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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Sentry

How to study an underwater earthquake from shore

June 30, 2022

Scientist Chris German on a successful AUV Sentry mission when the science team could not travel to sea

majuro aerial

Novel tool sheds light on coral reef erosion

June 3, 2022

Jessica […]

Lily Sanborn

How historic hurricanes can help predict storm intensity

June 24, 2021

Research into past hurricanes could help predict the strength of future storms, and inform infrastructure planning and emergency management decisions in southern New England

From Mars to the deep

April 28, 2021

Navigation technology that helped NASA’s Perseverance rover land safely on Mars could guide robots in another unexplored terrain that’s much closer to home: the deepest trenches of the ocean.

iceberg

Can icebergs be towed to water-starved cities?

January 6, 2021

The […]

News Releases

Multicorer Recovery

Evidence of Climate Change in the North Atlantic can be Seen in the Deep Ocean, Study Finds

November 17, 2023

Woods Hole, Mass. -Evidence of climate change in the North Atlantic during the last 1,000 years can be seen in the deep ocean, according to a newly published paper led by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and […]

Scientists Discover Additional Healthy Deep-sea Coral Reefs and New Seamounts in the Galápagos

November 1, 2023

Stunning 800 meter-long coral reef discovered with Schmidt Ocean Institute’s underwater robot off Galápagos Islands

Puerto Ayora, Ecuador- Scientists examining underwater cliff ecosystems onboard research vessel Falkor(too) using the 4,500 meter robot, ROV SuBastian, have discovered two pristine coral reefs in […]

Heather Benway

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Heather Benway Receives AGU Honor

September 21, 2023

Heather Benway, a senior research specialist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is the recipient of the 2023 Ocean Science Award from the American Geological Union (AGU).

HOV Alvin’s manipulator arm collects samples from rocky outcrop at the crest of a ridge, populated by cold water corals, squat lobsters, anemones, basket stars and deep-sea fish.

Scientists Aboard R/V Atlantis Discover Deep-Sea Coral Reefs in the Galápagos

April 17, 2023

Observations using the newly upgraded human-occupied vehicle Alvin are the first of a deep-water coral reef in the Galápagos Marine Reserve.
The reefs are located at depths between 400-600 m, atop previously unmapped seamounts.

JOIDES Resolution

Building Blocks of Life on the Atlantis Massif

April 12, 2023

An upcoming expedition aboard the US ocean drilling ship JOIDES Resolution co-led by Susan Q. Lang, a geochemist at WHOI and director NOSAMS Facility, will attempt to shed new light on the processes that likely helped jumpstart the formation of life early in Earth’s history.

News & Insights

Deep-sea coral reef discovered in the Galápagos with Alvin

May 12, 2023

In April 2023, scientists diving in the human-occupied submersible Alvin discovered extensive, ancient deep-sea coral reefs within the Galápagos Marine Reserve.

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 […]

iceberg

Can icebergs be towed to water-starved cities?

January 6, 2021

WHOI researchers are now investigating the feasibility of towing icebergs to alleviate water shortages.

A REMUS-600 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) communicates with an ocean-bottom seismograph (OBS) via a WHOI-developed optical modem link during lab testing. This link enables REMUS vehicles to act as "seismic data mules" whereby they offload data OBS stations without the need for ships or human intervention. (Photo by Dara Tebo, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Can seismic data mules protect us from the next big one?

October 7, 2020

Ocean scientists leverage game-changing technologies to improve our understanding of the global ocean’s most dangerous earthquake faults and enable more advanced warnings for seismic risk.

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.