Exploring the Seas from Top to Bottom

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May 1, 2005

WHOI research vessels are exploring the oceans this spring from Bermuda to the Bay of Fundy in the North Atlantic and from Mexico to the Galápagos Islands in the eastern Pacific, conducting studies related to climate change, harmful algal blooms, exotic marine life on the sea floor and the formation of the earth’s crust. Research Vessel Knorr is working in the western North Atlantic conducting studies of the heat flux and overturning circulation to detect trends related to climate change before heading for the Pacific to pursue a variety of biological and chemical studies from Panama to Punta Arenas, Chile. Research Vessel Oceanus is studying and mapping harmful algal blooms and coastal currents in the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of Maine as waters warm and blooms head further south toward Massachusetts Bay. The submersible Alvin is diving from Research Vessel Atlantis in the eastern Pacific conducting biological, chemical and geological studies on the mid-ocean ridge off the coast of central America and the Galápagos Islands. The three ships, part of the U.S. academic research fleet, take Institution scientists and their colleagues from universities and research organizations around the world to sea to explore the interactions between the ocean, land and Earth itself. To learn more about where the ships are headed see the Ship Schedules.