WHOI in the News
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.
Scientists meeting in Portland say right whales on the way to extinction
The future continues to grow ever darker for the highly endangered right whale, a species that has been in decline every year since 2010 and is at the heart of regulatory protection efforts threatening to upend Maine’s valuable lobster fishery.
A Tiny Camera Could Help Shellfish Farmers Avoid Big Losses
Cape Cod’s shellfish farmers face many challenges, and one of the biggest is dealing with harmful algal blooms, which can damage shellfish and be poisonous for humans to ingest. But a new project at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is looking at a way to better manage this with the help of a tiny camera.
Toxic Algal Blooms Are Worsening with Climate Change
“Cyanobacteria grow quite well—better than almost everything else in those freshwater systems—the hotter it gets,” said Don Anderson, a senior scientist at WHOI.
The ghosts of ancient hurricanes live in Caribbean blue holes
South Andros Island, part of the Bahamian archipelago, is a sandy slice of paradise whose shores conceal buried geological treasures: blue holes. Hiding in the depths of these ethereal submarine sinkholes lay ancient sediment sandwiches whose layers betray the bygone passages of powerful hurricanes.
If alien life exists in our solar system, it may look like this
On September 19th, the research vessel, Kronprins Haakon, departed Longyearbyen, Svalbard headed toward the Aurora hydrothermal vent field, located along the Gakkel Ridge some 4000 meters below the arctic ice.
Panel delves into impact of ocean acidification
The state commission tasked with studying ocean acidification and its regional impact — particularly in relation to the aquaculture industry — held its first meeting Friday in Woods Hole with a sobering presentation on the phenomenon.
Autonomous Robotic Boats Improve Environmental Sampling at Sea
An autonomous robotic system invented by researchers at MIT and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) efficiently sniffs out the most scientifically interesting — but hard-to-find — sampling spots in vast, unexplored waters.
More Than 11,000 International Scientists Declare Climate Emergency
A new paper endorsed by 11,258 scientists and researchers from 153 countries describes climate change as a “climate emergency.” Published in the journal BioScience, it warns of “untold human suffering” if individuals, governments, and businesses don’t make deep and lasting changes.
How Cheap Robots Are Transforming Ocean Exploration
For researchers, affordable tech opens up new worlds. “Your decision process is fundamentally different when you can use cheaper tools,” says Jim Bellingham, director of the Center for Marine Robotics at WHOI.
Why are birds and seals starving in a Bering Sea full of fish?
Federal and university scientists are trying to better understand why some birds and marine mammals have been unable to find enough food, and whether toxic algae blooms — increasing as the water warms — could have contributed or caused some of the die-offs.
How Interconnected Is Life in the Ocean?
To help create better conservation and management plans, researchers are measuring how marine organisms move between habitats and populations.
In the Blue Holes of the Bahamas, Secrets of Hurricanes Past
Researchers have assembled a 1,500-year history of hurricanes in the Bahamas, based on sand and shell fragments pulled up from submarine caverns known as blue holes.
FEATURE – Maritime Autonomy
REMUS AUVs were developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute with later models manufactured by a subsidiary of Norway’s KONGSBERG.
WHOI Study Examines Impact of Sunlight on Degrading Plastics
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution released a study that found that polystyrene plastics degrade faster in sunlight than what was previously thought.