Ecosystems
From Penguins to Polar Bears
Polar ecosystems are especially vulnerable to climate change. They are also notably hard to study and to manage. Scientists came to WHOI recently for a Morss Colloquium to address the issues.
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…
Between the Beach and the Deep Blue Sea
Capt. Ken Houtler laughed when I remarked that I didn’t know the sun rose this…
Life and Death in the Deep Sea
It was an experiment they hoped would never happen. But when it did, they were…
Where the Food Is in the Sea, and Why
When you’re on a boat 50 miles south of Cape Cod on a calm day,…
A Hunt for Unusual Seafloor Animals and Vents
The first expedition to search for deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Cayman Rise deep in…
What’s Living in the Ocean?
In 2010, as the United States conducted its latest decadal population census, marine scientists completed…
Volunteer Gets an Oceanful of Experience
<!– –> It’s two in the morning, and I’m watching a remotely operated vehicle, or…
A Torrent of Crabs Running to the Sea
Joanna Gyory’s Ph.D. plans changed completely when she saw the crabs. It was her third…