Media Tip Sheet – February 2025
February 3, 2025
FEBRUARY 2025 MEDIA TIP SHEET
Welcome to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s media tip sheet. Our goal is to provide an advanced or detailed look at stories we believe are impactful or trending and offer WHOI experts if you’re interested in a deeper dive.
The AMOC has not declined in 60 years, WHOI experts show
A new WHOI-led study shows that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) has not declined in the past 60 years, as previous studies have suggested. This important system of currents distributes the ocean’s heat, moisture, and nutrients and regulates the Earth’s climate. Instead of predicting the future, the team of scientists quantified the past to help inform where we could be going. However, studies about the AMOC’s long-term future are uncertain.
While a decline of the AMOC would have grave consequences, a collapse would be catastrophic. Past work relied on sea surface temperature measurements to understand how the AMOC has changed, but “we’ve learned that sea surface temperature doesn't work as well as initially thought,” said Jens Terhaar, who began leading this study at WHOI as a postdoctoral scientist and completed the work at the University of Bern.
Learn more about the new study in the WHOI Press Room. Interviews are available.
Meet this season’s North Atlantic right whale calves!
What better way to celebrate National Whale Day than by welcoming seven critically endangered North Atlantic right whales to the world? While any expansion of the species is good news, this calving season is off to a slow start. At this point in the 2023-2024 season, 17 new calves had been spotted.
With approximately 372 of these endangered whales remaining, calves are critical for the species’ comeback. But entanglement and vessel strikes are making it more difficult for North Atlantic right whales to survive and reproduce.
Numbers from the 2024-2025 season as of February 3*
Learn more about North Atlantic right whales and efforts to protect them.
Photos and video of North Atlantic right whales are available for use.
Life in the dark: How organisms thrive in lightless, oxygen-free environments
Utilizing a process known as chemoautotrophy, the single-celled organism foraminifera harnesses energy from inorganic sources, like sulfide, from the seafloor. While this process has been observed within Bacteria and Archaea, this study is the first time it’s been documented in a eukaryote. Eukaryotic organisms have a well-defined nucleus, which houses an organism's genetic material. This group of organisms includes foraminifer, but also humans and animals!
Understanding how these microscopic organisms absorb energy can help improve climate records and provide insight into how life might survive on other planets.
Dive into the research in the WHOI Press Room.
Photos and video are available for use with credit.
Other Stories:
On the February Calendar:
February 11th: International Day of Women & Girls in Science
February 14th: Valentine’s Day
February 17th: National Whale Day
February 25th: WHOI’s Virtual Event Series presents: Ocean Encounters: The City and the Sea
Follow @WHOIMedia on X!
Get WHOI-related science news updates and story ideas in 280 characters or less with links to press releases, news highlights, events, and research information.
This account’s DMs are always open. We are excited to work with you!