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Uncharted waters
Our global ocean will change dramatically over the next few decades. What might it look like, and how will humans adapt?
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.
Read MoreThe many lifetimes of plastics
Infographics strive to give us a sense of how long plastic goods will last in the environment. But is this information reliable? The findings of a new study from WHOI may surprise you.
Read MoreBottlenose dolphins continue to compensate for humans in spite of pandemic
Though vessel noise may be quieting down on the high seas, one coastal area in Florida is seeing an upswing in boat traffic according to local authorities, putting more pressure on the world’s longest-studied wild bottlenose dolphin community. A recent WHOI study suggests this is only the beginning of a larger trend.
Read MoreAre natural toxins in fish harmful?
Marine life has been naturally producing toxic chemicals well before chemical companies were manufacturing PCBs. But are these naturally-produced compounds as harmful as man-made environmental pollutants, and do those pose a human health threat?
Read MoreLab shutdowns enable speedier investigation of coral disease
Despite labs shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, WHOI microbiologists are working fast to solve a different kind of outbreak—one travelling below the ocean’s surface and ravaging coral reefs from Florida to the Caribbean.
Read MoreNew tool sheds light on coral reef erosion
The Marshall Islands is home to some pristine coral reefs, but storm-driven waves could erode these natural coastal barriers. A new wave abrasion simulator offers insights on coral erosion rates that could aid coastal planning in this low-lying island nation and elsewhere.
Read MoreWHOI joins effort to accelerate marine life protection technology
WHOI has teamed up with Greentown Labs and Vineyard Wind to launch the Offshore Wind Challenge. The program, which is also partnering with New England Aquarium, calls on entrepreneurs to submit proposals to collect, transmit, and analyze marine mammal monitoring data using remote technologies, such as underwater vehicles, drones, and offshore buoys.
Read MoreNow you see me, now you don’t
Marine biologists tackle an unsettling mystery surrounding sand lance–eel-like, dive-bombing fish that have become a cornerstone forage species for a wide range of marine animals in the Gulf of Maine and northwest Atlantic Ocean.
Read MoreA sea of ancient ice
WHOI scientist dusts off historical accounts to tackle the long-standing mystery of just how thick Arctic sea ice was in the early 19th century.
Read MoreSpock versus the volcano
Five hundred meters below the calm surface waters of the Aegean Sea off Santorini Island, Greece, lies an active submarine volcano. There, a decision-making robot equipped with artificial intelligence searches for life and danger.
Read MoreUnderstanding the Melting Arctic
Glaciologist Sarah Das explains why surface melting and runoff across Greenland’s mile-thick ice sheet sped up dramatically in the 20th and 21st centuries, showing no signs of abating.
Read MoreThe Ocean’s Moveable Feast
Warming waters are changing the marine food web. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Scientists Carin Ashjain and Glen Gawarkiewicz study those changes.
Read MoreInvestigating the ocean’s influence on Australia’s drought
Researchers look to the Indian Ocean for clues on how Australia’s blazing wildfires and bone-dry conditions have reached such extremes.
Read MoreSea anemones with jet lag?
WHOI scientists investigate the internal body clocks of sea anemones to determine if fluctuating temperatures play a role in their daily rhythms.
Read MoreWHOI-engineered DISCO allows scientists to measure highly reactive superoxide on coral reefs
WHOI researchers successfully conceived and tested a portable device, DISCO, that performed the first in situ measurements of a highly reactive type of oxygen, known as superoxide, which may play an integral role in the health of coral reefs.
Read MoreThe Ocean Twilight Zone’s crucial carbon pump
When CO₂ enters the ocean, where does this heat-trapping gas go? WHOI geochemist investigates how much carbon from the surface ocean is dispatched to the ocean twilight zone–the midlayer of the ocean–and on to the deep ocean.
Read MoreBioacoustic alarms are sounding on Cape Cod
The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and its Marine Mammal Rescue Team in Yarmouth, Mass. have responded to a record high of more than 464 marine mammals stranded on Cape Cod since January this year. Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) believe patterns from animal sound data may be the key to curbing these numbers.
Read MoreOcean acidification gets a watchful eye in New England aquaculture ‘hot spot’
Shellfish aquaculture is thriving in New England, but future growth in the industry could be stunted as coastal waters in the region become more acidic. Researchers at WHOI have developed a way to link nutrient load reductions to improvements in the health of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, which may an important step toward cleaner and less acidic harbors in the Baystate.
Read MoreWhales may owe their efficient digestion to millions of tiny microbes
A study by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows that the microbial communities inside whales may play an important role in the digestion of one of the ocean’s most abundant carbon-rich lipids, known as a wax ester.
Read MoreRed Sea ‘hotspot’ study reveals behaviors of whale sharks
A new study of whale shark movements near a known hotspot in the Red Sea sheds light on their behaviors and could help inform the conservation efforts of the largest known fish, which can reach lengths of 40 feet or more.
Read MoreThe Rise of Orpheus
WHOI’s new deep-sea autonomous underwater vehicle moves one step closer to exploring the hadal zone—the deepest region of the ocean—to search for new clues about the limits of life on Earth, and possibly beyond.
Read MoreFollowing the elusive sword
Satellite tags allow researchers to “see” how swordfish move in and out of the ocean twilight zone.
Read MoreFalling in love with foraminifera
A marine geobiologist falls for the ‘brains’ and beauty of an ancient single-celled creature that can change its shell into a variety of geometric shapes.
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