News Releases
International Group of Scientists Collaborate to Communicate about Ocean Acidification
Climate change is a well-known problem resulting from the burning of fossil fuels and the subsequent release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. But a separate, lesser-known problem resulting…
Read MoreIn CO2-rich Environment, Some Ocean Dwellers Increase Shell Production
In a striking finding that raises new questions about carbon dioxide?s (CO2) impact on marine life, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists report that some shell-building creatures?such as crabs, shrimp and lobsters?unexpectedly build more shell when exposed to ocean acidification caused by elevated levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
Read MoreRising acidity levels could trigger shellfish revenue declines, job losses
Changes in ocean chemistry — a consequence of increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human industrial activity — could cause U.S. shellfish revenues to drop significantly in the next 50…
Read MorePhytoplankton Cell Membranes Challenge Fundamentals of Biochemistry
Get ready to send the biology textbooks back to the printer. In a new paper published in Nature, Benjamin Van Mooy, a geochemist with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI),…
Read MoreAcid Rain Has a Disproportionate Impact on Coastal Waters
The release of sulfur and nitrogen into the atmosphere by power plants and agricultural activities plays a minor role in making the ocean slightly more acidic on a global scale, but the impact is greatly amplified in the shallower waters of the coastal ocean, according to new research by atmospheric and marine chemists.
Read MoreResearchers Find Substantial Amount of Mercury Entering the Ocean through Groundwater
Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found a new and substantial pathway for mercury pollution flowing into coastal waters. Marine chemists have detected much more dissolved mercury entering the ocean through groundwater than from atmospheric and river sources.
Read MoreScientists Find Unusual Use of Metals in the Ocean
Cadmium, commonly considered a toxic metal and often used in combination with nickel in batteries, has been found to have a biological use as a nutrient in the ocean, the…
Read More