WHOI in the News
On the Verge of Extinction, These Whales Are Also Shrinking
Most of the 360 or so North Atlantic right whales alive today bear scars from entanglements in fishing gear and collisions with speeding ships and, according to new study, they are much smaller than they should be. According to the authors of the new study, the best way to ensure the continued survival of the species is to pressure fishery managers in the United States and Canada to significantly reduce the amount of rope-based fishing gear and implement ship speed limits in the North Atlantic. “We all consume goods moved by the sea, and many eat lobsters,” said Michael Moore, a senior scientist with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and co-author of the study. “If we all were to demand these management changes of our elected officials the situation would change drastically.”
Dangerous ‘Clinging Jellyfish’ Found Again in Barnegat Bay
They are found naturally throughout coastal regions of the northern hemisphere and have, in recent times, invaded the Mediterranean Sea and even the Pacific coast of the Russian far east.
Say hello to a vast underground ecosystem
The research team — led by Karen Lloyd, an associate professor at the University of Tennessee, and Donato Giovannelli, a professor at the University of Naples Federico II in Italy — found that this microbial ecosystem sequesters a huge amount of carbon dioxide.
Sargassum now World’s Largest Harmful Algal Bloom Due to Nitrogen
NASA’s S-MODE Takes to the Air and Sea to Study Ocean Eddies
The S-MODE team hopes to learn more about small-scale movements of ocean water such as eddies. These whirlpools span about 6.2 miles or ten kilometers, slowly moving ocean water in a swirling pattern.
A Robot Like This Could Swim At Jupiter’s Water-Spewing Moon
A NASA mission called Europa Clipper may, if funding and development timelines hold, launch in 2024 to do an orbital survey with the latest instruments and potentially, to pick some landing spots for a future spacecraft. And unlike the rovers we are used to on Mars, this futuristic robot is going to have to swim.
Robotic Navigation Tech – That Helped NASA’s Perseverance Rover Land on Mars – Will Explore the Deep Ocean
Developed by engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, an evolution of the vision-based navigation that has been used on Mars will now undergo a trial run a little closer to home: off the U.S. East Coast in the Atlantic Ocean.
NASA Teams up with Deep-Sea Explorers to prep for Europa Missions and Beyond
Weighing about 550 pounds, the six-foot-long Orpheus drone cost nearly $2 million to build and was named for the Greek poet and prophet. The main goal for this next-generation mini-submarine that was engineered and constructed by WHOI in Massachusetts, will be to increase our knowledge of the deepest areas of our planet’s oceans known as the hadal zone.
Drone Footage Captures Rare Moment of Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ‘Hugging’
Researchers spotted the critically endangered North Atlantic right whales on a recent trip to Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts.
A Rusting Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Yemen Is an Environmental Catastrophe Waiting to Happen. Can Anyone Prevent It?
Viviane Menezes, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, has described the Red Sea as being like a “big lagoon” with “everything connected.” An oil spill at any time of year would be disastrous, she says, but seasonally variable weather and tidal patterns make contingency planning difficult. In the summer, Red Sea currents would drag an oil slick south, threatening Eritrea and Djibouti, and potentially entering the Gulf of Aden. In winter, circular currents would swirl more of the oil north.
Whale of a hug: Drone video shows endangered mammals in apparent embrace
One of the few things rarer than North Atlantic right whales? Capturing a whale ‘hug’ on video. Scientists have done that for what might have been the first time from the air.
Study finds six degrees celsius cooling on land during the last ice age
The study bolsters the method of analyzing noble gases to reconstruct paleo temperatures and provides more confidence in climate models, according to the authors.
WHOI to Launch New Center for Ocean and Climate Research
“This extraordinary gift,” said WHOI President and Director, Peter de Menocal, “will propel critical work that is needed to understand and elucidate the interplay between the global ocean, Earth’s climate, and human societies.”
Tracking Carbon From the Ocean Surface to the Dark “Twilight Zone”
Much of the science focuses on the ocean’s role in the global carbon cycle. Through chemical and biological processes, the ocean removes as much carbon from the atmosphere as all plant life on land.
Tracking carbon from the ocean surface to the twilight zone
Much of the science focuses on the ocean‘s role in the global carbon cycle.
Falmouth Academy students awarded in state science fair
Twelve students from the school presented at the fair, which was held April 28 to May 5, and eight were awarded prizes, the school announced in a statement last week.
Whales Seen Hugging Off Cape Cod
Rare video shows two endangered whales hugging off Cape Cod shore
Biden wants to move energy offshore, but choppy seas are ahead
The Biden administration has set a goal that industry players call highly ambitious, if not unrealistic: to produce 30,000 megawatts of electricity from offshore wind farms by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes. Meeting this goal is one of the few available paths for President Biden to reduce the country’s reliance on fossil fuels and fight climate change.
Consortium For Combatting Global Climate Change
Designed to act as an engine for continuous innovation and powered by some of the world’s leading minds and businesses, the OCIA consortium is open to participation by a wide range of leading organisations across business, academia and non-profits that recognise the inextricable links between ocean and climate and wish to have a positive impact on the global climate crisis.
State waters remain closed to lobstermen
Also, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Slocum underwater glider on Sunday acoustically detected the presence of North Atlantic right whales north of Cape Cod and NOAA Fisheries on Monday instituted a voluntary right whale slow zone north of Cape Cod until May 17.
Woods Hole receives $28 million for oceanographic research center
Among other things, the center will work to explore the effectiveness of ocean-based solutions to climate change identified by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, which include lowering barriers to ocean-based renewable energy, accelerating the conservation of existing coastal ecosystems, and reducing the carbon footprint of the fishing and aquaculture industries.
With A Drone And Patience, Scientists Track Endangered Right Whale In Cape Cod Bay
“Right whales are beautifully equipped for drone work in terms of identification,” he said. “They wear their identity on their heads in the form of callosities,” which are massive calluses that are unique to each individual whale. “So every time we take a photograph, we know who it is.”
Arctic AUV Listens Its Way Forward with New Navigation Method
To successfully navigate throughout the Arctic requires understanding how these changes in sound propagation affect a vehicle’s ability to communicate and navigate.