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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

the sea ahead

Sea Ahead

July 27, 2020

Once upon a time, ocean scientists hung up cans on up a tree on Bikini Atoll to measure wave height in the Marshall Islands during nuclear weapons testing. Today, ocean technologies and data harvesting are heading somewhere big, from swarming bots, to more autonomous submersibles, and the miniaturization of ocean sensors

Rapid Response at Sea

September 18, 2019

As sea ice continues to melt in the Arctic and oil exploration expands in the region, the possibility of an oil spill occurring under ice is higher than ever. To help first responders cope with oil trapped under ice, ocean engineers are developing undersea vehicles that can map oil spills to improve situational awareness and decision making during an emergency.

wind farm - cable

A new way of “seeing” offshore wind power cables

May 25, 2019

Eager to share best practices and technical know-how with the offshore wind sector, WHOI researchers test out an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUVs)—a staple of oceanographic research—to see if it can perform subsea cable surveys faster and more economically than using large and expensive ships.

glider

Navigating the Changing Arctic

April 25, 2019

New, fully autonomous glider will collect critical-but-scarce ice thickness measurements from below the surface of the Arctic ocean.

The Deep-See Peers into the Depths

The Deep-See Peers into the Depths

February 20, 2019

Decades of research from many WHOI scientists and engineers have culminated in a multifaceted vehicle to explore deep-sea marine life.

News Releases

Sargassum Patch

Study reveals dramatic decline in historic sargassum populations, with WHOI scientists helping unravel basin-scale changes

December 4, 2025

The findings point to warming ocean temperatures, shifting nutrient regimes, and changing circulation patterns as likely contributors to this emerging basin-scale redistribution of Sargassum.

International research team discovers a potential source of abiotic methane in the Arctic Ocean

November 21, 2025

A distinctive oceanic core complex releasing hot fluids has been identified at a depth of 2,700 meters on the Arctic Ocean’s floor.

WHOI’s Jennifer Johnson receives Fulbright Specialist Award

August 7, 2025

Research Associate will complete a project at the National Fisheries and Marine Research Institute in Angola.

New paper reveals global threat of salt contamination to water supplies in tidal rivers, threatening critical infrastructure

July 29, 2025

Researchers make urgent call for convergent interdisciplinary research to combat worsening crisis

New global efforts to map and monitor kelp forests extend to South Africa and Namibia

April 30, 2025

A new expansion of kelpwatch.org, brings over 40 years of satellite-derived kelp canopy data to South Africa and Namibia, offering new insights into these vital underwater forest ecosystems.

News & Insights

WHOI builds bridges with Arctic Indigenous communities

February 10, 2021

NSF program fosters collaboration between indigenous communities and traditional scientists, allowing WHOI’s autonomous vehicles to shed light on a changing Arctic

WHOI-assisted study finds ocean dumping of DDT waste was “sloppy”

October 29, 2020

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.

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