WHOI in the News
Lethal algae blooms – an ecosystem out of balance
“There’s no question that the HAB problem is a major global issue, and it is growing,” said Donald Anderson, director of the US National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms and a lab director at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute.
The Complicated Role of Iron in Ocean Health and Climate Change
And while Martin’s hypothesis inspired 13 large iron fertilization experiments that boosted algae growth, only two demonstrated removal of carbon to the deep sea; the others were ambiguous or failed to show an impact, says Ken Buesseler, a marine radiochemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
Underwater pile driving noise causes alarm responses in squid
Exposure to underwater pile driving noise, which can be associated with the construction of docks, piers, and offshore wind farms, causes squid to exhibit strong alarm behaviors, according to a study by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers published in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.
My team uses crossbows and drones to collect bacteria from whales — and the results are teaching us how to keep whales healthy
With the help of skilled drone pilots from NOAA, SR3 or Sealife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research, and our own Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution the team worked together to position the drone over the blowhole of the whale and catch the spray.
Facing new threats, lobstermen take hard line against right whale protections
At a recent conference on right whales in Portland, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution presented a study suggesting that lobstermen can actually increase their profits by reducing their buoy lines.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE: New England, Mid-Atlantic see biggest impact of warming ocean
“Nobody had ever seen that before,” said Gawarkiewicz, an oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, near Boston.
The Northeast warms ahead of rest of USA: ‘Our winters now are not like our winters before’
“Nobody had ever seen that before,” said Glen Gawarkiewicz, an oceanographer from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
New astronauts graduate | One of these 13 may walk on moon, Mars
Prior to joining NASA, O’Hara was a research engineer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
Japan Wants to Dump Nuclear Plant’s Tainted Water. Fishermen Fear the Worst.
“I want to see the numbers after they’ve removed these additional radionuclides,” said Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist in marine chemistry and geochemistry at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts. “Then, and only then, can I make a judgment on the quality of the rationale for releasing it or the consequences of releasing it.”
Reporting on climate change from Cape Cod, where sea levels could put everything at risk
You’ll wind your way past our local U.S. Geological Survey center, within the Quissett campus of the famed Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Ocean Microbes: Novel Study Underscores Microbial Individuality
“Genetic information can teach us a lot about ecology, and these may be photosynthetic organisms that were unnoticed before,” said Maria Pachiadaki, a former Bigelow Laboratory postdoctoral researcher who is now an assistant scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the lead author on the paper. “If experiments confirm what the genes suggest, this is an important microbial group to consider in ocean carbon studies.”
Portable device allows to measure highly reactive superoxide on coral reefs
Researchers at WHOI successfully conceived and tested a portable device, DISCO, that performed the first in situ measurements of a highly reactive type of oxygen, known as superoxide, which may play an integral role in the health of coral reefs.
March of the penguins
If current warming trends continue, emperor penguins will be marching toward an 86 per cent population decline by the end of the century, at which point, “it is very unlikely for them to bounce back,” says study author Stephanie Jenouvrier, a seabird ecologist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Whales may owe their efficient digestion to millions of tiny microbes
A study by NSF-funded researchers at WHOI shows that the microbial communities inside whales may play an important role in the digestion of one of the ocean’s most abundant carbon-rich lipids: wax esters.
Volcano space robots are prepping for a wild mission to Jupiter
To build machines capable of plunging into the frozen oceans on Europa and Enceladus, Nasa tested out submersibles in one of Earth’s most inhospitable environments
Climate change threatens everyone’s favorite little fish
The well-being of the colorful clownfish of “Finding Nemo” fame is closely tied to its habitat among the sea anemone, according to a 10-year study by an international team of scientists. The little fish does not appear to have the ability to adapt to the rapid environmental effects of climate change.
Climate Models Have Been Right For Decades
Scientists have for decades created accurate models to predict the future impacts of global warming, a new study has found.
Protecting living corals could help defend the Great Barrier Reef from ocean acidification for decades
Reefs with higher numbers of living corals will be more resilient than expected to damage from acidifying seawater, scientists reported recently in Nature Evolution and Ecology.
Offshore Wind May Help The Planet — But Will It Hurt Whales?
As whale populations have grown, the WCS and its collaborator, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, have been monitoring them, with an eye toward mediating conflicts with the ocean’s heaviest users: cargo ships, commercial fishing trawlers and the U.S. military.
Mysterious Tectonic Fault Zone Detected Off The Coast of California
Nearly 3,000 feet (900 metres) below the surface of Monterey Bay, a network of deep sea cables helps scientists to study marine life.
Right whale population drops to 409, as consortium urges more action
“Yet another year of decline for right whales,” said Consortium Chairman and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researcher Mark Baumgartner.
These corals could survive climate change — and help save the world’s reefs
Ocean warming threatens to wipe out corals, but scientists are trying to protect naturally resilient reefs and are nursing some others back to health.
Global heating supercharging Indian Ocean climate system
Global heating supercharging Indian Ocean climate system
Global heating is “supercharging” an increasingly dangerous climate mechanism in the Indian Ocean that has played a role in disasters this year including bushfires in Australia and floods in Africa.