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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Life in the Arctic Ocean

Life in the Arctic Ocean

September 15, 2004

Capped with a formidable ice and snow cover, plunged into total darkness during the winter, buffeted by blizzard winds,and bitterly cold, the Arctic Ocean is one of the most inaccessible and yet beautiful environments on Earth. Life here endures some of the greatest extremes in light and temperature known to our planet. Yet despite these inhospitable conditions, the Arctic Ocean is teeming with life.

The Secret Lives of Fish

The Secret Lives of Fish

August 27, 2004

“We have found that otoliths of fish born in each of the five natal estuaries had different, unique isotope and element compositions, or “signatures.” All their lives, these fish had carried a natural tag, encoding the location where they were hatched.

Mixing Oil and Water

Mixing Oil and Water

June 23, 2004

In recent decades scientists have made substantial progress in understanding how oil enters the oceans, what happens to it, and how it affects marine organisms and ecosystems. This knowledge has led to regulations, practices, and decisions that have helped us reduce sources of pollution, prevent and respond to spills, clean up contaminated environments, wisely dredge harbors, and locate new petroleum handling facilities.

Is Life Thriving Deep Beneath the Seafloor?

Is Life Thriving Deep Beneath the Seafloor?

April 12, 2004

In 1991, scientists aboard the submersible Alvin were in the right spot at the right time to witness something extraordinary. They had sailed into the aftermath of a very recent volcanic eruption on the seafloor and found themselves in a virtual blizzard. They were densely surrounded by flocs of white debris, composed of sulfur and microbes, which drifted more than 30 meters above the ocean bottom. The seafloor was coated with a 10-centimeter-thick layer of the same white material. This vast volume of microbes did not come from the ocean. The eruption had flushed it out from beneath the seafloor.

The Evolutionary Puzzle of Seafloor Life

The Evolutionary Puzzle of Seafloor Life

March 22, 2004

Most of Earth’s crust is manufactured at the bottom of the sea. Deep beneath the waves and beyond our view, magma erupts along a 40,000-mile volcanic mountain chain that bisects the ocean floors and encircles the globe. The lava flowing from these mid-ocean ridges solidifies into new ocean crust that spreads out and paves the surface of our planet.

News Releases

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and partners discover new ocean predator in the Atacama Trench

December 9, 2024

This crustacean is the first large, active predatory amphipod from these extreme depths.

Weddell face

Weddell seals in the Antarctic strategically time their most extreme dives to maximize foraging

October 29, 2024

New research from WHOI and partners sheds light on a novel dive foraging strategy.

Reef Acoustic Playback System

New funding will boost vital reef restoration work

October 2, 2024

Coral Research and Development Accelerator Program funding will advance acoustic enhancement research in the Caribbean

Swimming crustacean eats unlikely food source in the deep ocean

September 11, 2024

Increased capabilities in the human occupied submersible Alvin open a window on a rarely seen behavior.

New harmful algal blooms report

July 23, 2024

Updated national science strategy for harmful algal research and response builds on major accomplishments, findings.

News & Insights

Valentine’s Day Courtship Tips from the Ocean

February 10, 2025

Five courtship tips from ocean lovers By Brady Clarke | February 10, 2025 Looking for new ways to woo your Valentine? Go beneath the surface with these courtship tips from beneath the waves! 1) Fuse bodies This small (about 7.5-centimeter),…

Recognizing Massachusetts Right Whale Day

April 24, 2023

April 24 marks the first-ever Right Whale Day in Massachusetts. WHOI biologist and veterinarian Michael Moore recently met with the resident who brought this special recognition about– and explains why it’s important to raise awareness about the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale.

Critically Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales Getting Smaller, New Research Finds

June 10, 2021

A report out this week in Current Biology reveal that critically endangered North Atlantic right whales are up to three feet shorter than 40 years ago. This startling conclusion reinforces what scientists have suspected: even when entanglements do not lead directly to the death of North Atlantic right whales, they can have lasting effects on the imperiled population that may now number less than 400 animals. Further, females that are entangled while nursing produce smaller calves.

right whales

Rare Drone video shows critically endangered North Atlantic right whales

May 10, 2021

May 10, 2021   During a joint research trip on February 28 in Cape Cod Bay, Mass., WHOI whale trauma specialist Michael Moore, National Geographic photographer Brian Skerry, and scientists from New England Aquarium, witnessed a remarkable biological event: North…

Unicorns of the Arctic face a new potential threat

December 1, 2020

Narwhals and other marine mammals could be vulnerable to a new threat we’ve become all too familiar with: COVID-19