protect endangered species from lethal ship strikes and noise from offshore wind construction
Read MoreOverhaul to take Alvin to greater extremes
The Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin returned to Woods Hole, Mass. this spring for the final phase of an overhaul that will allow the submarine to dive to 6,500 meters.
Read MoreAre We Alone?
To discover life in space, we look to our ocean extremes to understand what it’s capable of withstanding. The Exploring Ocean Worlds Program brings WHOI’s marine expertise into the far reaches of our solar system.
Read MoreWorking from Home: Mallory Ringham
WHOI-MIT joint program student outfits her basement to do vital work on a marine carbon sensor
Read MoreCelebrating an oceanographic life
WHOI looks back at the legacy of co-founder of MIT-WHOI Joint Program, former Director of Research and Provost at WHOI, Art Maxwell
Read More‘High-octane’ hurricane fuel swirls in the Gulf of Mexico
Researchers deploy an arsenal of underwater floats to monitor the Loop Current—one of the Atlantic Ocean’s fastest and warmest currents—to collect critical data for hurricane forecasting.
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