Research Highlights
Oceanus Magazine
Back in my high school, and maybe yours too, kids naturally separated into cliques—jocks, punks, preppies, hippies, and at the extremes of the mythical left- and right-hemisphere brain spectrum, nerds and the artsy types. The latter two never spoke to…
In November 2012, the California Coastal Commission met to consider a request by Pacific Gas and Electric to study a geologic fault that runs along the central California coast just 300 meters from the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant. The…
The source of the rain that filled your town reservoir, or flooded your nearby river, or never arrived to water your crops, is most likely the ocean. The ocean contains 96 percent of the free water on Earth, and it…
Scientists have uncovered evidence for another natural cycle that, like El Niño and La Niña, shifts Pacific Ocean winds and currents and rearranges rainfall and weather patterns around the globe. The newly detected cycle recurs every 100 years, less frequently…
Links to related materials Mid-Ocean Ridges—Articles, illustrations, and video showing how new seafloor crust forms Mapping the Seafloor with Multibeam Sonar Profile of Marshall Swartz Story of the SDSL Data-Link Life at Vents and Seeps While Oil Gently Seeps from…
News Releases
Researchers use vanadium isotopes to track the rise of oxygen in ancient seas
The Investigating Ocean Worlds project will seek to improve the analysis of data related to carbon-rich molecules that could be an indicator of biological activity.
This is the most significant discovery to date for COLDEX, an NSF Science and Technology Center funded in 2021 to explore the Antarctic ice sheet, which is the largest ice mass on the planet.
A new study reveals fluctuations in temperature of fluids from hydrothermal vents indicate the effects of magmatic and tectonic processes that occur miles beneath the seafloor.
A newly published study challenges long-held assumptions about the origins of urban civilization in ancient Mesopotamia
News & Insights
First-of-its-kind research expedition studies massive freshwater aquifer under the ocean floor off Cape Cod
This week, NASA’s Perseverance Rover lands on Mars to continue the search for life on the Red Planet. At the same time, WHOI scientists and engineers are applying their experience exploring the deepest parts of planet Earth to the quest…
As glaciers melt at unprecedented rates, WHOI’s Simon Pendleton is looking back to historical records to predict whether this new cool runoff will slow ocean circulation and cool the northern hemisphere––findings which could mean adjustments to some climate predictions.
WHOI looks back at the legacy of co-founder of MIT-WHOI Joint Program, former Director of Research and Provost at WHOI, Art Maxwell
As I reached the end of April, I realized that too much of my time was getting consumed by zoom calls and email in a bid to over-compensate for not being able to interact with people on-site at WHOI. So…