How the Ocean Works
Lyme Disease Bacteria Have Quirky Needs
Scientists have confirmed that the pathogen that causes Lyme disease—unlike any other known organism—can exist without iron, a metal that all other life needs to make proteins and enzymes. Instead…
The Retreat of the Gualas Glacier
Like many mountain glaciers, the Gualas Glacier in the Patagonian region of Chile has retreated…
The Glacial Chronicles
Graduate student Benjamin Linhoff spent several months in the summers of 2011 and 2012 studying…
River Quest
Max Holmes and Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink spend a lot of time upriver—one day bundled in a…
Storms, Floods, and Droughts
The source of the rain that filled your town reservoir, or flooded your nearby river,…
Bacteria Exhibit Altruistic Behavior
When it comes to bacteria protecting themselves, it’s all in the family. A new study…
Elemental Journeys
Humans have changed the face of the Earth by significantly altering the natural movements of…
Calculating Evaporation from the Ocean
Illustration by Amy Caracappa-Qubeck, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Imagine you turn on the tap in…
New Weather-Shifting Climate Cycle Revealed
Scientists have uncovered evidence for another natural cycle that, like El Niño and La Niña,…
Deep-sea Detectives
Links to related materials Mid-Ocean Ridges—Articles, illustrations, and video showing how new seafloor crust forms…
Deep-sea Vents Yield New Species
Call it “midnight at the OASES.” Neither permanent darkness nor extreme pressure and heat cause…
Follow the Carbon
“Carbon is the currency of life,” said David Griffith, a marine chemist at Woods Hole…
Climate Change Spurred Fall of Ancient Culture
The Harappans may be the most advanced ancient civilization that most Westerners have never heard…
Underneath and Overlooked: Groundwater
Matt Charette has been pulling off the sheetrock in Earth’s basement to reveal a hidden…
Shifting Tactics in Shifting Shoals
The best-laid plans of scientists often go awry when they actually get into the field.…
A Serendipitous Seafloor Sample
This research was funded by the National Science Foundation. The pillow lava display and coffee…
In Search of the Pink and White Terraces
The dazzling Pink and White Terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomahana at one time…
Exhibit Spotlights Sea Butterflies
Artist Cornelia Kubler Kavanagh is passionate about exploring the ocean’s great unknowns. Via her latest…
Are Jellyfish Populations Increasing?
Delicate but armed, mindless yet unstoppable, jellyfish sometimes appear abruptly near coasts in staggering numbers…
A Newfound Cog in the Ocean Conveyor
A decade into the 21st century, scientists have confirmed the existence of a new and…
To Catch a Hurricane
On Aug. 25, 2011, the line projecting Hurricane Irene’s path up the East Coast barreled…
On the Trail of Mercury in the Ocean
I returned from Hawai’i in mid-December with 700 bottles of seawater. The bottles hold what…
Powerful Currents in Deep-Sea Gorges
On my first major research cruise, the ship was hit by a hurricane. On the…