Skip to content

Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Mentors for Budding Scientists

Mentors for Budding Scientists

August 31, 2012

For the fourth consecutive year, local high school students interested in science spent part of their summer vacations working on projects undertaken with Delia Oppo’s lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This year, they teamed up to reconstruct the last…

Climate Change Spurred Fall of Ancient Culture

Climate Change Spurred Fall of Ancient Culture

August 24, 2012

The Harappans may be the most advanced ancient civilization that most Westerners have never heard of. They flourished in the Indus River basin on the Indian subcontinent around the same time the Egyptians were building the pyramids along the Nile…

A Serendipitous Seafloor Sample

A Serendipitous Seafloor Sample

July 5, 2012

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation. The pillow lava display and coffee table were funded by the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOI.

In Search of the Pink and White Terraces

In Search of the Pink and White Terraces

May 9, 2012

The dazzling Pink and White Terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomahana at one time were the greatest national treasure of New Zealand. They were cherished by the Maori and known far and wide as the eighth natural wonder of…

To Catch a Hurricane

To Catch a Hurricane

March 15, 2012

On Aug. 25, 2011, the line projecting Hurricane Irene’s path up the East Coast barreled smack into Woods Hole, Mass., spurring a whirlwind in Jeff Donnelly’s lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). Scientists and students hustled to create a…

News Releases

Researchers help solve mystery of clockwork-like earthquake system deep beneath the Pacific

May 14, 2026

Study of Gofar transform fault on the Pacific seafloor points to mitigating effects of “barrier zones” that keep ruptures from spreading.

A new study finds Jupiter’s moon Europa’s quiet seafloor may still hold keys for life

January 6, 2026

A new study suggests Jupiter’s icy moon lacks geophysical activity, changing how scientists think about life there

Black shale

A new study reveals how oxygen first reached Earth’s oceans

December 9, 2025

Researchers use vanadium isotopes to track the rise of oxygen in ancient seas

europa clipper

WHOI selected by NASA to investigate ocean worlds and their organic carbon cycles

December 3, 2025

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.

Six-million-year-old ice discovered in Antarctica offers unprecedented window into a warmer Earth

October 29, 2025

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.

News & Insights

Scientists tap ‘secret’ fresh water under the ocean

September 12, 2025

First-of-its-kind research expedition studies massive freshwater aquifer under the ocean floor off Cape Cod

The Search for Life

February 17, 2021

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…

greenland ice

Will melting glaciers cool the climate?

July 29, 2020

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.

Art Maxwell

Celebrating an oceanographic life

July 1, 2020

WHOI looks back at the legacy of co-founder of MIT-WHOI Joint Program, former Director of Research and Provost at WHOI, Art Maxwell

Working from home: Chris German

April 30, 2020

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…

Scroll To Top