News Releases
How marine predators find food hot spots in open ocean “deserts”
A new study led by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (UW APL) finds that marine predators, such as tunas, billfishes and sharks, aggregate in anticyclonic, clockwise-rotating ocean eddies (mobile, coherent bodies of water). As these anticyclonic eddies move throughout the open ocean, the study suggests that the predators are also moving with them, foraging on the high deep-ocean biomass contained within.
Read MoreMarine Protected Areas in Antarctica should include young emperor penguins, scientists say
Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and European research institutions are calling for better protections for juvenile emperor penguins, as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers listing the species under the Endangered Species Act and the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) considers expanding the network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in the Southern Ocean.
Read MoreWHOI welcomes Yessica Cancel as Chief People Officer
WHOI announced the appointment of Yessica Cancel to its executive team in the newly created position of Chief People Officer (CPO)
Read MoreHuman-occupied vehicle Alvin successfully completes science verification
After three weeks in the Puerto Rico trench and Mid Cayman Rise, Alvin is certified to return to research with its new max depth of ~4 miles
Read MoreAs oceans warm, snapping shrimp sound a warning
Research published by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists today in Frontiers in Marine Science confirmed their previous observations that rising temperatures increase the sound of snapping shrimp, a tiny crustacean found in temperate and tropical coastal marine environments around the world.
Read MoreCarbon sequestration sites may prevent earthquakes
New evidence suggests that CO2-rich springs may be buffering quakes along areas of the San Andreas Fault
Read MoreWHOI names Paul Salem as new Board of Trustees Chair
Paul Salem, a leader in private equity and non-profit board service, has been named Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s new Chair of the Board of Trustees. Salem will transition into the role officially on January 1, 2023, taking over for David Scully, who has served as the Board Chair for the past seven years.
Read MoreRapid warming in the Gulf of Maine reverses 900 years of cooling
Rapid 20th century warming in the Gulf of Maine has reversed long-term cooling that occurred there during the previous 900 years, according to new research that combines an examination of shells from long-lived ocean quahogs and climate model simulations.
Read MoreWeddell seal moms sacrifice to provide for their pups
Seal mothers dramatically limit diving and foraging while lactating to provide more iron to their young
Read MoreWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution leads multi-ship study of northwest Atlantic
Partners from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, University of Rhode Island, to study Ocean Twilight Zone
Woods Hole, Mass. (August 6, 2022) – Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), along […]
Read MoreHuman-occupied submersible Alvin makes historic dive
World’s most successful research submersible reaches 6,453 meters, its deepest dive ever
Woods Hole, MA — Today, the human-occupied submersible Alvin made history when it successfully reached a depth of 6,453 […]
Read MoreHydrothermal field discovered at the East Pacific Rise 9°54’N
A new high-temperature, off-axis hydrothermal vent field on Pacific seafloor at 2550 meters depth was discovered in 2021 by a team that included researchers from Lehigh University; Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO); the University of Bergen Norway; and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
Read MoreWHOI and CMA CGM Group deploy acoustic monitoring buoy near Norfolk, Virginia
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and The CMA CGM Group, a global player in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions, have deployed an acoustic monitoring buoy 33 miles off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia. A second buoy is slated for deployment off the coast of Savannah, Georgia in the coming weeks.
Read MoreMid-depth waters off the United States East Coast are getting saltier
A new study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows a significant increase in frequency of warm saltwater intrusions from the deep ocean to the continental shelf along the Middle Atlantic Bight, which extends from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Read MoreScientists link the changing Azores High and the drying Iberian region to anthropogenic climate change
Projected changes in wintertime precipitation make agriculture in the Iberian region some of the most vulnerable in Europe, according to a new WHOI co-led study that links the changes to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gases.
Read MoreWHOI signs a memorandum of understanding with Portuguese Ocean Institute
Today, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) signed a memorandum of understanding with Instituto Português do Mar e da Atmosfera (IPMA), the Portuguese national authority responsible for monitoring the country’s ocean, atmosphere, and land.
Read MoreInnovative, new “road map” for kelp crop improvement
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Connecticut, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have executed a license agreement for a kelp germplasm, or collection of microscopic cells called gametophytes, containing more than 1,200 samples all developed and isolated by WHOI and UConn-led teams. Bigelow Laboratory’s National Center for Marine Algae and Microbiota plans to maintain, market, and distribute the germplasm collection for broad use.
Read MoreClimate change could lead to a dramatic temperature-linked decrease in essential omega-3 fatty acids
The effects of global climate change already are resulting in the loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer and more intense heat waves, among other threats. Now, the first-ever survey of planktonic lipids in the global ocean predicts a temperature-linked decrease in the production of essential omega-3 fatty acids, an important subset of lipid molecules.
Read MoreWHOI joins world leaders at UN Ocean Conference: June 27 – July 1, Lisbon, Portugal
Thousands of participants from around the world will converge in Lisbon beginning June 27 as part of the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference. Among them will be representatives from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s largest independent organization dedicated exclusively to ocean research, engineering, and education.
Read MoreWHOI-led projects receive UN endorsement as part of Decade of Ocean Science
Four projects led or co-led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists were named on World Ocean Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to receive Endorsed Action status as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030.
Read MoreGeoscience technology company founded by MIT/WHOI Joint Program student awarded $3.8M from U.S. Department of Energy
Eden, a geoscience technology development company co-founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program student Paris Smalls, will receive $3.8 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
Read MoreYawkey Foundation and WHOI present Summer Speaker Series, “Dispatches from an Ocean Planet”
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, in partnership with the Yawkey Foundation, proudly presents “Dispatches from an Ocean Planet”, a summer series of film and literature. The series marks the return of WHOI in-person events after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. All events require pre-registration.
Read MoreArc volcanoes are wetter than previously thought, with scientific and economic implications
This increased amount of water has broad implications for understanding how Earth’s lower crust forms, how magma erupts through the crust, and how economically important mineral ore deposits form, according to a new paper led by authors from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
Read MoreWHOI campaign sheds light on new strategies and solutions for the coral reef crisis
In advance of World Ocean Day on June 8, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is launching its Give Reefs a Chance campaign, aimed at raising awareness of what WHOI scientists and engineers are doing to tackle the corals crisis, the importance of coral reefs, and what we can all do to give reefs a chance to survive.
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