Life at Vents & Seeps
Falling in love with deep-sea parasites
At hydrothermal vents there are body-snatchers, intestinal hitchhikers, and chest-bursters, but something about them is still alluring to Lauren Dykman
Read MoreExplorer Robert Ballard’s memoir finds shipwrecks and strange life forms in the ocean’s darkest reaches
In the early 1970s, when Ballard was doing his graduate work in marine geology and geophysics, scientists were still refining the basics of plate tectonics theory.
WHOI research in five inhospitable locations
Whether they’re under the ice at the furthest poles or hovering above the ocean’s deepest volcanoes, these researchers get the job done.
Read MoreEast Pacific Rise
Captured by the researchers and crew of Atlantis from HOV Alvin with artist Mel O’Callaghan during the 2018 UNOLS cruise.
Read MoreFinding answers in the ocean
The test being used to diagnose the novel coronavirus—and other pandemics like AIDS and SARS—was developed with the help of an enzyme isolated from a microbe found in marine hydrothermal vents as well as freshwater hot springs.
Read MoreMove Over, Mars: The Search for Life on Saturn’s Largest Moon
Alien microbes could be flourishing in the underground seas of Titan and the solar system’s other ocean worlds. “The great thing about hydrothermal vents is that they provide a lot of energy sources for microbial life that doesn’t include sunlight,” says Julie Huber, a marine chemist at WHOI.
Doctoral Dissertation Defense of Thesis: Distribution, Growth, and Transport of Larval Fish and Implications for Population Dynamics
Christina M. Hernández, MIT-WHOI Joint Program Sponsored by: Academic Programs This will be held virtually. Click here to register or…
Read MoreLife on an Ocean World
One of the most enduring questions humans have been asking for millennia is, “Are we alone in the Universe?” Now, we may have the opportunity to answer that question within the lifetime of the current human generation.
Read MoreFinding medical answers in the ocean
The test being used to diagnose the novel coronavirus—and other pandemics like AIDS and SARS—was developed with the help of an enzyme isolated from a microbe found in marine hydrothermal vents as well as freshwater hot springs.
Read MoreROV Jason captures underwater video during earthquake
In January and February 2020, scientists on R/V Atlantis explored hydrothermal vents on the Cayman Rise. They used the remotely operated vehicle Jason to get an up-close view of the vents and life around them. The vents lie on a seismically active part of the seafloor known as a mid-ocean ridge. Deep-sea shrimp swarm the vents, feeding on microbes that live on chemicals flowing from the vents. While they were there, a magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck just 100 miles away. Scientists will now be able to study how seismic activity affects hydrothermal vents and the life around them.
Read MoreWhere do you park when you dive thousands of feet into the ocean?
WHOI biologist Stace Beaulieu forgets all bodily needs when chasing creatures in her tiny submarine.
NASA eyes the ocean: How the deep sea could unlock outer space
“When hydrothermal vents were discovered in 1977, it very much flipped biology on its end,” says Julie Huber, an oceanographer who studies life in and below the seafloor at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on Cape Cod. “People knew that organisms could live off of chemical energy, but they didn’t imagine they could support animal ecosystems.”
WHOI Joint Program Student Short Talks: Functional Traits Provide New Insight into the Succession and Resilience of a Hydrothermal Vent Invertebrate Community Recovering from Volcanic Disturbance
Lauren Dykman, MIT-WHOI Joint Program Sponsored by: Biology Department
Read MoreSummer Lecture Series: Life Beneath the Seafloor
Julie Huber, WHOI Sponsored by: Academic Programs Office
Read MoreLife at Vents & Seeps
What is Life at Vents and Seeps? Hydrothermal vents and cold seeps are places where chemical-rich fluids emanate from the…
Read MoreJourney to the Bottom of the Sea
My eyelids were tightly pressed down as I mustered all the tricks I could think of to get myself to…
Read MoreThe Discovery of Hydrothermal Vents
In 1977, WHOI scientists made a discovery that revolutionized our understanding of how and where life could exist on Earth and other planetary bodies.
Read MoreIn the Ocean, a Preview of Life on Enceladus?
features work from a recent expedition to Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Quotes Frieder Klein
LOOKING FOR ALIENS IN THE ARCTIC
features Chris German’s work and quotes Adam Soule
This Canadian Company Wants to Mine for Gold on the Bottom of the Ocean
features Stace Beaulieu and Lauren Mullineaux
Ocean Robots: Hydrothermal Vents
Since they were discovered in the East Pacific in 1977, hydrothermal vents have captivated scientists and the public alike. New…
Read MoreLife at Vents and Seeps
Remnants of Life Found Half a Mile Below the Seafloor
mentions Frieder Klein and WHOI
Deep-Sea Images Give New View of Arctic Ocean Methane Seeps
Working with colleagues from the Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment and Climate (CAGE) in Norway, Dan Fornari from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) Geology & Geophysics Department collected nearly 30,000 high definition images at known methane release sites in the Arctic Ocean north of Norway. The detailed images will provide new insights into the most remote areas of natural methane releases in the world.
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