WHOI in the News
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.
Environmental groups will do their own tests of radioactive wastewater from San Onofre
The Surfrider Foundation and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Our Radioactive Ocean initiative will do independent water quality testing at San Onofre State Beach after radioactive wastewater releases from the retired San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station.
Woods Hole Organizations Consider Impact Of Sea Level Rise
WHOI, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and National Marine Fisheries Services presented the Woods Hole village climate change vulnerability assessment and action plan to the Falmouth Select Board on Monday, November 23.
Fishing gear confirmed as major cause of right whale deaths
A major study looking into the deaths of North Atlantic right whales has found that entanglement in fishing gear has become a leading cause of mortality.
Film explores path to right whale’s extinction
In May 2019, the United Nations released a report that said 1 million species on Earth were facing extinction, and that the rate of extinction was accelerating. Boston Globe reporter David Abel said it led him to make the film “Entangled” about the path to extinction for one species people on the Cape know well.