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Deep Submergence Vehicle Alvin Overhaul in Action

February 20, 2006

Watch the latest progress on the overhaul of the three-person submersible Alvin at http://alvincam.whoi.edu/view/view.shtml. The sub has been ashore in Woods Hole, Massachusetts undergoing overhaul since November and will be ready for sea trials from the research vessel Atlantis in […]

Warmer than a Hot Tub: Atlantic Ocean Temperatures Much Higher in the Past

February 17, 2006

Scientists have found evidence that tropical Atlantic Ocean temperatures may have once reached 107°F (42°C)—about 25°F (14°C) higher than ocean temperatures today and warmer than a hot tub. The surprisingly high ocean temperatures, the warmest estimates to date for any […]

New Sonar Method Offers Way to Assess Health of Squid Fisheries

February 7, 2006

California?s $30-million-a-year squid fishery has quadrupled in the past decade, but until now there has been no way to assess the continuing viability of squid stocks. A new sonar technique offers a window onto next year?s potential squid population.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Maps Ancient Greek Shipwreck

February 2, 2006

Additional contact:
Denise Brehm
MIT News Office
617-253-2704
brehm@mit.edu 

After lying hidden for millennia off the coast of Greece, a sunken 4th century B.C. merchant ship and its cargo have been surveyed by an international team using a robotic underwater […]

Magnetic Misfits: South Seeking Bacteria in the Northern Hemisphere

January 20, 2006

Magnetotactic bacteria contain chains of magnetic iron minerals that allow them to orient in the earth’s magnetic field much like living compass needles. These bacteria have long been observed to respond to high oxygen levels in the lab by swimming […]

Who Goes to Sea Wishing for Bad Weather?

January 1, 2006

Some physical oceanographers do, even if it is in January in the North Atlantic. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists will spend two weeks this month working south of the Gulf Stream in the Northwest Atlantic trying to understand the […]

Changes in the Antarctic Ecosystem: Salps versus Krill

January 1, 2006

WHOI biologists will travel to Antarctica in mid-February to study salps⎯transparent, gelatinous, planktonic animals that generate massive populations containing individuals 10 centimeters (about four inches) long and colonial chains many meters (more than three feet) long. Salps consume diatoms, the […]

Clues in a Crater: From India to the Surface of Mars

January 1, 2006

Researchers from WHOI, Harvard, MIT and Princeton will conduct the second part of an intensive field and laboratory study this month at Lonar Crater in Maharashtra, India, looking for clues about the surface of Mars.  Lonar Crater is unique among […]

Rerouting of Major Rivers in Asia Provides Clues to Mountains of the Past

December 23, 2005

Scientists have long recognized that the collision of the earth’s great crustal plates generates mountain ranges and other features of the Earth’s surface. Yet the link between mountain uplift and river drainage patterns has been uncertain.  Now scientists have used […]

WHOI Seeks to Raise $200 Million in Comprehensive Campaign

December 19, 2005

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has announced a $200-million comprehensive campaign to raise endowment and unrestricted operating funds to support staff and ongoing research and education activities.  The campaign is the largest the Institution has conducted, with nearly $133 […]

Noah’s Flood: New Evidence of Catastrophic Flooding in the Black Sea

December 12, 2005

Results from a July 2005 cruise in the Black Sea may settle a longstanding debate over evidence of a megaflood in the Black Sea, the so-called “Noah’s Flood.” Multibeam bathymetry and sub-bottom profiling reveals ridges, some more than 12 meters […]

Fine-tuning the Steps in the Intricate Climate Change Dance

December 7, 2005

New scientific findings are strengthening the case that the oceans and climate are linked in an intricate dance, and that rapid climate change may be related to how vigorously ocean currents move heat between low and high latitudes.

The research, by […]

New Technology for New Exploration of Hydrothermal Vents

December 5, 2005

Advances in undersea imaging systems, the development of new vehicles and instruments, and improved seafloor mapping capabilities have enabled scientists to explore areas of the deep sea in unprecedented detail.  One such area is the TAG hydrothermal mound in the […]

Insight into Freshwater Input to the North Atlantic Ocean

December 1, 2005

The strongest climate cooling event in the last 10,000 years occurred about 8,200 years ago. Known as the 8.2 ka event, it was an abrupt release of freshwater to the ocean as the superlake Agassiz drained through Hudson Strait into […]

Dual Vehicle Operations a Sign of the Future in Seafloor Exploration

December 1, 2005

Deploying two or more underwater vehicles from a single vessel makes better use of ship time and personnel, but requires specific technical capabilities and careful scheduling.  In the past, one vehicle has been recovered before the other was deployed, and […]

WHOI Blog from AGU

December 1, 2005

Check the WHOI blog for news updates from the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meeting. More than 10,000 Earth, space and ocean scientists are converging on San Francisco this week for the premier annual meeting in their field.  Hundreds of […]

Deep-sea Light Post Transforms the Ocean Floor into a Photography Studio

November 30, 2005

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientists (WHOI) and engineers have designed a portable deep-sea light post to illuminate the dark ocean floor.  Up to now, scientists have been able to see only a few yards, like shining a flashlight on a […]

How Squid Swim: The Difference Between Theory and Observation

November 30, 2005

For years, some engineers believed squid likely propelled themselves through water by creating vortex rings, forcing fluid out of their pipe shaped funnels to create smoke-ring-like structures. But the experience of WHOI researchers suggested otherwise, so they set up experiments […]

Bouncing Among the Arctic Ice: The Ultimate Arctic Machine?

November 30, 2005

WHOI scientists exploring the largely unknown currents beneath the polar sea ice have designed and successfully tested a new float that drifts at various depths through the oceans measuring water temperature and salinity. The float is programmed to rise to […]

WHOI Announces New Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean

October 26, 2005

James Yoder, a professor of oceanography and former associate dean at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, has been chosen Vice President for Academic Programs and Dean at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).  Yoder was elected […]