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Newest Navy Research Vessel Is Named Neil Armstrong

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced the nation’s newest research vessel will be named the R/V Neil Armstrong, after the renowned astronaut and the first man to set foot on the moon. The ship will be operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

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Dedication Ceremony Held for New Laboratory

WHOI President and Director Susan Avery and Director of Research Larry Madin were joined by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Deputy Director Willie May at a dedication ceremony Sept. 20 for the new Laboratory for Ocean Sensors and Observing Systems. The ceremonial ribbon cutting took place by the state-of-the-art facility’s high bay entrance, located on the Institution’s 160-acre Quissett campus.

WHOI received an $8.1 million grant from NIST in 2010 to fund construction of the new scientific research facility, as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. WHOI contributed $4 million to the project. The 27,000-square-foot, “green”-designed building will provide space for a major effort to create long-term ocean observatories.

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New Website Invites Public to Help Identify Seafloor Life and Habitats

A new partnership between oceanographers studying seafloor habitats, Web programmers and social scientists has resulted in a unique, interactive website called “Seafloor Explorer,” which asks members of the public to help identify objects they see in images of the seafloor. Seafloor Explorer (www.seafloorexplorer.org) launches September 13.

The team has more than 40 millions images, but are launching the site with a preliminary set of 100,000 – all of them taken by HabCam, a habitat mapping underwater vehicle.  HabCam was developed and built by the HabCam group, which comprises marine biologists and engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as well as fishermen and other scientists. 

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Tracking Fish Through a Coral Reef Seascape

Ocean scientists have long known that juvenile coral reef fishes use coastal seagrass and mangrove habitats as nurseries, later moving as adults onto coral reefs. But the fishes’ movements, […]

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WHOI Announces 2012 Ocean Science Journalism Fellows

journal fellow 2012

Ten writers and multimedia science journalists from the U.S., Canada, and Poland have been selected to participate in the competitive Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship program. The program takes place September 9-14, 2012, in Woods Hole, Mass., on Cape Cod.

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A ‘B-12 Shot’ for Marine Algae?

Studying algal cultures and seawater samples from the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the J. Craig Venter Institute have revealed a key cog in the biochemical machinery that allows marine algae at the base of the oceanic food chain to thrive. They have discovered a previously unknown protein in algae that grabs an essential but scarce nutrient out of seawater, vitamin B12.

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Climate Change Led to Collapse of Ancient Indus Civilization, Study Finds

A new study combining the latest archaeological evidence with state-of-the-art geoscience technologies provides evidence that climate change was a key ingredient in the collapse of the great Indus or Harappan Civilization almost 4000 years ago. The study also resolves a long-standing debate over the source and fate of the Sarasvati, the sacred river of Hindu mythology.

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Pacific Islands May Become Refuge for Corals in a Warming Climate, Study Finds

Scientists have predicted that ocean temperatures will rise in the equatorial Pacific by the end of the century, wreaking havoc on coral reef ecosystems. But a new study shows that climate change could cause ocean currents to operate in a surprising way and mitigate the warming near a handful of islands right on the equator. As a result these Pacific islands may become isolated refuges for corals and fish.

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