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Press Room

“Digital Reefs” awarded $5 million

September 21, 2022

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) $5 million to participate in NSF’s ground breaking Convergence Accelerator Program. The project, led by WHOI scientist Anne Cohen, builds the world’s first Coral Reef Digital Twin, a…

The bolder bird gets (and keeps) the girl

September 14, 2022

A new paper by WHOI researchers demonstrates a connection between personality and divorce in albatross

How marine predators find food hot spots in open ocean “deserts”

September 7, 2022

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…

Marine Protected Areas in Antarctica should include young emperor penguins, scientists say

August 31, 2022

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…

WHOI welcomes Yessica Cancel as Chief People Officer

August 30, 2022

WHOI announced the appointment of Yessica Cancel to its executive team in the newly created position of Chief People Officer (CPO)

Human-occupied vehicle Alvin successfully completes science verification

August 23, 2022

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

As oceans warm, snapping shrimp sound a warning

August 18, 2022

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…

Carbon sequestration sites may prevent earthquakes

August 17, 2022

New evidence suggests that CO2-rich springs may be buffering quakes along areas of the San Andreas Fault

WHOI names Paul Salem as new Board of Trustees Chair

August 9, 2022

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…

Rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine reverses 900 years of cooling

August 8, 2022

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.

Weddell seal moms sacrifice to provide for their pups

August 2, 2022

Seal mothers dramatically limit diving and foraging while lactating to provide more iron to their young

four ships

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution leads multi-ship study of northwest Atlantic

August 2, 2022

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 with partners from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)…

Human-occupied submersible Alvin makes historic dive

July 21, 2022

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 meters (nearly 4 miles) in the Puerto Rico Trench,…

Hydrothermal field discovered at the East Pacific Rise 9°54’N

July 21, 2022

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…

WHOI and CMA CGM Group deploy acoustic monitoring buoy near Norfolk, Virginia

July 20, 2022

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…

Mid-depth waters off the United States East Coast are getting saltier

July 6, 2022

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…

Scientists link the changing Azores High and the drying Iberian region to anthropogenic climate change

July 5, 2022

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.

WHOI signs a memorandum of understanding with Portuguese Ocean Institute

June 29, 2022

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.

Innovative, new “road map” for kelp crop improvement

June 24, 2022

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…

Climate change could lead to a dramatic temperature-linked decrease in essential omega-3 fatty acids

June 23, 2022

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…