Deep-sea musings
Roboticist Gwyneth Packard on the need for ocean exploration today
Harnessing the ocean to power transportation
WHOI scientists are part of a team working to turn seaweed into biofuel
Casting a wider net
The future of a time-honored fishing tradition in Vietnam, through the eyes of award-winning photographer Thien Nguyen Noc
Gold mining’s toxic legacy
Mercury pollution in Colombia’s Amazon threatens the Indigenous way of life
How do you solve a problem like Sargassum?
An important yet prolific seaweed with massive blooms worries scientists
Ancient seas, future insights
WHOI scientists study the paleo record to understand how the ocean will look in a warmer climate
Rising tides, resilient spirits
As surrounding seas surge, a coastal village prepares for what lies ahead
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Our Ocean. Our Planet. Our Future.
Whistle! Chirp! Squeak! What does it mean?
Avatar Alliance Foundation donation helps WHOI researcher decode dolphin communication
Mary Sears and the race to solve the ocean in World War II
How her expertise on tides, currents, and swells saved American lives overseas
We can’t do this alone
For marine chemist Adam Subhas, ocean-climate solutions don’t happen without community
How WHOI helped win World War II
Key innovations that cemented ocean science’s role in national defense
Life at the margins
Scientists investigate the connections between Ghana’s land, air, sea and blue economy through the Ocean Margins Initiative
Grits, storms, and cosmic patience
As storms stall liftoff, Europa Clipper Mission Team member Elizabeth Spiers patiently awaits the biggest mission of her life
New underwater vehicles in development at WHOI
New vehicles will be modeled after WHOI’s iconic remotely operated vehicle, Jason
Learning to see through cloudy waters
How MIT-WHOI student Amy Phung is helping robots accomplish dangerous tasks in murky waters
A rare black seadevil anglerfish sees the light
A viral video shows a denizen of the ocean’s twilight zone making an unusual trip to the surface
Unseen Ocean
Artist Janine Wong and scientist Jing He capture the art of currents in “Submesoscale Soup”
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Five marine animals that call shipwrecks home
One man’s sunken ship is another fish’s home? Learn about five species that have evolved to thrive on sunken vessels
Deep-sea amphipod name inspired by literary masterpiece
Name pays tribute to Cervantes’ Don Quixote and reinforces themes of sweetness and beauty
5 Takeaways for the Ocean from the COP29 Climate Conference
Explore the key outcomes from this year’s UN Climate Conference
Go with the flow
Mike Singleton, relief captain, R/V Neil Armstrong describes the intricate dance of navigating ocean currents during scientific expeditions
A gift for ocean research
Boater and oceanography enthusiast Steven Grossman supports innovative WHOI projects with $10 million donation
Nature’s Language
Using applied math (and chalk) to understand the dynamic ocean
Navigating new waters
The engineering team at the Ocean Observatories Initiative overcomes the hurdles of deploying the coastal pioneer array at a new site
Ocean in Motion
How the ocean’s complex and chaotic physics defines life on our planet
The case for preserving deep-sea biodiversity
WHOI biologist Annette Govindarajan offers her takeaways from the COP16 UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Colombia
Students Get Their Sea Legs
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is known for its ocean-going research. But some incoming graduate students in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program may never have set foot a large research ship before. A new orientation cruise aboard the research vessel Neil Armstrong is introducing students to shipboard life and oceanographic research.
The Bacteria on Your Beaches
The widespread use of antibiotics is increasing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria—perhaps into the ocean, too.
A Long Trail of Clues Leads to a Surprise About Oil Spills
Scientists followed evidence from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill to discover an unexpected phenomenon.
Reassessing Guidelines for Oil Spill Cleanups
A new discovery could change the way officials approach oil spill cleanups.
Mission to the Ocean Twilight Zone
The twilight zone is a part of the ocean 660 to 3,300 feet below the surface, where little sunlight can reach. It is deep and dark and cold, and the pressures there are enormous. Despite these challenging conditions, the twilight zone teems with life that helps support the ocean’s food web and is intertwined with Earth’s climate. Some countries are gearing up to exploit twilight zone fisheries, with unknown impacts for marine ecosystems and global climate. Scientists and engineers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are poised to explore and investigate this hidden frontier.
Industrial krill fishing
The twilight zone’s biological abundance makes it an attractive target for commercial fishing operations and…
How Is the Seafloor Made?
An ultrasound for the Earth? Using sound waves, a graduate student peers into the crystalline texture of the tectonic plates that cover our planet’s surface.
Unearthing Long-Gone Hurricanes
A graduate student at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution tracks a trail of clues left behind on the seafloor by hurricanes as they stream across the ocean.
To Track an Oil Spill
WHOI scientists are helping to develop a robotic underwater vehicle that can track oil spills and help responders mitigate damage in remote or ice-covered areas such as the Arctic Ocean and the Great Lakes.
Tracking Unexploded Munitions
U.S. coastlines still have a lot of unexploded ordnance, or UXOs, left offshore by military exercises in the 1940s and 1950s. WHOI scientist Peter Traykovski is investigating where UXOs are and how they are moved and buried along the coast.
Who Grows There?
Biofouling organisms—barnacles, tunicates, bryozoans, and other marine invertebrates—are a common sight on docks, ship hulls, rocks, and other hard underwater surfaces. WHOI postdoctoral scholar Kirstin Meyer has been studying the fouling community in coastal waters of Woods Hole, Mass., to assess how it develops and changes over time. Her preliminary results suggest that both water temperature and competition play a key role in driving community composition.