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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

The R/V Acadiana

Looking to the Mighty Mississippi for climate solutions

December 16, 2022

Researchers measure alkalinity flowing into the Gulf of Mexico to assess a carbon dioxide removal strategy

Why Indigenous perspectives matter in the climate conversation

November 21, 2022

Wampanoag Tribal Member Leslie Jonas talks WHOI, Native rights, and a timely partnership

The teetering balance of coastal CO2

October 18, 2022

WHOI scientists Matt Long and Aleck Wang explain the incredibly important role of coastal seagrasses and rivers in the global carbon cycle

A ship floats in the the Gulf of Mexico after the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Photo by Kris Krug, Wikimedia Commons)

Sunlight and the fate of oil at sea

September 29, 2022

Danielle Haas Freeman draws on the language of chemistry to solve an oil spill puzzle

Ocean acidification is no big deal, right?

September 19, 2022

WHOI’s Jennie Rheuban discusses the very real phenomenon of an increasingly acidic ocean and the toll it’s taking on marine life.

News Releases

Dr. Elizabeth B. Kujawinski

ASLO honors Elizabeth B. Kujawinski with the 2024 G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award

February 13, 2024

Woods Hole, Mass. — Each year, the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) honors scientists for their outstanding achievements in aquatic science research, service, and education. The G. Evelyn Hutchinson Award recognizes a mid-career scientist who has […]

Deep Rover underwater

Researchers Studying Ocean Transform Faults, Describe a Previously Unknown Part of the Geological Carbon Cycle

February 12, 2024

Woods Hole, Mass. – Studying a rock is like reading a book. The rock has a story to tell, says Frieder Klein, an associate scientist in the Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry Department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

The rocks […]

Southern Ocean

Vitamin B12 adaptability in Antarctic algae has implications for climate change

February 5, 2024

Woods Hole, Mass. – Vitamin B12 deficiency in people can cause a slew of health problems and even become fatal. Until now, the same deficiencies were thought to impact certain types of algae, as well.  A new study examined the […]

A straw in the ocean

Some Plastic Straws Degrade Quicker Than Others, New Study Shows

January 30, 2024

WHOI researchers determine lifetimes of drinking straws in the coastal ocean and develop a prototype bioplastic straw that degrades even faster than paper

Cup lid at the beach

A new way of looking at plastics

January 8, 2024

WHOI researchers develop a new sustainability metric for plastic products

News & Insights

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Finding medical answers in the ocean

March 19, 2020

The test being used to diagnose the novel coronavirus—and other pandemics like AIDS and SARS—was developed with the help of an enzyme isolated from a microbe found in marine hydrothermal vents as well as freshwater hot springs.

Kalina Grabb studies some of the ocean’s most reactive chemicals

February 6, 2020

A marine geochemist discusses her passion for coral reefs, how volatile compounds in the ocean affect their health, and a new type of sensor that is shedding light on these interactions.

Low-oxygen “dead zones” and phytoplankton blooms

The oceans are losing oxygen, and faster than we thought

December 12, 2019

WHOI scientists weigh in on a new ICUN report highlighting a 2% decline in marine oxygen levels between 1960 and 2010. The loss of oxygen has triggered an expansion of marine dead zones throughout the global ocean that has put marine life and ecosystems in peril.

Ken Buesseler

The Ocean Twilight Zone’s crucial carbon pump

December 11, 2019

When CO₂ enters the ocean, where does this heat-trapping gas go? WHOI geochemist investigates how much carbon from the surface ocean is dispatched to the ocean twilight zone–the midlayer of the ocean–and on to the deep ocean.

Shells

Ocean acidification gets a watchful eye in New England aquaculture ‘hot spot’

December 5, 2019

Shellfish aquaculture is thriving in New England, but future growth in the industry could be stunted as coastal waters in the region become more acidic. Researchers at WHOI have developed a way to link nutrient load reductions to improvements in the health of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, which may an important step toward cleaner and less acidic harbors in the Baystate.