WHOI Perspectives
A bed of roses in the ocean
Flower-shaped corals blossoming off the island of Tahiti offer hope for reefs
Read MoreFrom the sound: A future powered by the sea
These two WHOI scientists discuss the promise of offshore wind and wave as renewable energy, and why WHOI is uniquely…
Read MoreThe spread of plastics and oil in Sri Lanka from the wreck of M/V X-Press Pearl
On May 20, 2021, the cargo ship M/V X-Press Pearl caught fire off the coast of Sri Lanka. The container ship was carrying 78 metric tons of a material known as plastic nurdles. What happens now?
Read MoreData with a side of sass
The name “data dollies” was a tongue-in-cheek way of calling attention to the essential yet unglamorous work these mostly young,…
Read MoreWHOI scientist shares her perspective on ‘imminent’ oil spill in the Red Sea
As a major oil spill looms in the Red Sea, a WHOI physical oceanographer shares her insights on where the…
Read MoreHow WHOI’s young pioneers once tried to look for the lost city of Atlantis
When a new oceanographic institution began in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it was one of the few in the world equipped to search for a fabled sunken city, described thousands of years ago by a Greek philosopher
Read MoreUnicorns of the Arctic face a new potential threat
Narwhals and other marine mammals could be vulnerable to a new threat we’ve become all too familiar with: COVID-19
Read MorePutting the ‘nuclear coffin’ in perspective
WHOI chemist and marine radioactivity expert shares his thoughts about radioactivity waste leaking from Runit Dome—a bomb crater filled with…
Read MoreExperts Explore the Ocean-Human Health Link
Eleonora Van Sitteren Guest Student, Lindell Lab I work with the Lindell Lab group at WHOI on a selective breeding…
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 international MOSAiC Expedition. While she conducted research on a desolate ice floe, the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world she had left behind. She wound up spending 4 1/2 months in the Arctic until a…
Read MoreLooking into the Future
WHOI researchers discuss various ways that ocean science and technology are enabling a deeper understanding of our blue planet
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 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…
Read MoreSeven ocean explorers you should know about
June 8th is World Oceans Day, but we’re celebrating the big ole blue all month-long. But, before you post those Cousteau quotes, that inspiring Sylvia Earle documentary, or talk about those neat expeditions by James Cameron, we’d like to present you with five ocean explorers you may not have heard of.
Read MoreForged in fire: WHOI recalls the Deepwater Horizon crisis
It’s been a decade since the explosion of the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Frontline WHOI scientists face unprecedented challenges when called to respond to the largest accidental oil spill in history.
Read MoreSummer’s coming: Will Cape Cod beaches be safe?
Beach parking lots across Cape Cod are closed to reduce the spread of COVID-19. As summertime approaches, will the beach crowds that normally show up after Memorial Day will be staying away this year? WHOI microbiologist Amy Apprill weighs in.
Read MoreThe oceans are losing oxygen, and faster than we thought
WHOI scientists weigh in on a new ICUN report highlighting a 2% decline in marine oxygen levels between 1960 and 2010. The loss of oxygen has triggered an expansion of marine dead zones throughout the global ocean that has put marine life and ecosystems in peril.
Read MoreWHOI scientists weigh in on sea level rise impact study
When it comes to future sea level rise, most studies predict we’ll see between four to eight inches of global sea level rise between now and 2050. The looming question is—how many people will be affected by rising seas in the coming decades?
Read MoreWHOI weighs in on climate change report
Rick Murray, WHOI Deputy Director and Vice President for Research, weighs in on the IPCC’s special report on the ocean and cryosphere in a changing climate.
Read MorePutting the ‘nuclear coffin’ in perspective
WHOI chemist and marine radioactivity expert shares his thoughts about radioactivity waste leaking from Runit Dome—a bomb crater filled with radioactive soil in the Marshall Islands that is now being penetrated by rising sea levels
Read MoreGlobal Oceans and the Extinction Crisis
WHOI marine biologists Michael Moore and Andrea Bogomolni weigh in on a new United Nations science report suggesting that over one million species are at risk of extinction.
Read MoreMicroplastics in the Ocean – Separating Fact from Fiction
WHOI scientists weigh in on the state of marine microplastics science.
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