Ocean tech
Why Did the El Faro Sink?
WHOI deep-sea vehicles and scientists played critical roles in searching the seafloor and locating the voyage data recorder of El Faro, the ship that sank in 2015 during Hurricane Joaquin, killing all 33 crew members.
After Overhaul, Jason Is Stronger Than Ever
Jason, the workhorse remotely operated deep-sea vehicle, underwent a top-to-bottom overhaul that dramatically increased its…
How Do Larvae Find a Place to Settle Down?
It’s still a mystery: How do the tiny larvae of marine animals that hatch in…
A New Tsunami-Warning System
After successfully testing a long-range underwater communications system that worked under Arctic Ocean ice, an…
Communicating Under Sea Ice
Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed a new communication and navigation system that works…
All the Ocean’s a Stage
“All right, Mr. Brickley, the show begins at two o’clock,” John Kemp announced as he…
To Track a Sea Turtle
A WHOI engineer and biologist devise an autonomous system to track and film sea turtles…
Woman on Board
When Meghan Donohue decided to become a mooring technician—a job usually done by men—she knew…
How Would ‘On-Call’ Buoys Work?
WHOI engineers are developing a new kind of lobster trap buoy that could help keep whales from…
Whale-safe Fishing Gear
WHOI engineers are developing a new kind of lobster trap buoy that could help keep…
The Quest for the Moho
For more than a century, scientists have made several attempts to drill a hole through…
Ocean Observatories System Is Up and Running
The Ocean Observatories Initiative has reached a major milestone: Its network of ocean sensor systems…
Beneath the Sea, the Galápagos Reveal More Marvels
The Galápagos Islands have offered biologists a natural laboratory ever since Charles Darwin’s day, but…
A New Eye on Deep-Sea Fisheries
Imagine that officials charged with setting deer-hunting limits had to assess the herd’s abundance by…
Remembering Knorr
After an iconic, 44-year career, the research vessel Knorr left the dock at Woods Hole…
Our Ship Comes In
The long-awaited newest research vessel in the U.S. academic fleetâand the latest in a long…
Through the Looking-Glass of the Sea Surface
Scientists are using new technology to make previously impossible measurements at the turbulent ocean surface—a…
HABCAM
A towed underwater vehicle equipped with cameras, sonar, and sensors paints vivid portraits of life…
TurtleCam
WHOI scientists create a robotic bloodhound to track and watch sea turtles in their inaccessible…
Setting a Watchman for Harmful Algal Blooms
As harmful algal blooms are becoming more frequent and severe worldwide, researchers in the lab…
The Man Who Opened Our Ears to the Ocean
Over his long career at WHOI, Bill Watkins pioneered new instruments to collect sounds of…
A Green Thumb for Ocean Microbes
Anyone who has tried to grow orchids or keep a bonsai tree alive will tell…
A Smarter Undersea Robot
Some say it is lethal to cats. WHOI scientists say it would be a boon…
Bringing a Lab to the Seafloor
Scientists can't really know if new oceanographic instruments will really work until they try them…