Pollution
First Detailed Oil Sample Analysis Completed from Mauritius Oil Spill
When the Japanese bulk carrier MV Wakashio struck a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius on July 25, 2020, and began leaking fuel oil two weeks later, local residents and the international community sprang into action to protect the pristine habitats that fringe the Indian Ocean nation.
Read MoreWHOI-assisted study finds ocean dumping of DDT waste was “sloppy”
An investigative report this week in the LA Times features the work of WHOI’s marine geochemistry lab in identifying the discarded barrels and analyzing samples from the discovery.
Read MoreMicroplastics research gets critical private funding
With the backing of a handful of family foundations, WHOI is launching a Marine Microplastics Innovation Accelerator to help answer some of the most pressing—and foundational—questions about marine microplastics and their impacts
Read MoreUnited States Contributions to Global Ocean Plastic Waste
MPC Research Specialist, Hauke Kite-Powell, has recently been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee to study U.S. contributions to global ocean plastic waste.
How the waters off Catalina became a DDT dumping ground …
A scientist involved in the discovery of the Titanic happened to be on board, so he helped them program the robots on where to go and how to search for the barrels. A marine geochemistry lab at WHOI ran the samples.
Should Japan dump radioactive water from Fukushima into the ocean?
Around 1.2 million tonnes of water contaminated by radioactive substances from the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster will be dumped in the Pacific Ocean, as part of a plan expected to be approved by the Japanese government within weeks.
Looks Like Japan Is Going Ahead With Plan to Dump Radioactive Fukushima Water Into the Ocean
A study from WHOI published in August, warned of the possibility that other potentially hazardous contaminants in the wastewater, namely carbon-14, cobalt-60, and strontium-90, could still be released into the Pacific Ocean.
Looks Like Japan Is Going Ahead With Plan to Dump Radioactive Fukushima Water Into the Ocean
A WHOI study published in August, warned of the possibility that other potentially hazardous contaminants in the wastewater, namely carbon-14, cobalt-60, and strontium-90, could still be released into the Pacific Ocean.
Tenacious citizens take on the plastics industry over an insidious pollutant
Evidence of pellet pollution has been piling up for decades. R. Jude Wilber of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution returned to the area and found that pellet concentrations had nearly doubled.
Microplastics & The Textile Industry
The study of marine microplastics is not new. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has been conducting research and publishing on this subject since the 1970s. Other organizations have been active as well.
Starting Oct. 1, foam containers for carryout food will be banned throughout Maryland. Not everyone is happy
As the first state in the country to ban foam food containers, Maryland will be a “very good case study,” said Chris Reddy, a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.
What did we learn from the Deepwater Horizon disaster?
All existing tests on the efficacy of dispersants had been conducted on the surface of water, says Elizabeth Kujawinski, a chemical oceanographer at WHOI. There was no guarantee that they would perform the same way in the crushing depths of the ocean.
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.
MC&G Department Virtual Seminar: Climate Change and Plastic Pollution: A One-Two Punch for Coral Reefs
Manoela Romano, Carnegie Institution for Science Sponsored by: MC&G Department This will be held virtually. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84120401743 Meeting…
Read MoreHow Long Does Plastic Persist in the Ocean?
It can be hard to predict the average lifespan of plastics in the ocean when so many different types exist. WHOI chemists Chris Reddy and Collin Ward are working to simplify these predictions
Read MoreRadioactive 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
New paper addresses the mix of contaminants in Fukushima wastewater
A new study in the journal Science addresses recent suggestions that treated wastewater from the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant should be dumped in the ocean.
Read MoreAs if Yemen Needed More Woes, a Decrepit Oil Tanker Threatens Disaster
The task at hand is to keep a bad situation from getting worse, said Christopher M. Reddy, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “We have a problem, it has a potential for harm, so how do we do it to create the least amount of damage?” he said.
WHOI Scientists Make Woods Hole Film Festival Appearance
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists appear in two shorts and a feature film at this year’s Woods Hole Film…
Read MoreScientists Discover A New Material For Cleaning Up Oil Spills
In the middle of a battle like an oil spill, you want to have a very predictable material that is easily deployed and creates no uncertainty, says Chris Reddy, at WHOI. And these natural products carry just a lot more uncertainty. Despite this uncertainty, he says, maybe hair can teach us how to make better materials. And Georgia Tech’s David Hu says the study made him look at hair differently.
The many lifetimes of plastics
Infographics strive to give us a sense of how long plastic goods will last in the environment. But is this information reliable? The findings of a new study from WHOI may surprise you.
Read MoreMC&G Department Virtual Seminar: Is Soybean Oil Part of a Potential Solution for Solving Eutrophication of Cape Cod Estuaries? and Not Normal and Mutated: Science in a Time of Crisis
Matt Charette, WHOI & Chris Reddy, WHOI Sponsored by: MC&G Department This will be held virtually over Webex. Event address…
Read More1969 Fuel Barge Florida
Location: Buzzards Bay, off West Falmouth, Mass. Date: September 16, 1969 Lat./Long.: 41°35’57.60″N, 70°41’47.88″W Material spilled: No. 2 fuel oil Amount spilled: 189,000…
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