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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

truck

Harnessing the ocean to power transportation

August 5, 2025

WHOI scientists are part of a team working to turn seaweed into biofuel

WHOI senior scientist Dennis McGillicuddy holds a jarred Sargassum sample

How do you solve a problem like Sargassum?

July 16, 2025

An important yet prolific seaweed with massive blooms worries scientists

shells

Ancient seas, future insights

July 10, 2025

WHOI scientists study the paleo record to understand how the ocean will look in a warmer climate

Elizabeth Spiers

Grits, storms, and cosmic patience

May 29, 2025

As storms stall liftoff, Europa Clipper Mission Team member Elizabeth Spiers patiently awaits the biggest mission of her life

kelp farming

Seeding the future

May 21, 2025

New WHOI tech lends a hand to kelp farmers

News Releases

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution co-produces Emmy award-winning program

February 3, 2022

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been awarded an Emmy as a co-producer, along with South Florida PBS (WPBT & WXEL) for Changing Seas: “Alvin: Pioneer of the Deep” . The 2021 Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy Awards announced the honor in December, for the category “Environment/Science – Long Form Content.”

WHOI shares details on microplastic detection project

January 11, 2022

A project led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Chemical Sensors Lab is moving researchers closer to an in-field microplastics sensor that measures the amount of plastic particles in water.

Research suggests giant kelp has different factors that bear on its growth dynamics

January 4, 2022

The macroalga giant kelp, which is an iconic and important ecosystem-structuring species found off the coast of California and many other coastlines, can grow 100-feet long within 1-2 years. Now, researchers using novel remote sensing observations have found that different factors may bear on the spatial growth dynamics of the Macrocystis pyrifera kelp, which is the largest species of algae in the world.

DOE Funding will Support WHOI Research to Support Sustainable Development of Offshore Wind

November 19, 2021

Woods Hole, MA – The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has received $750,000 in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to develop next‐generation autonomous robotic technology for environmental monitoring of marine organisms and the seafloor at potential wind…

auv coral

Development of a curious robot to study coral reef ecosystems awarded $1.5 million by the National Science Foundation

November 10, 2021

A prototype of an autonomous underwater vehicle capable of navigating complex underwater environments and of collecting data adaptively over long periods of time. Daniel Hentz / ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Woods Hole, MA – A grant by the National Science…

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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