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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Where Are Mines Hiding on the Seafloor?

Where Are Mines Hiding on the Seafloor?

January 25, 2005

Eternally and incessantly, waves and currents stir up sand from the seafloor near the coast. Sediments get suspended in the ocean, carried onshore and off, and deposited elsewhere. In the process, objects on the seafloor—natural and unnatural—can get buried and uncovered.

The New Wave of Coastal Ocean Observing

The New Wave of Coastal Ocean Observing

January 6, 2005

Estuaries are the borderlands between salt and freshwater environments, and they are incredibly diverse both biologically and physically. The diversity and the high energy of the ecosystem make estuaries remarkably resilient. With a better understanding of these systems, we can reverse

their decline and restore the ecological richness of these valuable, albeit muddy, environments.

Shaping the Beach, One Wave at a Time

Shaping the Beach, One Wave at a Time

October 4, 2004

For years, scientists who study the shoreline have wondered at the apparent fickleness of storms, which can devastate one part of a coastline, yet leave an adjacent part untouched. How can this be? The answer lies in the physics of the nearshore region?the stretch of sand, rock, and water between the dry land behind the beach and the beginning of deep water far from shore.

Seeding the Seafloor with Observatories

Seeding the Seafloor with Observatories

February 22, 2004

Scientists extend their reach into the deep with pioneering undersea cable networks

H2O (Hawaii-2 Observatory) – In 1998, scientists used the remotely operated vehicles (ROV) Jason and Medea to create the pioneering long-term seafloor observatory called H2O (Hawaii-2 Observatory). They spliced an abandoned submarine telephone cable into a termination frame. The frame relays power and communications to a junction box, which serves as an electrical outlet for scientific instruments.

NEPTUNE: A Fiber-Optic 'Telescope' to Inner Space

NEPTUNE: A Fiber-Optic ‘Telescope’ to Inner Space

January 1, 2000

NEPTUNE is a proposed system of high-speed fiber- optic submarine cables linking a series of seafloor nodes supporting thousands of assorted measuring instruments, video equipment, and robotic vehicles that could upload power and download data at undersea docks. Unlike conventional telephone cables, which supply power from shore in a straight line, end to end, NEPTUNE would operate like a power grid, distributing power simultaneously and as needed throughout the network. Working much like a campus data network (with nodes analogous to buildings and each instrument like a workstation), NEPTUNE would provide real-time transmission of data and two-way communications.

News Releases

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.

‘Fishial’ recognition: Neural network identifies coral reef sounds

March 11, 2025

Faster identification of fish sounds from acoustic recordings can improve research, conservation efforts

Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution identify heat-resistant kelp strain

February 10, 2025

A new strain of kelp can help support sustainable farming

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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