WHOI in the News
Wetter climate to trigger global warming feedback loop in the tropics
As the tropics get wetter, as many climate models predict, soils are likely to experience greater rates of respiration and decomposition, limiting the carbon storage abilities of tropical soils and intensifying global warming.
Covid-19 Forces Spring Science Field Work to Go Fallow
Carin Ashjian, a senior scientist at WHOI, was one of 97 scientists and crew members aboard a German oceanographic research vessel that has been deliberately stranded in Arctic Sea ice as part of the year-long MOSAIC experiment.
Endangered North Atlantic right whales return to Canadian waters
For North Atlantic right whales as individuals, and as a species, things are going terribly wrong,” said Michael Moore from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
In another significant ruling for right whales, a federal judge rules that Massachusetts is violating the Endangered Species Act
Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at WHOI, lauded the ruling, saying the “judge understands the simple truth that if there is rope in the water column, and whales come and go in the region, entanglement risk is real, and significant in terms of mortality and morbidity, especially for reproductive success.”
The Deepwater Horizon Disaster Fueled a Gulf Science Bonanza
Chris Reddy is an expert in oil spill science who in 2010 helped determine the size, heading, and chemical composition of the underwater plume from an oceanographic research vessel and underwater robot near the Macondo well site, about 80 miles south of New Orleans.
We study shipwrecks to find overlooked history. With COVID-19, we see it right now.
Op ed coauthored by Calvin Mires, a maritime archaeologist and Research Associate at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachussetts.
Upper Cape Perspectives On Earth Day Shift Amid A Silent Spring
“I think Earth Day has always been an opportunity to celebrate the environment around us and how we can take action,” said Judith McDowell, a scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole. “To me Rachel Carson is the epitome of what we choose to celebrate on Earth Day.”
Study Finds New Source of Trace Elements Could Rapidly Change Arctic Ecosystems
A new study by WHOI and their international colleagues found that freshwater runoff from rivers and continental shelf sediments are bringing significant quantities of carbon and trace elements into parts of the Arctic Ocean via the Transpolar Drift—a major surface current that moves water from Siberia across the North Pole to the North Atlantic Ocean.
Katharine, the Great White Shark Who Ghosted Her Trackers, Resurfaces
Simon R. Thorrold, a senior scientist in the biology department at WHOI in Falmouth, Mass., said it was “not crazy surprising” that a signal was picked up.
Earth’s oceans may hold the key to finding life beyond our planet
The second vehicle is our Orpheus vehicle, and this is a partnership between JPL and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Ocean’s ‘biological pump’ absorbs more carbon than previously estimated
New research suggests the ocean’s “biological carbon pump” is more efficient at absorbing carbon than scientists previously estimated.
Former Falmouth students credited in new study
Rebecca Cox and Sarah Lott were interns at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution when they became a part of the breakthrough study, which found microorganisms living hundreds of meters beneath the seafloor.
Bacteria as Living Microrobots to Fight Cancer
This was first discovered in the 1970s by Richard Blakemore of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
Pop-up pots and the search for ‘whale-safe’ gear
Mark Baumgartner, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, has talked about the entanglement issue with Porter and believes ropeless fishing can work, and that it may be the best option for enabling fishermen and whales to share the same waters.
WHOI Constructing New Innovation Hub
WHOI is planning to build a new, state-of-the-art building on its campus.
Data Lost, Ships Stalled, Lobsters Released: What Woods Hole Scientists Have Left Behind
WHOI researcher Aran Mooney talks about how the shutdown has affected research
Key ingredient in coronavirus tests comes from Yellowstone’s lakes
Quotes WHOI researchers Virginia Edgcomb and Julie Huber
The oceans’ twilight zone must be studied now, before it is too late
Coauthored by WHOI researcher Ken Buesseler
Biologging and Raspberry Pi
Karla Haiat Sasson, who was a guest student at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute summer of 2019, and who is a participant of the DEEPi project at the department of Ocean Engineering at the University of Rhode Island, worked on a project to adapt the DEEPi cameras, which were shown to work successfully, into a biologging system for a WHOI project directed by Tag Lab director Amy Kukulya, that seeks more information on the biology of gray seals in Cape Cod.
Amplified Voices: How identity shapes our scientific experience
Gabriela Serrato Marks discusses navigating the geosciences with a disability and the importance of her community’s support.
Canada-U.S. Atlantic ocean science mission scrubbed due to COVID-19
A joint Canadian-U.S. science mission to monitor ocean climate on the East Coast this spring has been scrubbed because of the coronavirus outbreak.
Lab Gear from Woods Hole Science Institutions Headed to Hospitals
WHOI labs donated gloves, booties and eye protection to local hospitals.
Rapidly rising sea level and the future of our coasts
Op ed authored by WHOI researcher Di Jin
How Wave Power Drives Coastal Erosion in Hawaii Quantified by Researchers
A new study by MIT and WHOI researchers helps to explain the Hawaiian Islands’ meandering shorelines, where north-facing sea cliffs, experiencing larger waves produced by distant storms and persistent tradewinds, have eroded farther inland.
