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Research Highlights

WHOI in the News

Study Estimates Economic Impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms on Razor Clam–dependent Community

December 13, 2022

A Rusting Oil Tanker Off the Coast of Yemen Is an Environmental Catastrophe Waiting to Happen. Can Anyone Prevent It?

May 14, 2021

Viviane Menezes, a marine scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Massachusetts, has described the Red Sea as being like a “big lagoon” with “everything connected.” An oil spill at any time of year would be disastrous, she says, but seasonally variable weather and tidal patterns make contingency planning difficult. In the summer, Red Sea currents would drag an oil slick south, threatening Eritrea and Djibouti, and potentially entering the Gulf of Aden. In winter, circular currents would swirl more of the oil north.

Right Camera Could Protect Endangered Whales

January 8, 2021

Scientist hopes his smart system can reduce ship collisions with North Atlantic right whales. A new technology on the horizon may help to reduce one of those threats, however.

Science is the way forward

November 30, 2020

By definition, science seeks to avoid bias, remain independent, refute falsehoods, and seek answers based on evidence, reason, and consensus. An editorial writen by Peter de Menocal and Richard W. Murray.

United States Contributions to Global Ocean Plastic Waste

October 25, 2020

MPC Research Specialist, Hauke Kite-Powell, has recently been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine committee to study U.S. contributions to global ocean plastic waste.

Oceanus Magazine

Lessons from Nature, Models, and the Past

Lessons from Nature, Models, and the Past

January 9, 2008

The first part of biogeochemist John Martin’s famous prediction—“Give me half a tanker of iron, and I’ll give you an ice age”—has been proved partly right: Iron is the only thing standing in the way of plankton blooms in some…

What Are the Possible Side Effects?

What Are the Possible Side Effects?

January 8, 2008

Most of the ocean food chain is too small to see, but that doesn’t mean the effects of iron fertilization will be, too. “The purpose, if one is going to do iron fertilization, is to increase the amount of marine…

Will Ocean Iron Fertilization Work?

Will Ocean Iron Fertilization Work?

January 7, 2008

In this age of satellites, it’s fairly easy to answer the basic question of whether adding iron to the ocean can stimulate a plankton bloom. When storms over land blow iron-rich dust into the sea, satellite images show marbled swaths…

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Fertilizing the Ocean with Iron

November 13, 2007

  “Give me half a tanker of iron, and I’ll give you an ice age” may rank as the catchiest line ever uttered by a biogeochemist. The man responsible was the late John Martin, former director of the Moss Landing…

A Modest Proposal to Sustain Lobsters and Lobstermen

A Modest Proposal to Sustain Lobsters and Lobstermen

July 7, 2006

A new study by a WHOI scientist and a former lobsterman suggests a provocative lobster management strategy that offers economic benefits to the lobster fishermen, while invigorating lobster stocks.

News Releases

New study highlights the correlation between live corals and fishing yields

December 19, 2024

Research led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution predicts lower fishing yields as corals struggle to survive

Ocean leaders renew focus on the sea ahead of UN summit

October 24, 2024

WHOI and partners pen Baku Declaration, emphasizing the need for ocean observatories to meet climate and biodiversity goals at COP29

Ocean Pavilion COP29

The Ocean Pavilion Returns to International Climate Conference for a Third Year

October 17, 2024

Leading science institutions and partners will make the case for greater inclusion of the ocean at COP29

Coring a Salt Marsh

A new report on coastal resilience

September 24, 2024

New report released during NY Climate Week and upcoming UN General Assembly high-level plenary meeting on threats posed by sea level rise

U.S Naval Academy (USNA) vessels dock at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)

July 16, 2021

Woods Hole, WHOI campus now a stop on the USNA summer sailing team’s route On Friday, July 15, five USNA sailing vessels carrying a total of 50 U.S. Navy personnel docked at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s waterfront facilities, the first…

News & Insights

Harriet Harden-Davies is on the frontlines of ocean policy

March 25, 2021

Harriet Harden-Davies has spent more than 10 years working in the marine policy arena and is now aiding in major U.N. negotiations on laws governing the high seas

A canoe sits idle in Ulukhaktok, one of several Arctic Inuit communities trying to cope with food insecurity rates that are estimated to be five times the level of food insecurity measured for households in Canada. (Photo by Paul Labn, Oceans North)

Hunger in the Arctic prompts focus on causes, not symptoms

November 5, 2020

As Arctic Inuit communities try to cope with extreme food insecurity, researchers look for answers

Uncharted Water

Uncharted waters

July 16, 2020

Our global ocean will change dramatically over the next few decades. What might it look like, and how will humans adapt?

right whale video

WHOI joins effort to accelerate marine life protection technology

April 22, 2020

WHOI has teamed up with Greentown Labs and Vineyard Wind to launch the Offshore Wind Challenge. The program, which is also partnering with New England Aquarium, calls on entrepreneurs to submit proposals to collect, transmit, and analyze marine mammal monitoring data using remote technologies, such as underwater vehicles, drones, and offshore buoys.

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.