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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Popular Way to Assess Oil Spills Can Be Misused

Popular Way to Assess Oil Spills Can Be Misused

May 28, 2008

Environmental assessment teams increasingly may be using a method to assess oil spill contamination in situations where it doesn’t work well and are in danger of reaching false conclusions, a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has warned In a…

Protecting Public Health by Preventing Pollution

Protecting Public Health by Preventing Pollution

April 3, 2008

Growing up in Maine, Desirée Plata watched her grandmother suffer from illnesses that she suspected were related to trichloroethylene-a colorless liquid, used as a solvent for cleaning metal parts, that had been dumped in the area and had made its…

Making Nanotubes Without Harming the Environment

Making Nanotubes Without Harming the Environment

April 3, 2008

They are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair, yet stronger than steel, more durable than diamonds, and able to conduct heat and electricity with efficiency that rivals copper wires and silicon chips. Ever since their discovery in…

To Fertilize, or Not to Fertilize

To Fertilize, or Not to Fertilize

February 6, 2008

Global warming is “unequivocal,” the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in November 2007. Human actions—particularly the burning of fossil fuels—have dramatically raised carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading our planet toward “abrupt or irreversible…

Lost City Pumps Life-essential Chemicals at Rates Unseen at Typical Black Smokers

Lost City Pumps Life-essential Chemicals at Rates Unseen at Typical Black Smokers

January 31, 2008

Hydrocarbons—molecules critical to life—are routinely generated by the simple interaction of seawater with the rocks under the Lost City hydrothermal vent field in the Atlantic Ocean, according to research led by the University of Washington and the Woods Hole Oceanographic…

News Releases

Ancient groundwater records reveal regional vulnerabilities to climate change

June 17, 2025

New WHOI-led study shows the Southwest may be more sensitive to drying than the Pacific Northwest

Water sampling

Seawater microbes are a powerful tool for diagnosing coral reef health and strengthening conservation efforts, according to new paper

May 16, 2025

Compared to taking visual observations of reef habitats, analyzing water microbes provides a more immediate picture of health.

Berhard Peucker Ehernbrink

From river to sea: Research team, including WHOI chemist, receives international award

May 14, 2025

The Frontiers Planet Prize recently announced National Champions from 19 different countries.

Research almost two decades in the making: What can cicadas tell us about the Earth’s metals?

May 14, 2025

Billions of cicadas will be emerging on Cape Cod, and other parts of the country in late May or early June.

Tica hydrothermal vent

Scientists in Alvin witness seafloor eruption on the East Pacific Rise

May 2, 2025

Long-awaited event sets the stage for scientists to learn more about physical, chemical and biological processes in the deep ocean East Pacific Rise, Pacific Ocean (May 2, 2025)  – Scientists diving in the human-occupied vehicle Alvin recently witnessed a rare…

News & Insights

What happens to natural gas in the ocean?

October 6, 2022

WHOI marine chemist Chris Reddy weighs in on a methane leak in the Baltic Sea

Wave Glider provides gateway to remote exploration

November 10, 2020

WHOI geochemist Chris German pairs an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) called a Wave Glider with other vehicles to expand research here and on other Ocean Worlds

Sea Dust

Mining ancient dust from the ocean’s loneliest spot

September 24, 2020

Researchers investigate dust from the ocean’s farthest point from land to reconstruct the climactic history of the Southern Hemisphere, and understand how micronutrients have influenced biological productivity in this oceanic desert.

Working from Home: Mallory Ringham

July 2, 2020

WHOI-MIT joint program student outfits her basement to do vital work on a marine carbon sensor

plastics by the numbers

The many lifetimes of plastics

June 15, 2020

Infographics strive to give us a sense of how long plastic goods will last in the environment. But is this information reliable? The findings of a new study from WHOI may surprise you.

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