Ecosystems
HABCAM
A towed underwater vehicle equipped with cameras, sonar, and sensors paints vivid portraits of life on the seafloor.
Specks in the Spectrometer
Mass spectrometer facilities can be a rite of passage for scientists—as well as for the…
A Green Thumb for Ocean Microbes
Anyone who has tried to grow orchids or keep a bonsai tree alive will tell…
Sand, Seals, and Solitude
In high school, students interested in art or science often diverge into separate fields. For…
Hidden Battles on the Reefs
A new study led by WHOI scientists shows how changing ocean conditions can combine to…
Bringing a Lab to the Seafloor
Scientists can't really know if new oceanographic instruments will really work until they try them…
From Lab to Sea
Scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution share their field-tested experience, training graduate students on methods…
Big Questions About Tiny Bacteria
It’s 3 a.m., and Jesse McNichol is struggling to stay awake. Since midafternoon, he’s been…
From Penguins to Polar Bears
Polar ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change. They are also notably hard to study…
Alvin‘s Animals
From orange octopi and furry yeti crabs to the largest known anemone, pilots and scientists…
The Mesocosm Lab
A mesocosm is an ecosystem in miniature, providing a useful middle ground between an indoor…
Mysterious Jellyfish Makes a Comeback
In July 2013, Mary Carman, a researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, was diving in…
Corals’ Indispensable Bacterial Buddies
Coral reefs, like human beings, may be superorganisms that depend on communities of microbes living…
The Scientist and the Poet
Alice Alpert, a graduate student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program, studies what the chemistry of…
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…
Symbiosis in the Deep Sea
Mobs of pale shrimp clamber over each other, jockeying for position in the swirling flow…
Beneath Arctic Ice, Life Blooms Spectacularly
Scientists have discovered a massive bloom of phytoplankton beneath ice-covered Arctic waters. Until now, sea…
Scientists Discover the “Vitamin B12 Claw”
Scientists have revealed a key cog in the biochemical machinery that allows marine algae at…
Ocean Explorers Probe Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico may be a source of food, fuel, and fun for millions…
A Taste of Oceanography
After Genevieve Brett, an undergraduate physics major at Skidmore College, presented her mathematical analysis of…
The Great South Channel
When people are hungry, they go to a place where they know they can find…
Searching for Life on the Seafloor
Smaller than a fingernail, like bits of downy red feathers, baby tubeworms cling to a…
The Latest Fashion in Bowhead Whale Songs
Whales, it turns out, are dedicated followers of fashion. There’s a style to the song…