WHOI in the News
Five Feet Above A Rising Ocean
One building was made to see it all. Adjacent to Water Street in Woods Hole there’s a small edifice that used to be a hangar for water planes in the 1960s. Because of that, it’s still precariously perched less than 5 feet above the water level, atop Dyer’s Dock. Now it’s become WHOI facility director Dave Derosier’s vantage point for risings seas.
New technology expected to play a key role in shark research
In November, Skomal and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy fitted two sharks with new satellite positioning tags developed by a team at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that can be fastened to a white shark’s fin without having to capture it and drill mounting holes.
‘This Is Our Time’ – New WHOI President Vows To Help Save The Planet
“The oceans are in trouble, climate is changing rapidly, and the world is in need of solutions,” the new president of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Peter B. de Menocal, told some 500 attendees at a virtual town hall meeting in early October.
The Oldest Crewed Deep Sea Submarine Just Got a Big Makeover
Alvin has been ashore getting a major upgrade at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which operates the submersible on behalf of the US Navy. By the time Alvin’s makeover is wrapped up in late 2021, the storied submarine will rank among the most capable human-rated deep sea submersibles in the world.
The Water Below
Drawing on 90 years of leadership in ocean discovery and exploration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists are engaged in an array of research projects using autonomous systems to advance their understanding of marine environments.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Leader: Scientists Are Excited To Return To A ‘Rational Perspective On The World’ With Biden Administration
Some of the most groundbreaking and interesting marine science research is happening right here in Massachusetts, at Cape Cod’s Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Peter de Menocal, the institution’s new leader, spoke with GBH All Things Considered Host Arun Rath.
Humans Created More Than Half of the Hudson River Tidal Marshes Unintentionally
In new research of tidal marsh resilience to rise in sea level, researchers observed that Hudson River Estuary marshes are developing upward at a rate twice or thrice times quicker than sea level rise, proposing that they need to be resilient to faster sea-level rise in the future.
Researchers tag free-swimming sharks off Cape Cod using minimally invasive device
Researchers and scientists were recently able to use fin-mounted location tracking tags on free-swimming sharks off of Cape Cod while using a device that allowed them to tag the sharks without capturing them.
Shipping-Gate Explained: How The Global Ship Fuel Scandal Came About
So until now (four months later), there has been no detailed oil fingerprinting conducted aside from a ten day old sample that some of the world’s leading oil spill scientists at U.S.-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution had conducted.
Shipping-Gate: Why Toxic VLSFO Fuel Is Such A Danger For Global Shipping
This chemical signature also reveals what would happen if that oil was ever leaked into the natural environment or made contact with humans. A process known as Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) is what is used, as the U.S. laboratory WHOI is internationally renowned for.
Humpback whale songs provide insight to population changes
Following reports of unusually low whale numbers that began in 2015-16, researchers at the University of Hawaii in collaboration with the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, Oceanwide Science Institute and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, examined song chorusing recorded through long-term passive acoustic monitoring at six sites off Maui.
In a major effort to protect endangered whales, state officials plan to ban lobster fishing for several months a year
Moving to ropeless fishing would have “a far more lasting impact in reducing mortality, and equally importantly, the health and hence reproductive success of live animals,” said Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at WHOI.
US DOE Gives $21 Million for Innovative Offshore Wind Technologies
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of Massachusetts will collect offshore wind resource data off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and use it to improve atmosphere-ocean simulation tools and reduce uncertainty in offshore wind resource assessment and forecasting.
Deep ocean drilling: Revealing earth history, geological processes and a deep biosphere
Virginia Edgcomb from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution discusses deep ocean drilling, a process that reveals earth history, geological processes and a deep biosphere.
UVM commissions $3.9 million hybrid electric/diesel vessel for Lake Champlain research
The winch is operated using a single wireless joystick developed by engineers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The UVM boat will be the first in the world to use this technology.
WHOI Reveals Upgrades to Iconic Submersible Alvin
Increased depth range and the ability to explore 99% of the ocean floor, including the abyssal region—one of the least understood areas of the deep sea—are just some of the upgrades underway for the iconic human-occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin that were unveiled today at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fall Meeting 2020.
Local Scientists Show Link Between Ocean Pollution And Illness
A new study from Boston College and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution draws some jarring conclusions on the link between ocean pollution and human health.
The Life Aquatic: Falmouth scientists launch downtown brewery
Falmouth scientists launch downtown brewery.
Crystals may help reveal hidden Kilauea Volcano behavior
By leveraging observations of tiny crystals of the mineral olivine formed during a violent eruption that took place in Hawaii more than half a century ago, researchers have found a way to test computer models of magma flow, which they say could reveal fresh insights about past eruptions and possibly help predict future ones.
From north to south pole, climate scientists grapple with pandemic disruptions
Carin Ashjian, a biological oceanographer at WHOI who studies the impact of climate on ecology, was also on the ship then and remembers that “there were a lot of mixed feelings” when news of the pandemic hit them in March. She described how they were both worried about the safety of people back home, while feeling relief that they were protected from the virus by their geographic isolation.
How safe is the water off the coast of the San Onofre nuclear plant?
Surfrider teams with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to conduct their own tests of San Onofre’s radioactive wastewater.
Science is the way forward
By definition, science seeks to avoid bias, remain independent, refute falsehoods, and seek answers based on evidence, reason, and consensus. An editorial writen by Peter de Menocal and Richard W. Murray.
Endangered right whale population down to 360 as they begin migration toward Florida coast
As the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales begin their southward migration from New England and Canada toward the coast of Florida, including Volusia and Flagler counties, researchers are marking the beginning of calving season with uncertainty and urgency.
Sea Ahead
The game-changing technologies that will transform our ability to understand and manage Earth’s last great frontier. Monitoring instruments—and ocean technologies in general—have come a long way. We now have Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled robots that not only allow researchers to access the most remote spots in the ocean, but can decide where to explore once they get there.
