Underwater Vehicles
The Creepy, Unbelievably Inspiring World of Deep Sea Parasites
Ocean hitchhikers and bodysnatchers abound in the ocean, from the surface down to the deepest trenches. The question is, why? And is it a good thing?
Read MoreThe Oldest Crewed Deep Sea Submarine Just Got a Big Makeover
Alvin has been ashore getting a major upgrade at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, which operates the submersible on behalf of the US Navy. By the time Alvin’s makeover is wrapped up in late 2021, the storied submarine will rank among the most capable human-rated deep sea submersibles in the world.
Meet the Alvin 6500 Team: Lane Abrams
Lane Abrams talks about designing electronics for the bottom of the ocean and project management of Alvin’s electrical updates for the 6500 meter overhaul.
Read MoreThe Water Below
Drawing on 90 years of leadership in ocean discovery and exploration, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists are engaged in an array of research projects using autonomous systems to advance their understanding of marine environments.
Meet the Alvin 6500 Team: Francis Elder
An interview with Francis Elder, lead mechanical engineer for the Alvin Group. Find out how the team has designed a new pump to take Alvin to 6,500 meters.
Read MoreWHOI Reveals Upgrades to Iconic Submersible Alvin
Increased depth range and the ability to explore 99% of the ocean floor, including the abyssal region—one of the least understood areas of the deep sea—are just some of the upgrades underway for the iconic human-occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin that were unveiled today at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fall Meeting 2020.
WHOI reveals upgrades to iconic submersible Alvin
One of the world’s most prolific research submersibles will put 99% of the ocean floor within reach of science community when it relaunches in 2021
Read MoreSea Ahead
The game-changing technologies that will transform our ability to understand and manage Earth’s last great frontier. Monitoring instruments—and ocean technologies in general—have come a long way. We now have Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled robots that not only allow researchers to access the most remote spots in the ocean, but can decide where to explore once they get there.
Wave Glider provides gateway to remote exploration
WHOI geochemist Chris German pairs an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) called a Wave Glider with other vehicles to expand research here and on other Ocean Worlds
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 MoreHow 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.
Is seaweed the future of fuel?
“Macroalgae needs to scale up to the point where it’s economically feasible for biofuel, and to do this we are going to have thousands of hectares of farms,” says Erin Fischell, an assistant scientist at WHOI.
Is seaweed the future of fuel?
Erin Fischell, an assistant scientist at WHOI, points out: “Macroalgae needs to scale up to the point where it’s economically feasible for biofuel, and to do this we are going to have thousands of hectares of farms.”
Decoding The Black Box: The 2015 US Disaster That Revolutionized Ship Crash Investigations
The first challenge for the El Faro was to locate and extract the VDR. It took three expeditions over 11 months and the use of novel video telepresence, to be able to go down, retrieve it. The NTSB and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution also highlight the lengths they went to here.
AOP&E Department Virtual Seminar: Cross-Shore Transport in Internal Waves: Lessons Learned From Robotic Larval Mimics
Jessica Carriere-Garwood, Rutgers University Sponsored by: AOP&E This will be held virtually. Please Join: https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/94850236990?pwd=akJrTDFBeDJYakhOdVc2c1hDWVdYQT09 Meeting ID: 948 5023 6990 Passcode:…
Read MoreA New Ship’s Mission: Let the Deep Sea Be Seen
Mr. Dalio was thinking of buying the Alucia when a team of WHOI experts used the vessel and an undersea robot to find the shattered remains of Air France Flight 447, which in 2009 had vanished over the South Atlantic with 228 passengers. Other search teams had failed, and Mr. Dalio saw the 2011 success as an indication of the field’s exploratory promise.
Why is it important to study life in the deep sea and even below the seafloor?
Dr Virginia Edgcomb heads a laboratory at WHOI in the US. She spent three months on a ship in the middle of the Indian Ocean conducting research as part of a quest to find evidence of microbial life within the lower oceanic crust.
AOP&E Department Virtual Seminar: MIT Radiometer: Preliminary Results on Mesobot
Allan Adams, Peter Wiebe, Dana Yoerger, WHOI Sponsored by: AOP&E This will be held virtually. Please Join: https://whoi-edu.zoom.us/j/94850236990?pwd=akJrTDFBeDJYakhOdVc2c1hDWVdYQT09 Meeting ID:…
Read MoreWHOI Announces D’Works Marine Technology Initiative For Massachusetts Startups And Entrepreneurs
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) are teaming up to make WHOI’s unique mix of resources available through the D’Works Marine Technology Initiative to accelerate the pace of marine technology innovation.
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 MoreOverhaul to take Alvin to greater extremes
The Human Occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin returned to Woods Hole, Mass. this spring for the final phase of an overhaul that will allow the submarine to dive to 6,500 meters.
Read MoreROVs: A marine robotics paragon.
Carl Wirsen from WHOI, in his presentation, displayed how little we know about the deepest part of the oceans.
NOAA Webinar: From Training to Underwater Exploration: Take a Deep Dive with the NOAA Diving Center
Jessica Keller and Zachary Hileman, NOAA Diving Center, WA & Stephanie Gandulla, NOAA’s Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, MI Sponsored…
Read MoreExploring Deepwater Ecosystems with eDNA
Between September 23-27, 2019, a team of ocean scientists and engineers from WHOI and Lehigh University used NOAA research vessel Manta and the newly developed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Mesobot to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) in order to explore the biodiversity of deepwater ecosystems near Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico.
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