WHOI in the News
Plastics’ impact on oceans under scrutiny
“We have an opportunity now, where there is public awareness,” said Mark Hahn, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “They (plastics) don’t belong there (in the ocean).”
Microplastics research needs innovation, health focus
“Studying microplastics is hard because [they are] not a single contaminant like lead or a uniform contaminant like PCBs [polychlorinated biphenyls],” said NIEHS grantee Mark Hahn, Ph.D., a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “It is a diverse and complex mixture of materials.”
How Big Oil and Big Soda kept a global environmental calamity a secret for decades
The threat to human health is complex and poorly understood. “There are a lot more questions than answers at this point,” says Mark Hahn, a toxicologist at WHOI who studies microplastics.
Nuclear Tests Marked Life on Earth With a Radioactive Spike
In October 2019, Gaylord unveiled an exquisitely clear version of the bomb spike in New England.
Museum’s 150-Year-Old Plankton Have Thicker Shells Than Their Modern Counterparts
In a study published in Science in 2019, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute described how temperature readings taken by the Challenger and today show that while the ocean’s surface is warming, the deep ocean is still recovering from the “Little Ice Age.”
As North Atlantic right whales slide toward extinction, a desperate search for hope
For the species to survive, they need to be producing closer to 29 calves a year, said Michael Moore, director of the Marine Mammal Center at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
‘A Little Shocking’: Ocean Currents Are Speeding up Significantly, Study Finds
“This is a really huge increase,” Susan Wijffels, an oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who was not involved with the paper, told Science Magazine.
How Your Smartphone May Be Destroying The Deep Ocean – And Its Valuable Microbes
“These microbes have incredible potential to inspire new solutions to all sorts of medical and technical challenges we face today,” says Julie Huber, a WHOI scientist and co-author of the new study.
The danger of creating a designer planet
In a guest blog, Ken Buesseler from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, calls for better understanding of the ocean’s biological processes before attempting to geoengineer climate solutions.
Habitat loss, climate change make for an uncertain cricket harvest in Uganda
“This year was a very strong dipole year,” says Caroline Ummenhofer, who studies the Indian Ocean Dipole at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the U.S. “We’ve seen really extreme conditions all around the region in East Africa.”
Local Scientist Participates in Historic Arctic Expedition
WCAI’s Kathryn Eident talked with Carin Ashjian, a biologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, about what she’ll focus on during her two-month stay in the Arctic.
Santorini: Underneath the Aegean island rages a volcano that is an ideal testing ground for space vehicles
For the mission’s leader, Dr Richard Camilli, of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, the week-long project is designed to test new “intelligent” technologies that can be directed and deployed across the vast distances of the solar system.
Diving Into the Creativity of Hands on Learning
The event was the culmination of eight weeks of work supervised by Megan Carroll, a research engineer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Ms. Carroll helped the students build miniature models of the submarines the Oceanographic Institution uses for ocean exploration.
Scientists use dart to deliver medicine to injured right whale in first-of-its-kind treatment
The system was developed about 12 years ago by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Centre for Coastal Studies, according to Brian Sharp, director of marine mammal rescue and research for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
A New England road trip itinerary on a budget
Here, you can not only catch the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard, but also tour the marine science facilities and aquarium at the world-famous Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
WHOI biologist to join massive Arctic expedition
With financial support from the National Science Foundation, Woods Hole biologist Carin Ashjian, who specializes in polar research, will spend a little more than two months in the Arctic.
WHOI Researcher Makes Case For More Ocean Observation
An official from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution stressed the importance of supporting ocean science and expanding observational capability last week to a House of Representatives committee.
Scientists Say Land and Ocean Are Key to Tackling Climate Crisis
“The ocean is central to Earth’s climate and weather systems as well as our economic growth and national security and must be included in any discussion regarding legislation and policy addressing the environmental changes we see today,” said Richard Murray, deputy director and vice president for research at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass.
WHOI Underwater Robot Takes First Known Automated Sample from Ocean
A hybrid remotely operated vehicle developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) took the first known automated sample performed by a robotic arm in the ocean.
Marine Labs on the Water’s Edge Are Threatened by Climate Change
At the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, Robert S.C. Munier, the vice president for marine facilities and operations, said that the facility was feeling the effects of climate change already in a battering of the existing dock.
Technofixing the climate: who’s in charge?
Ken Buesseler, senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, who was researching OIF at the time, recalls: “Governments stopped funding the research—everything came to a halt.”
Mining the sea floor for precious metals needed for electric car batteries could lead to ‘irreversible damage’ to marine eco-systems, scientists warn
These microbes have incredible potential to inspire new solutions to all sorts of medical and technical challenges we face today,’ said Julie Huber, a scientist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and co-author of the new study.
Artificial Intelligence Could Help Scientists Predict Where And When Toxic Algae Will Bloom
Don Anderson is a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution who is working to expand the scope of data-gathering efforts in the Gulf.
‘Magic soil’: a green solution to red tide
About 30 scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution of the United States and other institutes concluded: “Results to date are generally consistent with published studies from China (reviewed by Yu et al, 2017) which support the view that clay dispersal can be effective without significant adverse environmental impacts.”