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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

WHOI reef solutions field team

Hidden giant

November 19, 2025

An expedition to the world’s largest coral colony

blue straws

Breaking down plastics together

November 6, 2025

Through a surprising and successful partnership, WHOI and Eastman scientists are reinventing what we throw away

underwater coral

Reef RX

November 3, 2025

Using human health protocols to find and aid ailing reefs

ocean and swimmer

The Ocean (Re)Imagined

October 16, 2025

How expanding our view of the ocean can unlock new possibilities for life

blue mud lab

Secrets from the blue mud

September 22, 2025

Microbes survive—and thrive—in caustic fluids venting from the seafloor

News Releases

Glaciers Contribute Significant Iron to North Atlantic Ocean

March 10, 2013

All living organisms rely on iron as an essential nutrient. In the ocean, iron’s abundance or scarcity means all the difference as it fuels the growth of plankton, the base of the ocean’s food web. A new study by biogeochemists…

Fishing for Answers off Fukushima

October 25, 2012

Japan’s “triple disaster,” as it has become known, began on March 11, 2011, and remains unprecedented in its scope and complexity. To understand the lingering effects and potential public health implications of that chain of events, scientists are turning to…

Human Impact Felt on Black Sea Long Before Industrial Era

September 4, 2012

When WHOI geologist Liviu Giosan first reconstructed the history of how the Danube River built its delta, he was presented with a puzzle. In the delta’s early stages of development, the river deposited its sediment within a protected bay. As…

A ‘B-12 Shot’ for Marine Algae?

May 31, 2012

Studying algal cultures and seawater samples from the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, a team of researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the J. Craig Venter Institute have revealed a key cog in the biochemical machinery that allows marine algae at the base of the oceanic food chain to thrive. They have discovered a previously unknown protein in algae that grabs an essential but scarce nutrient out of seawater, vitamin B12.

WHOI Scientists Map and Confirm Origin of Large, Underwater Hydrocarbon Plume in Gulf

August 19, 2010

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) detected and characterized a plume of hydrocarbons that is at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The work presents a forensic snapshot of the plume characteristics in June and is reported in a study appearing in the Aug. 19 issue of the journal Science.

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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