Skip to content

Press Room

WHOI & Pangaea Logistics Solutions to advance ocean science data acquisition through Science RoCS program

April 11, 2022

WHOI and Pangaea Logistics Solutions (Pangaea), a U.S. based, international maritime and logistics transportation company, today announced the launch of a new science program aboard Pangaea’s fleet of ships. Science RoCS (Science Research on Commercial Ships) is an innovative program pairing scientists with commercial vessels to regularly monitor the vast and open ocean, particularly along repeat routes in hard-to-reach areas where critical gaps in monitoring exist.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and collaborators launch world’s largest kelp map

April 4, 2022

To further investigate and track kelp growth and survival over time, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, The Nature Conservancy, University of California Los Angeles, and the University of California Santa Barbara have launched the world’s largest map of kelp forest canopies extending from Baja California, Mexico to the Oregon-Washington border.

Scientists report complete collapse of East Antarctica’s Conger Ice Shelf

March 25, 2022

Satellite data has confirmed that an ice shelf about the size of Manhattan has completely collapsed in East Antarctica within days of record high temperatures. The Conger ice shelf, which had an approximate surface area of 1,200 sq km, collapsed around 15 March, scientists confirmed today.

WHOI-led team awarded $7.6M to support Gulf of Mexico Loop Current research

March 25, 2022

A Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led research team has been awarded $7.6 million from the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM).

WHOI engineers invent adjustable, compact marine winch, offering flexibility and improved vessel operations

March 16, 2022

Engineers with the UNOLS East Coast Winch Pool, at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), spent a decade working on a product that offers a lightweight, compact winch model, designed specifically to make for an easier and more efficient experience for crews onboard vessels.

WHOI collaborates with CMA CGM to increase protections for marine mammals

March 10, 2022

A collaboration between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics, aims to increase whale detection efforts along the U.S East Coast, particularly for North Atlantic right whales, and reduce the potential for ship strikes along critical shipping routes.

Colleen Hansel

WHOI scientist elected as Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

March 7, 2022

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist elected as Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology

Colleen Hansel, associate scientist at WHOI, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology within the American Society of Microbiology (ASM). […]

Evidence Bolsters Classification of a Major Spawning Ground for Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Off the Northeast U.S.

March 3, 2022

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.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution-led study explores effects of noise on marine life

March 2, 2022

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..

Resilient Woods Hole releases new, interactive tools to prepare for climate change

February 18, 2022

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

Dissolving oil in a sunlit sea

February 16, 2022

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.

OTZ's role in climate change

The ocean twilight zone’s role in climate change

February 16, 2022

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.

WHOI’s Ken Buesseler named Geochemistry Fellow

February 15, 2022

Dr. Ken Buesseler has been selected as a Geochemistry Fellow by the Geochemical Society and the European Association of Geochemistry.

Ben Van Mooy awarded by Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography

February 10, 2022

WHOI senior scientist and Dept. Chair honored for phosphorus and lipid cycling research

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution co-produces Emmy award-winning program

February 3, 2022

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.”

Earth BioGenome Project begins genome sequencing in earnest

January 19, 2022

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.

WHOI shares details on microplastic detection project

January 11, 2022

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.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution selected as finalist for Governors Island Climate Solutions Center

January 11, 2022

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.

Research suggests giant kelp has different factors that bear on its growth dynamics

January 4, 2022

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.

New ocean floats to boost global network essential for weather, climate research

December 15, 2021

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