Ocean Tech
The Airplane That Studied the Ocean
Airplanes don’t typically come to mind when people think of ocean science. But for 25 years, beginning in 1945, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) maintained five planes for research. Ed…
Floating Without Imploding
To allow a heavy vehicle to float in the deepest depths, Don Peters and other…
Let There Be Light in the Dark Depths
Jonathan Howland has worked as an engineer for 20 years in the Deep Submergence Lab…
Armed and Dexterous
Matt Heintz is a research engineer in the Deep Submergence Lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic…
2,000 Batteries Under the Sea
Daniel Gomez-Ibañez has been an engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for three years. Much…
Miles Under the Sea, Hanging on by Hair-Thin Fiber
Andy Bowen has been developing robotic deep-sea technology for many years, starting his career at…
Nereus Soars to the Ocean’s Deepest Trench
It took a village of engineers to build a completely new type of unmanned deep-sea…
While Oil Gently Seeps from the Seafloor
I investigate what happens to oil spilled into the ocean—with an eye toward finding better…
A New Deep-Sea Robot Called Sentry
There’s been a changing of the guard among deep-sea exploration vehicles. Sentry, a new undersea…
Turtle Skulls Prove to be Shock-Resistant
Scientists and engineers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the U.S. Navy have discovered…
The Turtle and the Robot
Stephen Licht built an unusual underwater robot with a curious name. With a wink toward…
Building the Next-Generation Alvin Submersible
Three times geologist Adam Soule has climbed inside the deep-diving submersible Alvin and headed to…
‘Green’ Energy Powers Undersea Glider
Researchers have successfully flown the first thermal glider through the ocean—a robotic vehicle that can…
The Spiral Secret to Mammal Hearing
The spiral secrets of mammals? hearing abilities Whispering galleries are curious features of circular buildings.…
Corralling the Wild and Wooly Southern Ocean
Matt Mazloff fishes out a postcard. It’s a simulated aerial view of the bottom of…
She’s Got the Whole Fleet in Her Hands
For oceanographers, going to sea isn’t as simple as driving to the dock, climbing on…
Can’t Bring Deep-sea Samples Up? Send a Lab Down.
Much of what is surprising about the deep ocean results from the extraordinary conditions found…
Arctic Voyage Tests New Robots for Ice-covered Oceans
In the summer of 2007, an international team led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic…
Ocean Observatories Initiative Poised to Launch
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) was awarded a $97.7 million grant to help build a…
Happy as a (Newly Discovered) Clam
Aboard a research ship in 1997, Janet Voight was amazed when she examined a small…
A Sea Change in National Ocean Policy?
Early in the new century, two national commissions conducted the first thorough reviews in a…
Robot Paints Stunning Map of Deep-sea Volcano
Painting with sonar, each brushstroke a “ping” of sound reflected off the seafloor, the robotic…
Going for the GUSTO (Mooring)
It was the oceanographic equivalent of stopping for milk on the way home. Two years…