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Is the ocean carbon sink at risk of faltering?

WHOI scientists explain how the ocean mitigates climate change—and could be compromised by it

whale shark and diver Ocean life

3 questions with Cam Braun

Marine biologist Camrin Braun explains why the world’s largest fish visit waters off Cape Cod—and what their epic migrations reveal about a changing ocean

Lori Hepner Ocean tech

Lux in abyssum

Artist Lori Hepner transforms seafloor data into ethereal light paintings

lobster trap Ocean life

Is underwater noise from construction affecting the American Lobster?

WHOI’s Sensory Ecology Lab investigates whether an industrialized soundscape impacts the health of a New England icon

Bosun Oscar Sisson (left) and WHOI engineers Sean Kelley, Mike Skowronski, and Isaac Vandor deploy the autonomous underwater vehicle Sentry  Ocean tech

Exploring Atlantic seeps

AUV Sentry leads the way in mapping and monitoring methane bubbling from the seafloor

Quest was purchased by Shackleton Ocean tech

A once-in-a-generation dive into polar history

40 years after helping reveal the Titanic, Alvin returns to the North Atlantic to document two other legendary shipwrecks

Eyes on the deep submarine background Ocean tech

Eyes on the deep

How ocean imaging is accelerating the pace of deep-sea discovery

Hadal Snailfish Ocean life

Squishy survivor

How the snailfish survives the ocean’s most extreme pressures

Answers from the Abyss
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Our Ocean. Our Planet. Our Future.

Mar de Plata canyon
Ocean tech

Answers from the abyss

How new discoveries in the deep could change life at the surface

Bathyopsurus-isopod2
Ocean life

A hadal zone mystery solved

An upside-down swimming isopod shows how tightly we are connected to the deep ocean

illustration of weddell seal mother in the water Ocean life

A mother seal dives

Follow a Weddell seal as her body adapts to foraging in deep, frigid waters

Titanic sinking with mummy's tomb Ocean & human lives

A mummy, a myth, and the Titanic

A 1986 handwritten letter to Bob Ballard revisits one of the Titanic disaster’s strangest myths

wave in the ocean Ocean tech

Turning motion into power: Wave energy converters for sustainable ocean monitoring

In the rapidly evolving world of ocean technology, wave energy is emerging as a promising…

Ocean life

The world’s most abundant fish once thrived in an extreme climate

Fossilized teeth show bristlemouth fish evolved during one of the ocean’s hottest periods

Oleander through two rocks Ocean life

How a cargo ship is tracking hidden ocean life in the Atlantic

With funding support from CMA CGM, ocean observations aboard Bermuda Container Line’s M/V Oleander now include a window into microscopic life

Alvin and the swordfish Ocean tech

Alvin vs. the swordfish

During a 1967 dive off Florida, a startled swordfish rammed the famed submersible Alvin—lodging its sword in the hull and forcing the crew to abort the mission

The entrance to Room 71. (Photo by Daniel Hentz, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) Ocean tech

Inside Room 71: WHOI history in seven artifacts

Some of the technology, art, and gifts that tell the story of the institution’s early days

Allan Hills, Antarctica How the ocean works

A scientist’s quest to find Earth’s oldest ice

After recovering ice that dates back 6 million years, Sarah Shackleton hopes to dig deeper into Earth’s history from a remote Antarctic moraine

spilhause projection How the ocean works

It’s the most ocean-friendly map ever created. Why haven’t more people seen it?

Discover the Spilhaus Projection, a radical world map that reveals Earth as one connected ocean—and reshapes how we see the planet.

Climate & weather

Luxury cruises with a side of climate science

A new partnership gives scientists rare access to remote Antarctic glaciers—and a new way to engage the public

Larry Madin and Kelly Sutherland Ocean life

Tiny drifters, massive impact

How salps shuttle carbon to the deep

Oceanus-Covers

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Ocean & human lives

The unseen toll of war on science

As the changing climate accelerates the spread of toxic algal blooms in the Arctic, the Russia–Ukraine war is cutting off critical international collaboration needed to understand and protect vulnerable ecosystems and communities.

Climate & weather

The human cost of Brazil’s floods

New research maps social vulnerability after the 2024 deluge

medicine bottles Ocean & human lives

Healing on the High Seas

A look back at shipboard medicine on R/V Atlantis

Sunset over Cape Cod Bay (photo by Kara Dodge, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Tracking the hidden currents of Cape Cod Bay

Scientists are using drifters and ocean models to better understand how water, nutrients, and pollutants move through the bay

Jane Ruckert, a technical diver Ocean life

From ruin to reef

What Pacific wrecks are teaching us about coral resilience—and pollution

Ocean life

One researcher, 15,000 whistles: Inside the effort to decode dolphin communication

Scientists at WHOI analyze thousands of dolphin whistles to explore whether some sounds may function like words

Tatiana Schlossberg Climate & weather

Remembering Tatiana Schlossberg, a voice for the ocean

Environmental journalist and author Tatiana Schlossberg passed away after battling leukemia on December 30, 2025….

Juli Berwald Ocean life

As the ocean warms, a science writer looks for coral solutions

Scientist-turned-author Juli Berwald highlights conservation projects to restore coral reefs

A satellite image of Tahaa in French Polynesia
Climate & weather

How an MIT-WHOI student used Google Earth to uncover a river–coral reef connection

Google Earth helps researcher decode how rivers sculpt massive breaks in coral reefs

Ocean tech

A new underwater robot could help preserve New England’s historic shipwrecks

WHOI’s ResQ ROV to clean up debris in prominent marine heritage sites

Ocean life

The hypoxic reef

Scientists say a lack of oxygen might be stressing tropical reefs even more than warming temperatures, acidification, and pollution. But the combination of these factors spells disaster for coral.

A man with glasses and blonde hair holds a rectangular black box. His reflection can be seen opposite his face. Climate & weather

OCIA: Accelerating the pace of ocean-climate research

The first five projects funded by the Ocean Climate Innovation Accelerator (OCIA) are set to advance research at the intersection of oceans and climate.

rose garden Ocean life

A bed of roses in the ocean

Flower-shaped corals blossoming off the island of Tahiti offer hope for reefs

Ocean & human lives

5 WHOI women making waves in ocean science and engineering

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we’re spotlighting a few scientists who have made a difference in the WHOI community and beyond

How the ocean works

WHOI scientists discuss the chemistry behind Sri Lanka’s flaming plastic spill

Eight months after the M/V X-Press Pearl disaster in Sri Lanka, WHOI investigators talk about their research on the unique chemistry of the spilled plastic nurdles

outer banks How the ocean works

With worsening storms, can the Outer Banks protect its shoreline?

The double-whammy of more intense storms and a COVID-era real estate boom has scientists and planners focused on resiliency

How the ocean works

Waves of inspiration

Rachael Talibart explores the infinite creativity of wave photography

Mario Fernandez standing in front of Jason in Blake Lab. Ocean tech

Meet the Jason Team: Mario Fernandez

A mechanical engineer, pilot, and expedition leader on vehicle design and adventures at sea

Amanda Sutherland working on the Sentry Van, which is a shipping container Ocean tech

Meet the Sentry Team: Amanda Sutherland

A Mechanical engineer on independent workflow and collaboration

Elizabeth Colbert Climate & weather

Elizabeth Kolbert on ocean-based carbon removal

Pulitzer prize–winning author reflects on methods that could enable the ocean to store more carbon, and what that could mean for marine ecosystems and sea life.

Climate & weather

National Academy scientists say the ocean must play a role in CO2 removal to stave off climate change

A committee from the National Academy of Science reviews ocean-based methods to remove carbon dioxide in order to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals

Lead Image Ocean life

Sniffing out methane in the deep sea

Scientists cruise the Gulf of California’s Guaymas Basin to test out new tech for detecting and measuring methane in the deep

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