Chris German
How to study an underwater earthquake from shore
Scientist Chris German on a successful AUV Sentry mission when the science team could not travel to sea
Going the Distance
Unraveling the mysteries of the vast global ocean means entering some of the most remote and dangerous places on the planet.
Sea 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
Are 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.
The Discovery of Hydrothermal Vents
In 1977, WHOI scientists made a discovery that revolutionized our understanding of how and where life could exist on Earth and other planetary bodies.
Rebuilding Alvin: Chris German
From the beginning of 2011 to May 2013, Alvin, the U.S. science community’s only human-occupied submersible dedicated to deep-sea research, underwent a major overhaul and upgrade to greatly enhance its capabilities. In the end, the iconic […]
At 50, Alvin Gets an Extreme Makeover
The deep-sea research submersible Alvin returned to service in March 2014 after undergoing an historic overhaul that significantly enhanced its capabilities.
Deep-sea Vents Yield New Species
Call it “midnight at the OASES.” Neither permanent darkness nor extreme pressure and heat cause problems for a host of new deep-sea species found in January by an international research expedition called “OASES 2012.”
The expedition, […]
Life and Death in the Deep Sea
It was an experiment they hoped would never happen. But when it did, they were poised to respond.
In 2008, a multi-institutional team of researchers launched a long-term study to explore the lush but little-known communities […]
A Hunt for Unusual Seafloor Animals and Vents
The first expedition to search for deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Cayman Rise deep in the Caribbean Sea turned up a bonanza. Scientists found evidence for three active vent sites, each with distinctive chemical characteristics […]
Alvin Gets an Interior Re-design
For more than four decades, scientists have foregone a few creature comforts to see animals, or volcanoes, or shipwrecks at the bottom of the sea.
On a typical dive in the research submersible Alvin, a pilot […]
A Robot Is Resurrected at Sea
Barely a month after the undersea robot ABE imploded and was lost in the depths, ABE’s “son,” Sentry, suffered fire and flooding that destroyed critical internal components. But a team of engineers rallied to rebuild […]
R.I.P. A.B.E
A pioneering deep-sea exploration robot—one of the first successful submersible vehicles that was both unmanned and untethered to surface ships—was lost at sea March 5, 2010, on a research expedition off the coast of Chile. […]
The Promise and Perils of Seafloor Mining
A year ago, the Canadian mining company Nautilus Minerals was poised to launch a new industry: mining the deep ocean floor. All Nautilus had to do was finish building special equipment and arranging permits to […]
To Free a Tangled Whale
Scientists successfully used a new sedative delivery system for the first time on a large whale in the wild. It calmed the 40-foot, 40,000-pound whale so that rescuers could approach safely by boat and cut away fishing gear wrapped around its head.
Building the Next-Generation Alvin Submersible
Three times geologist Adam Soule has climbed inside the deep-diving submersible Alvin and headed to the seafloor. Geochemist Susan Humphris stopped counting after 30 dives. Dan Fornari, who studies deep-sea volcanoes, has descended more than […]
Building International Bridges to Explore Ridges
In January 2007, WHOI scientists Jian Lin, who grew up in China, and Chris German, who grew up in England, became the new chair and co-chair of an international organization called InterRidge. The group helps […]
A Ridge Too Slow?
Ever since scientists first discovered vents gushing hot, mineral-rich fluids from the seafloor in the Pacific Ocean 30 years ago, they have found them in various places along the Mid-Ocean Ridge-the 40,000-mile-long seafloor mountain chain […]
New Hybrid Deep-sea Vehicle Is Christened Nereus
Nereus—a mythical god with a fish tail and a man’s torso—was chosen Sunday (June 25) in a nationwide contest as the name of a first-of-its-kind, deep-sea vehicle under construction at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
The […]