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The Ocean (Re)Imagined

How expanding our view of the ocean can unlock new possibilities for life

Heidi Sosik Ocean Life

The little big picture

WHOI senior biologist Heidi Sosik on the critical need for long-term ocean datasets

Brian Skerry Ocean Life

Lessons from a lifetime of exploration

Award-winning ocean photographer Brian Skerry shares insights from a career spent around ocean life and science

The ocean weather nexus, explained

The vital role of ocean observations in extreme weather forecasting

blue straws Ocean & Human Lives

Breaking down plastics together

Through a surprising and successful partnership, WHOI and Eastman scientists are reinventing what we throw away

Carl Hartsfield Ocean Tech

Three questions with Carl Hartsfield

Captain Hartsfield, USN retired, discusses the role ocean science plays in our national defense

WHOI marine ecologist Camrin Braun

Hooked on change

Charting a new course for fisheries in a warming world

underwater coral Ocean Life

Reef RX

Using human health protocols to find and aid ailing reefs

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Our Ocean. Our Planet. Our Future.

Whale detection camera
Ocean Tech

Whale aware!

New tech and industry partnerships help ships steer clear

from Tuna

Music for the Ocean

Immersive classical performances to spark global concern for the ocean

ship

Breakthroughs below the surface

How ocean science is reshaping our world

Ocean Life

Body snatchers are on the hunt for mud crabs

WHOI biologist Carolyn Tepolt discusses the biological arms race between a parasite and its host

Ocean Tech

A polar stethoscope

Could the sounds of Antarctica’s ice be a new bellwether for ecosystem health in the South Pole?

blue mud lab Ocean & Human Lives

Secrets from the blue mud

Microbes survive—and thrive—in caustic fluids venting from the seafloor

gwyneth packard

Deep-sea musings

Roboticist Gwyneth Packard on the need for ocean exploration today

Green crab Ocean Life

Top 5 ocean hitchhikers

As humans traveled and traded across the globe, they became unwitting taxis to marine colonizers

Ostrander Climate & Weather

Fires, floods, and forgotten places

Finding home with author Madeline Ostrander

ship Ocean Tech

Following the Polar Code


Crew of R/V Neil Armstrong renew their commitment to Arctic science with advanced polar training


truck Sustainable Ocean

Harnessing the ocean to power transportation

WHOI scientists are part of a team working to turn seaweed into biofuel

morning catch Sustainable Ocean

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 mines

Gold mining’s toxic legacy

Mercury pollution in Colombia’s Amazon threatens the Indigenous way of life

Oceanus-Covers

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

WHOI senior scientist Dennis McGillicuddy holds a jarred Sargassum sample

How do you solve a problem like Sargassum?

An important yet prolific seaweed with massive blooms worries scientists

shells

Ancient seas, future insights

WHOI scientists study the paleo record to understand how the ocean will look in a warmer climate

the landfall Climate & Weather

Rising tides, resilient spirits

As surrounding seas surge, a coastal village prepares for what lies ahead

WHOI biologist Laela Sayigh attaches a suction-cup hydrophone to a dolphin in Sarasota Bay Ocean & Human Lives

Whistle! Chirp! Squeak! What does it mean?

Avatar Alliance Foundation donation helps WHOI researcher decode dolphin communication

We can’t do this alone

For marine chemist Adam Subhas, ocean-climate solutions don’t happen without community

Dickie Edwards in Jaws Ocean Life

Behind the blast

The marine superintendent who blew up Jaws

ID card Ocean Tech

How WHOI helped win World War II

Key innovations that cemented ocean science’s role in national defense

Ghana Ocean & Human Lives

Life at the margins

Scientists investigate the connections between Ghana’s land, air, sea and blue economy through the Ocean Margins Initiative

Elizabeth Spiers
How the Ocean Works

Grits, storms, and cosmic patience

As storms stall liftoff, Europa Clipper Mission Team member Elizabeth Spiers patiently awaits the biggest mission of her life

kelp farming
Ocean Tech

Seeding the future

New WHOI tech lends a hand to kelp farmers

A Big Decline of River Herring Ocean Life

A Big Decline of River Herring

River herring used to run up coastal streams in great numbers in springtime, returning from the ocean to spawn in fresh water. But their populations have plummeted. WHOI biologist Joel Llopiz is investigating critical gaps in understanding river herring’s larval stage just after they hatch.

More Floods & Higher Sea Levels How the Ocean Works

More Floods & Higher Sea Levels

A research team predicts potentially big changes within the next century that would have significant impacts on those who live on or near the coast.

Radioactivity Under the Beach? Ocean Life

Radioactivity Under the Beach?

Scientists have found a previously unsuspected place where radioactive material from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster has accumulated—in sands and brackish groundwater beneath beaches up to 60 miles away.

Eavesdropping on Shrimp's Snap Chat Ocean Life

Eavesdropping on Shrimp’s Snap Chat

At Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, marine ecologist Ashlee Lillis is studying a tiny animal that makes one of the ocean’s loudest natural sounds. It’s called a snapping shrimp. The noise it makes dominates the underwater soundscape in many coastal regions and may have an outsized effect on other marine life.

Scientists and Navy Join Forces Ocean & Human Lives

Scientists and Navy Join Forces

When U.S. Navy were preparing a major NATO military exercise, they solicited help from WHOI scientists to plan how to mitigate potential environmental damage from oil spills.

A New Tsunami-Warning System Ocean Tech

A New Tsunami-Warning System

After successfully testing a long-range underwater communications system that worked under Arctic Ocean ice, an…

Communicating Under Sea Ice Ocean Tech

Communicating Under Sea Ice

Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed a new communication and navigation system that works over long distances under Arctic sea ice, allowing scientists to use autonomous underwater vehicles to explore the ice-covered Arctic Ocean.

All the Ocean's a Stage Ocean Tech

All the Ocean’s a Stage

“All right, Mr. Brickley, the show begins at two o’clock,” John Kemp announced as he…

What Happened to Deepwater Horizon Oil? How the Ocean Works

What Happened to Deepwater Horizon Oil?

Officials pumped a huge amount of chemicals into the deep ocean during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in an effort to disperse the oil. A study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences offers evidence that the dispersant may helped microbes break down the oil.

New Device Reveals What Ocean Microbes Do How the Ocean Works

New Device Reveals What Ocean Microbes Do

Whether you’re a plant, animal, or even a microbe, you generally can’t conduct the business…

To Track a Sea Turtle Ocean Tech

To Track a Sea Turtle

A WHOI engineer and biologist devise an autonomous system to track and film sea turtles beneath the surface, revealing a turtle’s eye view of the world.

Woman on Board Ocean Tech

Woman on Board

When Meghan Donohue decided to become a mooring technician—a job usually done by men—she knew she would face challenges. Donohue is the first woman to join the Mooring Operations and Engineering Group at WHOI. She is also a new mother. In an interview, she describes some of her experiences working on research cruises and balancing family life with a career at sea.

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