News Releases
WHOI Names New Director of Development
A 1975 graduate of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Massachusetts Institute of Technology Joint Program in Oceanography will be returning to Woods Hole soon in a new capacity. Dr. Daniel H. Stuermer, a chemical oceanographer who has spent much of his career as a research scientist and in corporate management, will assume the duties of WHOI Director of Development October 1.
Read MoreNation’s First Deep-Sea Research Submersible Keeps Going and Going…
The nationA?s first human-occupied deep-sea research submersible, the three-person Alvin, turns 35 on June 5, but the tiny sub keeps on going and going. Making between 175 and 200 dives each year to depths up to 4,500 meters (14,764 feet), the sub set yet another record when it passed Dive #3,400 in late May. Alvin and its support vessel, the 274-foot Research Vessel Atlantis, are at work in the eastern Pacific and will spend the summer diving to the ocean floor off the coast of Washington and Oregon. The ship and sub, part of the U.S. National Deep Submergence Facility operated by WHOI, left their home port at Woods Hole, MA, June 2, 1997 and are not scheduled to return to Woods Hole until October 2000.
Read MoreWHOI Elects Officers, Trustees and Corporation Members
Officers of the Corporation Elected May 13, 1999
Read MoreActive 14,000 Foot Submarine Volcano Found near Samoa in South Pacific
An active volcano rising more than 4,300 meters (over 14,100 feet) from the ocean floor in the Samoa Islands has been discovered by a team of U.S. scientists, providing more evidence to the scientific debate over the formation of hot spot island chains. The volcano, more than 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) across at its base, rises to within 600 meters (about 2,000 feet) of the surface; its peak is marked by a circular caldera some two kilometers (over 1 mile) across and 400 meters (1,300 feet) deep. It is similar in size to Mt. Whitney in California, the largest mountain in the contiguous 48 U.S. states.
Read MoreGiant Sulfur Bacteria Discovered off African Coast
The largest bacterium ever found, a harmless organism that grows as a string of white beads large enough to be visible to the naked eye, has been found in coastal sediments off the coast of Namibia by an international research team. In an article in today’s issue of the journal Science, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Germany, the University of Barcelona in Spain, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts suggest the new genus and species be named Thiomargarita namibiensis(“sulphur pearl of Namibia”).
Read MoreDeputy Prime Minister of England to Visit WHOI April 23 to Discuss Deep-Sea Research, International Collaboration
John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Secretary of State for the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions, will visit Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) April 23 to discuss potential collaboration and to learn more about deep sea research. His visit will follow meetings earlier in the week with Vice President Al Gore and leaders of Congress in Washington, DC, and an Earth Day lecture on sustainable development at the United Nations in New York City.
Read MoreMarie Tharp Honored at Women Pioneers Seminar
Oceanographic cartographer Marie Tharp, co-creator of the first world ocean floor map and co-discoverer of the central rift valley that runs through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, was honored by the Women’s Committee of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) March 30 with the 1999 Women Pioneers in Oceanography Award.
Read MoreNew Model Suggests Northern Right Whale Population on Path to Extinction
The North Atlantic northern right whale, considered to be the most endangered large whale species, is headed for extinction unless human intervention improves survival, according to a new study by researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the University of Massachusetts, Boston (UMASS Boston). Their report, the first to obtain rigorous statistical estimates of survival probability of this population, was published today in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
Read MoreThree WHOI Scientists Recognized with Endowed Positions
Three scientists have been recognized by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) for their contributions to ocean sciences research. Drs. Cheryl Ann Butman of the Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering Department, David A. Caron of the Biology Department and Brian E. Tucholke of the Geology and Geophysics Department have each been named the recipient of an endowed chair at the Institution. Each chair brings financial support for a period of five years, allowing the recipient the freedom to pursue a variety of career interests.
Read MoreThree at WHOI Receive Senior Technical Awards for Technical Innovation and Excellence in Educational Activities
Daniel E. Frye, Barrie B. Walden and Carl 0. Wirsen have been named recipients of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Senior Technical Staff Awards for their contributions to the development […]
Read MoreU.S. Navy Honors Two WHOI Scientists
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) has named Senior Scientist Robert A. Weller and Associate Scientist Steven P. Anderson of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as recipients of its […]
Read MoreNearshore Observatory to be Installed off Martha’s Vineyard for Long-term Meteorological and Oceanographic Studies
Real-time data on coastal storms, on movement of sand that buries harbor entrances and inlets, and on the impact of winds on shoreline processes will soon be available through a […]
Read MoreScientists Plug Into Power and Communications ‘Outlet’ on the Seafloor
Scientists and engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and colleagues have successfully created the first permanent deep ocean seafloor observatory in the United States by connecting a junction […]
Read MoreU.S. Navy Gives Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Deep Diving Submarine
The U.S. Navy has transferred custody of its deepest-diving submersible, Sea Cliff, to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), operator of the National Deep Submergence Facility for the ocean research […]
Read MoreWHOI Symposium to Address the State of Worlds’ Fisheries
World leaders in fisheries oceanography will give an overview of the current state of the worlds’ fisheries in a symposium hosted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on Tuesday, […]
Read MoreWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution Has Visible Role in National Oceans Conference and in Lisbon World’s Fair
With 1998 declared the International Year of the Ocean by the United Nations and President Clinton, marine research and engineering are major topics of discussion at both the upcoming National […]
Read MoreGlobal Ocean Observatories a Major Initiative of National Ocean Conference
Global ocean observatories and the link they provide to climate prediction and education was one of the topics of discussion today at the National Ocean Conference in Monterey, CA. Dr. […]
Read MoreResults of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Survey of Largest British Merchant Ship Ever Lost Released In Great Britain
Results of a 1997 deep-sea survey of the wreck of the M/V Derbyshire, the largest British merchant ship in terms of tonnage ever lost at sea, were released today in […]
Read MoreAdvances in Underwater Imaging Provide Scientists With New Eyes in an Amazing Undersea World
A new suite of deep-sea camera systems, including a prototype high definition color television camera, has captured some unprecedented images of exotic life forms living in total darkness and freezing […]
Read MoreHistoric Dives: Two Deep-Sea Submersibles Exploring Earth’s Inner Space on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The U.S. deep-diving submersible Alvin, operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the French submersible Nautile are diving today on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an undersea […]
Read MoreU.S. Ocean Research Fleet’s Newest Vessel To Visit New York and Washington,DC
The 274-foot Research Vessel Atlantis, the nation’s newest and most capable deep-sea research vessel and new support ship for the deep-diving three-person submersible Alvin, will visit New York City May […]
Read MoreWHOI Presents Its Highest Honor to Physicist William Jenkins
The twelfth Henry Bryant Bigelow Award in Oceanography, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) highest honor, was presented January 31 to a member of the Institution’s own scientific staff. Senior […]
Read MorePhoning Home from the Seafloor: New Undersea Laboratory Will Provide First Real-time, Long-Term Ocean Measurements
Pitting science and technology against the storm-driven forces of the open coastal ocean, a team of engineers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and scientists from Rutgers, the […]
Read MoreRetirement of Research Vessel Atlantis II Marks the End of An Era
After a 33-year career and countless contributions to ocean sciences, the 210-foot Research Vessel Atlantis II is being retired from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) research fleet and from […]
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