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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

When the Hunter Became the Hunted

When the Hunter Became the Hunted

June 1, 2017

In waters off Mexico’s Guadalupe Island, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) engineers deployed the REMUS SharkCam, a torpedo-shaped robotic vehicle with a special system to track and film great white sharks in the ocean. “We wanted to test the technology…

Ancient Skeleton Discovered

Ancient Skeleton Discovered

May 1, 2017

International researchers discovered a human skeleton during ongoing excavations of a ship that sank around 65 B.C. off the Greek island of Antikythera in the Aegean Sea. It is the first skeleton from this shipwreck found in the era of…

Inside the Sunken USS Arizona

Inside the Sunken USS Arizona

May 1, 2017

Mike Skowronski (above left) pilots a remotely operated vehicle into the remains of the battleship Arizona at the USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, as Evan Kovacs and Maryann Morin (right) of the Advanced Imaging & Visualization Lab (AIVL) at Woods…

Illuminating the Ocean with Sound

Illuminating the Ocean with Sound

April 26, 2017

WHOI’s new research vessel Niel Armstrong is equipped with an EK80 broadband acoustic echo sounder. Using a wide range of sound frequencies, it gives scientists the ability to identify and distinguish between different types of marine life in the depths.

Why Did the El Faro Sink?

Why Did the El Faro Sink?

March 3, 2017

WHOI deep-sea vehicles and scientists played critical roles in searching the seafloor and locating the voyage data recorder of El Faro, the ship that sank in 2015 during Hurricane Joaquin, killing all 33 crew members.

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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