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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

Coral Coring Ocean Life

Coral Coring

Off a small island in the Chagos archipelago in the Indian Ocean, Woods Hole Oceanographic…

See Those Black Dots? They’re Penguins. Now Count Them. Climate & Weather

See Those Black Dots? They’re Penguins. Now Count Them.

That’s exactly what a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) did on…

A Faster Way to Better Reactions How the Ocean Works

A Faster Way to Better Reactions

Finding new chemical reactions to synthesize commercial products more efficiently is big business and a major source of innovation. A new study offers a way to make the search faster, cheaper, and greener.

Endangered Whales Get a High-Tech Check-Up Ocean Life

Endangered Whales Get a High-Tech Check-Up

Drones seem to be everywhere these days, from backyards to battlegrounds. Scientists are using them too: in this case, to assess the health of endangered North Atlantic right whales. Since drones are small and quiet, they can fly close to whales without disturbing them, bringing back incredibly detailed photographs and samples of microbe-rich blow.

Ocean Tech

Remembering Knorr

After an iconic, 44-year career, the research vessel Knorr left the dock at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in March for the last time. It also left a place in the hearts of many who sailed on the ship or who had simply seen it in Woods Hole. A few of the people who watched it depart shared their memories of Knorr in this audio postcard.

Our Ship Comes In Ocean Tech

Our Ship Comes In

The long-awaited newest research vessel in the U.S. academic fleet—and the latest in a long line of WHOI-operated ships—arrives in Woods Hole on Wednesday.

Journey Into the Ocean's Microbiomes Ocean Life

Journey Into the Ocean’s Microbiomes

Bacteria in the ocean, including pathogenic ones, often hitchhike on tiny crustaceans called copepods. A graduate student explored their complex relationships.

How the Ocean Works

Two Chemical Roads Diverge in an Open Ocean

An infographicon biomineralization

Minerals Made by Microbes How the Ocean Works

Minerals Made by Microbes

Some minerals actually don’t form without a little help from microscopic organisms, using chemical processes that scientists are only beginning to reveal.

Through the Looking-Glass of the Sea Surface How the Ocean Works

Through the Looking-Glass of the Sea Surface

Scientists are using new technology to make previously impossible measurements at the turbulent ocean surface—a crucial junction for energy exchange between the air above and the sea below.

A Mighty Mysterious Molecule How the Ocean Works

A Mighty Mysterious Molecule

What gives sea air its distinctive scent? A chemical compound called dimethylsulfide. In a new study, WHOI scientists show that the compound may also be used by marine microbes to communicate with one another.

Recipes for Antibiotic Resistance Ocean Life

Recipes for Antibiotic Resistance

MIT-WHOI graduate student Megan May is investigating how microbes naturally develop resistance to antibiotic compounds in the marine environment and how human activities, including overuse of drugs and pollution, may be affecting the dynamic.

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