Biology

Hydrothermal Vents

February 6, 2019

In 1977, scientists made a stunning discovery on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean: vents pouring hot, mineral-rich fluids from beneath the seafloor.

Beach Closures

Hundreds of beaches nationwide are closed each year due to the presence of potentially harmful bacteria, viruses, and parasites in the water.

Arctic Ocean Circulation

The complex ocean circulation system in the Arctic — which impacts the entire food web — is in a delicate balance.

Marine Protected Areas

Marine protected areas refers to any part of the ocean that receives some level of protection under law, protecting about one percent of the global ocean.

Aquaculture

Aquaculture is the farming in fresh and saltwater environments of aquatic animals or plants principally for food. Fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and kelp are a few examples.

Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton are primary producers of the ocean—the organisms that form the base of the food chain. WHOI explores the microscopic, single-celled organisms.

Twilight Zone

The ocean twilight zone is a layer of water that stretches around the globe. It lies 200 to 1,000 meters below the ocean surface, just beyond the reach of sunlight.

Life at Vents & Seeps

Hydrothermal vents and cold seeps are places where chemical-rich fluids emanate from the seafloor, often providing the energy to sustain lush communities of life in some very harsh environments.

Marine Microbes

Microbial life can be found throughout the ocean, from rocks and sediments beneath the seafloor, across the vast stretches of open water, to intertidal and surf zones.

Corals

Many people think of coral as hard, rock-like formations that attract abundant, diverse marine life. In fact, corals are tiny marine animals called polyps that live together in colonies.

Jellyfish & Other Zooplankton

These animals live all or part of their life suspended and drifting in fresh or salt water, rarely come in contact with hard surfaces.

Currents, Gyres, & Eddies

At the surface and beneath, currents, gyres and eddies physically shape the coasts and ocean bottom.

Ocean Acidification

Ocean acidification is a reduction in the pH of the ocean over an extended period of time, caused primarily by an increase of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Biogeochemistry studies the cycles of crucial elements, such as carbon and nitrogen, and their interactions with other substances and organisms as they move through Earth's atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and lithosphere.

Carbon Cycle

Carbon is the building block of life on Earth and has a powerful impact on the planet’s climate.

Harmful Algae & Red Tides

A “red tide” of blooming algae (the dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans)

Tiny plants pose a potent threat to those who live in and eat from the sea.

Changing Shorelines & Erosion

Waves, currents, wind, storms, and tides form complex interactions over time to cause erosion along some stretches of shoreline and growth in others.

Coastal Ecosystems

The narrow region where land and ocean meet includes salt marshes, mangroves, wetlands, estuaries, reefs, and bays often linked in a network of physical, chemical, and biological interchanges.