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News Releases


Scientists Urge Protection of World’s Deltas

Scientists call for maintenance efforts to be started now to avert the loss of vast expanses of coastline, and the consequent losses of ecological services, economic and social crises, and large-scale migrations.

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Underwater Robot Sheds New Light on Antarctic Sea Ice

The first detailed, high-resolution 3-D maps of Antarctic sea ice have been developed using an underwater robot.  Scientists from the UK, USA and Australia say the new technology provides accurate ice thickness measurements from areas that were previously too difficult to access.

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Chief of Naval Operations Visits WHOI

Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, visited Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Nov. 6 for firsthand discussions with scientists and engineers conducting research and building technology with potential to enhance Naval capabilities and operations.

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Fukushima Radioactivity Detected Off West Coast

Monitoring efforts along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada have detected the presence of small amounts of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 100 miles (150 km) due west of Eureka, California. Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found the trace amounts of telltale radioactive compounds as part of their ongoing monitoring of natural and human sources of radioactivity in the ocean.

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New Study Finds Oceans Arrived Early to Earth

Earth is known as the Blue Planet because of its oceans, which cover more than 70 percent of the planet’s surface and are home to the world’s greatest diversity of life.  While water is essential for life on the planet, the answers to two key questions have eluded us: where did Earth’s water come from and when?

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Study Provides Some Answers to Fate of Deepwater Horizon Oil

Nearly five years after the Deepwater Horizon explosion spilled roughly 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, scientists are still working to answer the question: Where did all the oil go?

A paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides a piece of the puzzle with an analysis of the oil that ended up on the seafloor, establishing its footprint, rough quantity and likely deposition mode, and pegging its source to that deep ocean plume of oil.

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David Gallo Selected for Explorers Club Lowell Thomas Award

David Gallo

The Explorers Club has chosen David Gallo, Director of Special Projects at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), as one of the recipients of this year’s Lowell Thomas Award. He is among six recipients who will be honored for their “imagination in exploration” at a dinner on October 11, 2014, at the Bowers Museum in Southern California.

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Stunning Finds from Ancient Greek Shipwreck

A Greek and international team of divers and archaeologists has retrieved stunning new finds from an ancient Greek treasure ship that sank more than 2000 years ago off the remote island of Antikythera. The rescued antiquities include tableware, ship components, and a giant bronze spear that would have belonged to a life-sized warrior statue.

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New Collaborative Effort to Gauge National Marine Biodiversity

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers are part of a collaborative effort to understand and monitor changes in marine biodiversity within U.S. coastal waters. Marine biodiversity is a key indicator of ocean health and critical to sustaining natural resources such as fisheries.

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WHOI Announces 2014 Ocean Science Journalism Fellows

Eight writers, filmmakers, and multimedia science journalists from the U.S., England, and The Gambia have been selected to participate in the competitive Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Ocean Science Journalism […]

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Mercury in the Global Ocean

Although the days of odd behavior among hat makers are a thing of the past, the dangers mercury poses to humans and the environment persist today.

Mercury is a naturally occurring […]

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Newly Discovered Juvenile Whale Shark Aggregation in Red Sea

Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus)—which grow more than 30 feet long—are the largest fish in the world’s ocean, but little is known about their movements on a daily basis or over years. A newly discovered juvenile whale shark aggregation off Saudi Arabia is giving researchers a rare glimpse into the lives of these gentle giants.

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Tags Reveal Chilean Devil Rays Are Among Ocean’s Deepest Divers

Mainly thought to be surface dwellers, Chilean devil rays (Mobula tarapacana) are most often seen gliding through shallow, warm waters. But a new study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and international colleagues reveals that these large and majestic creatures are actually among the deepest-diving ocean animals.

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