WHOI in the News
New Sensor to Monitor Microplastics in Cape Cod Canal
An ocean technology company installed a particle sensor Tuesday in the Cape Cod Canal to monitor plankton and potential microplastics.
Disentangling influences on coral health
In a new study, Weifu Guo of WHOI and his colleagues have compiled records of existing and new skeletal growth of a stony, long-lived coral genus known as Porites to disentangle the competing effects.
Researching phytoplankton 2000 miles from shore aboard the R/V Atlantis
Don’t be fooled by phytoplankton’s microscopic size, the creature is among the most vital organisms for the ocean and planet’s survival.
Coral develops ‘osteoporosis’ because of acidic oceans caused by climate change, study reveals
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) found significant reduction in the density of coral skeleton along much of the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest coral reef system, and also on two reefs in the South China Sea, which they attribute largely to the increasing acidity of the waters surrounding these reefs since 1950.
‘SharkCam’ films basking sharks off Scotland
A robot camera has been used in UK seas for the first time to monitor the behaviour of basking sharks. WHOI’s SharkCam was deployed off the west coast of Scotland where the sharks gather to breed after migrating from waters off west Africa.
The Ocean Race Summits return to Newport, RI, USA, to shine a light on ocean health
On September 16, from 10am to 1pm EDT hosts Danni Washington (marine biologist, TV host and science communicator), Liz Bonnin (biochemist, wild animal biologist and TV presenter) and Niall Myant-Best (presenter and host for The Ocean Race) will lead lively conversations with a diverse group of accomplished leaders and youth changemakers, including Dr. Mark Baumgartner of WHOI.
Ocean acidification causing coral ‘osteoporosis’ on iconic reefs
Scientists have long suspected that ocean acidification is affecting corals’ ability to build their skeletons, but it has been challenging to isolate its effect from that of simultaneous warming ocean temperatures, which also influence coral growth. New research from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals the distinct impact that ocean acidification is having on coral growth on some of the world’s iconic reefs.
Atlantis getting ‘midlife fitting’ at Dakota Creek
The Atlantis is a scientific research vessel owned by the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a nonprofit ocean research and education organization based in Massachusetts.
Scientists returning to site of 1898 shipwreck off Mass. waters that killed more than 190 people
Scientists on Tuesday will once again explore wreckage from the steamship Portland, which sank in 1898 in waters off Massachusetts, killing more than 190 people in what became known as the “Titanic of New England.” Via Twitter, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution provided details on the planned expedition.
Radioactive liquid effluent releases at San Onofre: how worried should we be?
After dozens of inquiries from concerned community members and panicked parents about the actual risk and health impacts, we think it’s time we should all educate ourselves about this confusing and complex realm of radiological exposure in our environment. To help in this endeavor, we reached out to Dr. Ken Buesseler, a senior scientist at the prominent Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Don’t assume the worst about the Mauritius oil spill
Opinion piece written by WHOI chemist and oil spill expert Chris Reddy
Penguins Are Nature’s Best Snugglers
It turns out that penguins execute their huddles with a high degree of mathematical efficiency, as Blanchette and his team discovered. More recently, Daniel Zitterbart, a physicist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, helped develop and install high-resolution cameras to observe undisturbed huddling behavior.
A Marine Heatwave Is Warming Up The Ocean Along The East Coast
Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson talks to Glen Gawarkiewicz, an oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, about why the ocean temperatures are warming as well as what it means for ocean life and weather patterns.
Hot ocean waters along East Coast are drawing in ‘weird’ fish and supercharging hurricane season
Warm waters are a major concern with Hurricane Isaias forecast to ride up the Eastern Seaboard. Glen Gawarkiewicz, an oceanographer at WHOI, describes Gulf Stream fish being caught off Block Island, R.I., in January 2017 and increases in the “rate and amount” of species like mahi-mahi passing through.
Scientists revived microbes that were more than 100 million years old
Virginia Edgcomb, a microbial ecologist at WHOI who did not participate in the study, told Science Magazine that the study indicates that “microbial life is very persistent and often finds a way to survive.”
Shark sightings are up, along with ocean temperatures. Here’s what to do if you encounter a shark.
“If they preyed on humans, there would be humans dead everywhere,” said Simon R. Thorrold, a biologist at WHOI in Massachusetts. “It would be a bloodbath out there.”
Ancient Microbes Spring to Life After 100 Million Years Under the Seafloor
Virginia Edgcomb, a microbial ecologist at WHOI who did not participate in the study, told Science Magazine that the study indicates that “microbial life is very persistent and often finds a way to survive.”
Scientists pull living microbes, possibly 100 million years old, from beneath the sea
Microbes buried beneath the sea floor for more than 100 million years are still alive, a new study reveals. When brought back to the lab and fed, they started to multiply. The microbes are oxygen-loving species that somehow exist on what little of the gas diffuses from the ocean surface deep into the seabed. The new work demonstrates “microbial life is very persistent, and often finds a way to survive,” says Virginia Edgcomb, a microbial ecologist at WHOI who was not involved in the work.
Experiments Reveal How Permafrost Carbon Becomes Carbon Dioxide
Permafrost has been frozen for far longer than humans have been on the planet. That’s a good thing because permafrost contains over a trillion metric tons of organic carbon deposited by generations of plants, and all that carbon remains locked up when it’s frozen. “But now, because of human activity, it’s starting to thaw,” said Collin P. Ward, an aquatic geochemist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Mass. “The big concern here is what’s going to happen to all of that organic carbon.”
Research cruises gingerly resume
U.S. research vessels are taking to the sea again after being docked since mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of 256 cruises scheduled from March to December, about half have already been pushed back or canceled. Some long cruises with large crews on in-demand ships have not been rescheduled. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has had to torpedo one such mission, intended to study how carbon sequestered by organisms near the surface sinks hundreds of meters to the mesopelagic region, also known as the twilight zone.
A Story Map for Marie Tharp’s 100th birthday
Data acquired aboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) research vessel Atlantis from 1946 – 1953 were shared with Marie as she began to assemble the first detailed map of the Atlantic Ocean.
17 Historical Mysteries People Would Really Like Answers To
In 2002, documentarian Anne MacGregor and Phil Richardson, a physical oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, speculated that the Mary Celeste was abandoned the day after the log’s final entry – November 25, 1872 – perhaps because the ship was taking on water and Briggs had spotted land. Another theory was put forward by Dr. Andrea Sella from University College London in 2006, suggesting an explosion aboard led Briggs to abandon ship.
New president and director for WHOI
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has appointed Dr. Peter de Menocal as the eleventh president and director of the Institution. De Menocal is a marine geologist and paleo-oceanographer who studies deep-sea sediments as archives of past climate change.
HMS Challenger: The voyage that birthed oceanography
“The measurements of the Challenger expedition set the stage for all branches of oceanography,” explained Dr Jake Gebbie, associate scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.