Underwater Vehicles
Sea 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.
Read MoreOcean explorer and filmmaker James Cameron to host virtual event on Extreme Ocean Machines
On May 20, ocean explorer and world-renowned filmmaker James Cameron will host a special edition of Ocean Encounters, a popular virtual event series from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Read MoreWelcome home, Alvin!
Alvin is the world’s longest-operating deep-sea submersible. It was launched in 1964 and has made more than 4,700 dives, along the way participating in some of the most iconic discoveries in the deep ocean. Throughout 2011, 2012, and into 2013, Alvin received a comprehensive overhaul and upgrade funded by the National Science Foundation that greatly expanded its capabilities and will eventually put almost the entire ocean floor within its reach.
Read MoreEarth’s oceans may hold the key to finding life beyond our planet
The second vehicle is our Orpheus vehicle, and this is a partnership between JPL and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
360˚ Video: Deploying Mesobot
You’re on deck as the stealthy underwater robot Mesobot makes another trip into the ocean twilight zone to test equipment that will help scientists track bits of “environmental DNA” floating in the water.
Read MoreOpening our eyes to the deep: Molly Curran
Molly Curran is a mechanical engineer in WHOI’s Deep Submergence Laboratory. She works on the design and operation of deep-sea robotic systems, including remotely operated vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and deep-sea samplers. She was the institution’s first pilot for Mesobot, WHOI’s latest autonomous robot designed to study the midwater realm known as the ocean twilight zone.
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 MoreSentry dives to a biological oasis
WHOI operators deploy the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Sentry off the coast of Oregon at a site called “Pythias Oasis.”
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