News Releases
Evidence Bolsters Classification of a Major Spawning Ground for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Off the Northeast U.S.
The Slope Sea off the Northeast United States is a major spawning ground for Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus), a new WHOI-led paper affirms. This finding likely has important implications for population dynamics and the survival of this fish.
Read MoreWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led study explores effects of noise on marine life
New research shows turtles can experience temporary hearing loss from an excess of underwater noise. This high volume of sound, referred to as underwater noise pollution, can be caused by passing ships and offshore construction. These preliminary findings were part of a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led study that is being presented at the 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting..
Read MoreResilient Woods Hole releases new, interactive tools to prepare for climate change
ResilientWoodsHole (RWH) initiative releases new interactive website tools to further engage the local community in its collective goal of securing a climate-resilient future for the coastal village of Woods Hole
Read MoreDissolving oil in a sunlit sea
A team of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers discovered that nearly 10 percent of the oil floating on the Gulf after the Deepwater Horizon disaster was dissolved into seawater by sunlight – a process called “photo-dissolution”. The findings were published today in the paper “Sunlight-driven dissolution is a major fate of oil at sea” in Science Advances.
Read MoreThe ocean twilight zone’s role in climate change
A new report from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Ocean Twilight Zone (OTZ) project team offers a detailed look at the climate-altering processes that take place within the zone, in particular those that are driven by animals that migrate between the twilight zone and the surface each night to feed. This phenomenon is likely the biggest migration on Earth—yet it remains incredibly vulnerable to human exploitation.
Read MoreWHOI’s Ken Buesseler named Geochemistry Fellow
Dr. Ken Buesseler has been selected as a Geochemistry Fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry.
Read MoreBen Van Mooy awarded by Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography
WHOI senior scientist and Dept. Chair honored for phosphorus and lipid cycling research
Read MoreWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution co-produces Emmy award-winning program
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been awarded an Emmy as a co-producer, along with South Florida PBS (WPBT & WXEL) for Changing Seas: “Alvin: Pioneer of the Deep” . The 2021 Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy Awards announced the honor in December, for the category “Environment/Science – Long Form Content.”
Read MoreEarth BioGenome Project begins genome sequencing in earnest
The Deep-Ocean Genomes Project is an ambitious effort co-led by WHOI and the University of Connecticut (UConn) to obtain fundamental new knowledge of the organization, evolution, functions, and interactions of life in one of Earth’s least-understood regions: the deep ocean.
Read MoreWHOI shares details on microplastic detection project
A project led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Chemical Sensors Lab is moving researchers closer to an in-field microplastics sensor that measures the amount of plastic particles in water.
Read MoreWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution selected as finalist for Governors Island Climate Solutions Center
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, a global leader in ocean research and exploration, is partnering with two teams selected as finalists in the development of the new Governors Island Climate Solutions Center in New York City. The announcement was recently made by former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and The Trust for Governors Island.
Read MoreResearch suggests giant kelp has different factors that bear on its growth dynamics
The macroalga giant kelp, which is an iconic and important ecosystem-structuring species found off the coast of California and many other coastlines, can grow 100-feet long within 1-2 years. Now, researchers using novel remote sensing observations have found that different factors may bear on the spatial growth dynamics of the Macrocystis pyrifera kelp, which is the largest species of algae in the world.
Read MoreNew ocean floats to boost global network essential for weather, climate research
WHOI and partners join together to launch approximately 100 new Argo floats across the Atlantic Ocean to collect data that supports ocean, weather and climate research and prediction
Read MoreTropical fish…up north? How ocean physics play a role in altering water temperature and salinity
A study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists is explaining why warm and salty water along with warm water fish species, such as the deep-sea dwelling Gulf Stream flounder and Black Sea bass, were found far inshore in New England in the middle of winter 2017. How did this happen? Researchers say it is due to an intrusion of offshore water from the open ocean onto the Northeast U.S. Shelf, caused by eddies (a circular current of water) and wind.
Read MoreStudy finds bio-based cellulose acetate plastic used in consumer goods disintegrates in ocean much faster than assumed
Woods Hole, MA — Cellulose diacetate (CDA), a bio-based plastic widely used in consumer goods, disintegrates, and degrades in the ocean far quicker than previously assumed, according to a new…
Read MoreStudy outlines challenges to ongoing clean-up of burnt and unburnt nurdles along Sri Lanka’s coastline
When a fire broke out on the deck of the M/V XPress Pearl cargo ship on May 20, 2021, an estimated 70-75 billion pellets of preproduction plastic material, known as nurdles, spilled into the ocean and along the Sri Lankan coastline. That spill of about 1,500 tons of nurdles, many of which were burnt by the fire, has threatened marine life and poses a complex clean-up challenge. A new peer-reviewed study characterizes how the fire modified the physical and chemical properties of the nurdles and proposes that these properties affected their distribution along the coast.
Read More“Mantle wind” blows through slab window beneath Panama
A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led team unravels the existence of a 900-mile-long mantle conduit between the Galapagos and Central America Woods Hole, MA — Volcanic gases are helping researchers track…
Read MoreDOE Funding will Support WHOI Research to Support Sustainable Development of Offshore Wind
Woods Hole, MA — The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has received $750,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop next‐generation autonomous robotic technology for environmental…
Read MoreDevelopment of a curious robot to study coral reef ecosystems awarded $1.5 million by the National Science Foundation
A prototype of an autonomous underwater vehicle capable of navigating complex underwater environments and of collecting data adaptively over long periods of time. Daniel Hentz / ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution…
Read MoreWHOI Arctic experts present at international climate conference overseas
Experts from WHOI and Woodwell Climate Research Center are on the ground at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, sharing critical perspective on the implications of a warming Arctic
Read MoreNew book by WHOI marine scientist offers a grim look at an endangered whale species
A new book by Michael Moore, veterinarian, and marine scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), examines the plight and future of the North Atlantic right whale, one of the most critically endangered species on the planet, and draws on Moore’s 40 years of fieldwork to offer possible solutions.
Read MoreWHOI welcomes Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna as Senior Advisor on Ocean and Climate Policy
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s independent leader in ocean discovery, exploration, and education, has welcomed Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna (Rama) as senior advisor to the President and Director on ocean and climate policy.
Read MoreEnvironmental DNA is a reliable way to learn about migration from the twilight zone
Woods Hole, MA — The mid-ocean “twilight zone” holds the key to several tantalizing questions about the marine food web and carbon-sequestering capacity of the ocean. But studying this vast…
Read MoreWHOI Elects New Trustee and Board Officers, and New Corporation Members
In October, the Board of Trustees of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) welcomed one new Board Member and named two new officers, as well as ten new Corporation Members
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