News Releases
Fleet of Ocean Observers Grows to 3,000 Strong
On November 1, researchers from WHOI, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the University of Washington?as well as collaborators from 22 other nations?will celebrate…
Read MoreExtinction of Neanderthals Was Not a Climate Disaster Scenario
For the past few decades, scientists have offered several competing theories for what led to the extinction of the Neanderthals, with much of the debate focusing on the relative roles…
Read MoreScientists, Policymakers, and Industry Leaders Gather to Discuss Ocean Iron Fertilization
Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will host an international, interdisciplinary conference on the proposed use of ?iron fertilization? of the ocean as a means to combat rising concentrations…
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,…
Read MoreWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution Will Lead Partnership to Establish Coastal and Global Observatories for Ocean Observatories Initiative
The Joint Oceanographic Institutions (JOI) has awarded a $97.7 million contract to an academic partnership led by the WHOI to support the development, installation, and initial operation of the coastal…
Read MoreInnovative Tagging Technique May Help Researchers Better Protect Fish Stocks
Simon Thorrold, a fish ecologist from WHOI, has received a new research grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to use harmless chemical tags to track the dispersal of…
Read MoreWHOI Awards Lockheed Martin $2.8 Million Contract to Design Submersible Replacement Human Occupied Vehicle
WHOI has awarded Lockheed Martin a $2.8 million contract for the initial design of the Replacement Human Occupied Vehicle (RHOV), a next generation three-person Deep Submergence Vehicle (DSV) that will…
Read MoreFragmented Structure of Seafloor Faults May Dampen Effects of Earthquakes
Many earthquakes in the deep ocean are much lower in magnitude than expected. Geophysicists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have found new evidence that the fragmented structure of…
Read MoreStudents, Museum Visitors, and Web Surfers Can Join First Search for Life on the Arctic Ocean Floor
A multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers is conducting the first search for life and hot springs on the seafloor of the Arctic Ocean. Through the use of the World…
Read MoreExplorers to Use New Robotic Vehicles to Hunt for Life and Hydrothermal Vents on Arctic Seafloor
Researchers will probe the Gakkel Ridge during expedition that begins on July 1.
Read MoreNewt Merrill is Elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Newton P.S. Merrill, senior executive vice president (retired) of The Bank of New York, has been elected Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).…
Read MoreWHOI Geologists Compile Longest Ever Record of Atlantic Hurricane Strikes
The frequency of intense hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean appears to be closely connected to long-term trends in the El Ni?o/Southern Oscillation and the African monsoon, according to new research…
Read MoreB12 Is Also an Essential Vitamin for Marine Life
B12an essential vitamin for land-dwelling animals, including humansalso turns out to be an essential ingredient for growing marine plants that are critical to the ocean food web and Earth’s climate,…
Read MoreOceanic Storms Create Oases in the Watery Desert
A research team led by Dennis McGillicuddy of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has shown that episodic, swirling current systems known as eddies act to pump nutrients up from the…
Read MoreWHOI Geologists Recognized for Achievements
Two senior scientists in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have been honored for their outstanding contributions to understanding the makeup and dynamics…
Read MoreReal-Time Seismic Monitoring Station Installed Atop Active Underwater Volcano
This week, researchers will begin direct monitoring of the rumblings of a submarine volcano in the southeastern Caribbean Sea. On May 6, a team of scientists led by the Woods…
Read MoreCoral Reef Fish Make Their Way Home
Coral reef fish hatchlings dispersed by ocean currents are able to make their way back to their home reefs again to spawn, says a groundbreaking study published today in the…
Read MoreHurricane Katrina’s Flood Legacy Does Not Include Disease
When the levees broke in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, officials feared that Lake Pontchartrain might be infiltrated with disease-causing microbes from a “toxic gumbo” of water, polluted sediments, and…
Read MoreRobotic Vehicle Recovers Instruments and Data Locked in a Lava Flow
A lot of ocean science equipment goes into the water and never comes back. Some of it was intended to stay; other times, the sea claims it by force. Recently…
Read MoreBeach Sand Formations Tell Tales of Past Storms
Geologists have recently devised a new method for reconstructing the history of severe storms along the coast: examine the steep slopes and cliffs left behind when severe wind and water…
Read MoreIce-Covered Arctic Lakes May Harbor Signs of Climate Change
Arctic coastal environments are some of the most vulnerable to climate change. A team of WHOI researchers visited Canada’s Mackenzie River Delta in April 2007 to find out just how…
Read MoreOcean’s “Twilight Zone” Plays Important Role in Climate Change
A major study has shed new light on the dim layer of the ocean called the “twilight zone”where mysterious processes affect the ocean’s ability to absorb and store carbon dioxide…
Read MoreBuried, Residual Oil is Still Affecting Wildlife Decades After a Spill
Nearly four decades after a fuel oil spill polluted the beaches of Cape Cod, researchers have found the first compelling evidence for lingering, chronic biological effects on a marsh that…
Read MoreArctic Websites to Take Students, Museum Visitors, and Web Surfers to the Ends of the Earth
Beginning April 18, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in partnership with eight museums across the United States, will bring the excitement of polar research and discovery to students, teachers,…
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