Ocean Chemistry
Report reveals ‘unseen’ human benefits from ocean twilight zone
A new report from researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) reveals for the first time the unseen—and somewhat surprising—benefits that people receive from the ocean’s twilight zone. Also known as the “mesopelagic,” this is the ocean layer just beyond the sunlit surface.
Read MoreValue Beyond View: The Ocean Twilight Zone
How does the ocean twilight zone benefit life on Earth? The ocean twilight zone helps regulates our climate. Storing two to six billion tons of carbon annually. That’s up to six times the amount of carbon emitted from autos worldwide. Preventing an increase in temperature between 6-11°F. The ocean twilight zone supports a healthy ocean ecosystem. Containing 10 times more fish than the rest of the ocean. Providing food for many other animals in the ocean. The ocean twilight zone could also play an important role in feeding a growing population. We are working to better understand this realm in order to inform sustainable management decisions.
Read More2019 Year in Review
Enjoy this montage of video captured throughout 2019 documenting how WHOI researchers explore the ocean planet to tackle the most pressing questions about our water world and find solutions to benefit society.
Read MoreCharismatic Photosynthesizers: Biochemical and Physical Controls of Water Conditions in Seagrass and Reef Environments
Matt Long, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreGeochemical Constraints on Mantle Sources and Subduction Fluxes Across the Southern Andean Arc
Steve Turner, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreNew Perspectives on the Trophic Ecology of Reef-Building Corals: Insights from δ13C Analysis of Essential Amino Acids
Mike Fox, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreThe oceans are losing oxygen, and faster than we thought
WHOI scientists weigh in on a new ICUN report highlighting a 2% decline in marine oxygen levels between 1960 and 2010. The loss of oxygen has triggered an expansion of marine dead zones throughout the global ocean that has put marine life and ecosystems in peril.
Read MoreOcean acidification gets a watchful eye in New England aquaculture ‘hot spot’
Shellfish aquaculture is thriving in New England, but future growth in the industry could be stunted as coastal waters in the region become more acidic. Researchers at WHOI have developed a way to link nutrient load reductions to improvements in the health of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, which may an important step toward cleaner and less acidic harbors in the Baystate.
Read MoreThese 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.
Ventilation of the Deep South Indian Ocean and Atmospheric CO2 Increase During the Last Deglaciation: New Insights from Small-Size Foraminiferal 14C Analyses with MICADAS
Julia Gottschalk, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreGravitational Signals of Past Water-Table Depth Recorded by Dissolved Kr and Xe Isotopes in Groundwater
Alan Seltzer, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreOrigin and Evolution of the Biogeochemical Nitrogen Cycle
Lewis Ward, Harvard University Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MorePanel 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.
Carbon Processing in Aquatic Critical Zones: Biogeochemical Challenges in the 21st Century
Thomas Bianchi, University of Florida Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreFalling in love with foraminifera
A marine geobiologist falls for the ‘brains’ and beauty of an ancient single-celled creature that can change its shell into a variety of geometric shapes.
Read MoreCoupled Subduction of Nitrogen and Noble Gases: Tracing Mantle Evolution
John “Jack” Krantz, Brown University Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreArchaeal Lipids as Recorders of Geomicrobial Activity and Environmental State
William Leavitt, Dartmouth College Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreUnforeseen Metabolic Constraints on Carbon Oxidation in Soils
Marco Keiluweit, University of Massachusetts, Amherst Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MorePhosphorus Redox Chemistry in the Oceans
Ben Van Mooy, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department – Clark 507
Read MoreCarbon Dioxide, Shell Building, and Ocean Acidification
To build shells and skeletons, marine organisms, such as this hypothetical clam, extract calcium ions and carbonate ions from seawater, combining them into solid crystals of calcium carbonate that are laid down to make shells.
Read MorePutting the ‘nuclear coffin’ in perspective
WHOI chemist and marine radioactivity expert shares his thoughts about radioactivity waste leaking from Runit Dome—a bomb crater filled with radioactive soil in the Marshall Islands that is now being penetrated by rising sea levels
Read MoreGeology creates chemical energy: Origin of a massive methane reservoir discovered
Scientists know methane is released from deep-sea vents, but its source has long been a mystery. A team from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution may have the answer. Analysis of 160 rock samples from across the world’s oceans provides evidence, they say, of the formation and abundance of abiotic methane – methane formed by chemical reactions that don’t involve organic matter.
Nutrient and Carbon Export to the Coastal Ocean Driven by Surface Water-Groundwater Exchange
Joe Tamborski, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read MoreOcean Respiration: New Concepts, New Significance, and New Applications
T.T. Packard, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain Sponsored by: MC&G Department
Read More