Skip to content

Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

A Journey to the Ocean's Twilight Zone

A Journey to the Ocean’s Twilight Zone

August 16, 2006

You are about to enter another dimension. You’re moving into a place of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas; a journey into a wondrous part of the ocean, whose boundaries are 300 to 1,600 feet (100 to 500…

Swimming in the Rain

Swimming in the Rain

August 16, 2006

Twilight zones, witch hunts, and crossbows usually don’t find their way into tales about new oceanographic instruments. This story isn’t typical, but it does start in the usual way, with oceanographers striving to coax secrets out of inscrutable oceans. In…

Dust Busters for the Oceans

Dust Busters for the Oceans

March 8, 2006

Like most living things, microscopic marine plants need iron and other minerals to live and grow. On land, soil provides a ubiquitous source of minerals, but how do essential nutrients get into vast watery stretches of the open ocean? The…

Graduate Student Discovers an Unusual New Species

Graduate Student Discovers an Unusual New Species

February 10, 2006

Sheri Simmons gets into the rugged wilderness as often as she can, backpacking in Newfoundland, the Sierras, the Adirondacks, and Alaska—where she once encountered a grizzly bear on a trail. She skis every chance she gets, on notoriously rough slopes…

Earth Can't Soak Up Excess Fossil Fuel Emissions Indefinitely

Earth Can’t Soak Up Excess Fossil Fuel Emissions Indefinitely

October 5, 2005

Earth?s land and oceans have been soaking up the excess carbon Earth?s land and oceans have been soaking up the excess carbon dioxide that humans have pumped into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. But there are limits.
A new-generation computer model indicates that the capacity of land and ocean to absorb and store the heat-trapping greenhouse gas will reach its peak by the end of the century?removing a brake that has been tempering the effects of global warming.

News Releases

New report highlights plastic pollution as a grave and growing danger to health and announces an independent, health-focused global monitoring system

August 4, 2025

While the impacts of plastic pollution on human health and the environment are growing, the report finds, increasing harm due to plastics is not inevitable.

Award-winning environmental documentary Out of Plain Sight to make Cape Cod debut at the Woods Hole Film Festival

July 17, 2025

Film shares the pivotal role of WHOI-operated underwater vehicles in the discovery of toxic waste dumped off California coast

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.

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.

Scroll To Top