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These seabirds fly toward cyclones, not away from them

New GPS tracking on petrels reveals a surprising survival strategy hidden in the eye of the storm

Sustainable ocean

Reclaiming knowledge from the sea

WHOI’s Jordan Kennedy draws on Indigenous knowledge, engineering, and observation to rethink how we study and restore coastal landscapes

Sunita Williams

3 questions with a former NASA astronaut

WHOI Corporation Member Sunita Williams discusses space exploration, ocean science, and environmental stewardship

Cargo ships and tankers sitting at anchor outside a busy commercial port Ocean life

Ships in the Strait of Hormuz are becoming invasive species breeding grounds

Beneath the waterline of every ship stalled in the Persian Gulf, a thriving underwater city takes shape—barnacles, algae, mussels, sea squirts. Some of those hitchhikers could reach coastlines they’d never find on their own.

Hercules

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

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

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

Plastic waste entangled beneath the Mediterranean's surface, highlighting marine pollution.

Deep-sea dustbins

The marine debris concentrating in the Northwest Atlantic’s underwater canyons

Hadal Snailfish Ocean life

Squishy survivor

How the snailfish survives the ocean’s most extreme pressures

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

Oceanus-Covers

Looking for something specific?
We can help you with that. Check out our extensive conglomeration of ocean information.

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

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

Sea Dust Climate & weather

Secrets in the dust

Scientists mine ancient dust from the ocean’s loneliest spot

Alvin pilot Drew Bewley

Overhaul to take Alvin to greater extremes

Work on Iconic Sub Will Put 99% of The Ocean Floor Within Reach

Crew aboard the D/V Chikyu prepare for seafloor drilling Ocean tech

Extreme Measures

THE OCEAN DOESN’T REVEAL ITS SECRETS EASILY. By observing natural phenomena, throwing instruments over the…

Ocean life

Experts Explore the Edges

Daniel P. Zitterbart Assistant Scientist, Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering In my group, we use…

Lauren Dykman Ocean life

Falling in love with deep-sea parasites

At hydrothermal vents there are body-snatchers, intestinal hitchhikers, and chest-bursters, but something about them is still alluring to Lauren Dykman

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star enters the winter pack ice How the ocean works

A rare mission north

Serendipitous science mission aboard the Polar Star provides “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to collect critical ocean data below the ice

How the ocean works

The ocean has heartburn. Is relief on the way?

Researchers investigate the use of alkalinity enhancement to quell ocean acidification and help maintain the sea’s role as a carbon sink

Lily Sanborn Ocean & human lives

How historic hurricanes can help predict storm intensity

Research into past hurricanes could help predict the strength of future storms, and inform infrastructure planning and emergency management decisions in southern New England

Ocean tech

New glider design aims to expand access to ocean science

Gliders are vehicles vital to collecting oceanographic data, but not accessible to everyone in the ocean community. A team of WHOI engineers want to change that

RoCS Photo Climate & weather

Science RoCS Initiative responds to need for increased ocean monitoring

Commercial ships are helping oceanographers deploy robotic Argo floats to keep an eye on hard-to-reach parts of the ocean

How the ocean works

The ocean science-art connection

Some of the most complex insights in marine science are no match for the communicative power of art. Check out these five recent collaborations between ocean scientists and artists

Jason Graphic How the ocean works

Going the Distance

Unraveling the mysteries of the vast global ocean means entering some of the most remote and dangerous places on the planet.

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