|
WHOI In Motion A Gallery of Animation and Video from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | ||
 For the WHOI science departments, see the Oceanographic Research page. |
Other Movies from WHOI Science Researchers in WHOI's five science departments and several centers use many techniques to gather data, collect samples, analyze data sets, and interpret study results. The Institution's surface vessels and underwater vehicles and instruments aid in this process, as do computer-driven visualization and modelling technologies. The animations and movies linked through this page show some of the ways these technologies contribute to a better understanding of the oceans. To fully appreciate these presentations requires a thorough understanding of the discipline or phenomenon under study; the curious layperson may also enjoy viewing them simply for their visual effects. | |
 For more information, see the Ocean Acoustics Lab page. |
The ocean is mostly opaque to visible light but is highly transparent to sound. WHOI engineers, geologists, biologists, and physical oceanographers have conducted many studies of sound in the ocean. Several members of WHOI's Applied Ocean Physics and Engineering department, with other scientists, use acoustics to study sediment transport, plankton and marine mammal distribution, ocean temperature changes, and sea ice formation. The Ocean Acoustics Lab offers animated results of several studies: (1) ocean-acoustic tomography movies depict ice cover in the Greenland Sea (MPEG format, 809 K) and shallow-shelf frontal dynamics off an island in the Barents Sea (MPEG format, 460 K); and (2) sediment-transport movies depict seafloor evolution off the northern California (MPEG format, 506 K to 1.5 MB) and southern New Jersey (MPEG format, 593 K to 21.5 MB) coastlines. | |
 For more information, see the Marine Seismology and Geoacoustics Group page. |
Acoustics studies may also make important contributions to our understanding of what happens beneath the earth's crust. The Marine Seismology and Geoacoustics Group, part of WHOI's Geology and Geophysics department, hopes to use reflections of low-frequency sound waves to create images of the seafloor and the structures beneath it, potentially aiding the prediction of earthquakes. Movies of seismology models of flat seafloors, stepped seafloors, sedimented seafloors, and basaltic mountains (MPEG format, 400 K to 1.2 MB) were all created with a desktop computer that replicates sound waves colliding with the ocean bottom and then scattering. | |
 For more information, see the GLOBEC Georges Bank Program page. |
Many members of WHOI's Biology department, with other scientists, participate in a comprehensive research program studying how global climate change may affect the abundance and production of animals in the sea. At WHOI, the program focuses on the area known as Georges Bank in the western North Atlantic off the coast of New England. Scientists in the U.S. GLOBEC (Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics) Georges Bank Program aim (1) to understand the population dynamics of key species (cod, haddock, and two species of zooplankton) on the Bank, (2) to be able to predict changes in the distribution and abundance of these species as a result of changes in their physical and biotic environment, and (3) to anticipate how their populations might respond to climate change. Broad-scale surveys, process studies, and modelling efforts comprise the diverse approaches taken in this program. Several movies depict drifter tracks on Georges Bank (FLC format, 160 K and up). (These files require the use of "Autodesk Animation Player" or graphic converter software.) | |
 For more information, see the Remote Sensing Analysis Group page. |
The Remote Sensing Analysis Group, part of WHOI's Physical Oceanography department, carries out research in the field of observational satellite oceanography. The group analyzes altimeter, scatterometer, and infrared satellite data and more traditional data sets (conductivity-temperature-depth data sets, for example) to better understand air-sea interactions and ocean circulation. Several movies (MPEG format, 3.0 to 6.4 MB) depict surface drifters released in the Eastern Boundary Current along the California coast. | |
 For more information, see the Helium Isotope Lab page. |
The Helium Isotope Laboratory, part of WHOI's Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry department, uses helium isotopes and tritium to study biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes in the oceans. A gallery of movies (MPEG format, 800 K and up) outlines the lab's research projects focusing on ocean circulation, ocean mixing, and global climate change. These studies have taken place in the Pacific, Indian, and North Atlantic oceans and the Sargasso Sea.
Copyright © 1996, 1997, 1998 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution | |
 Return to Gallery | ||
| Netscape Navigator 3.0 (or later version) and QuickTime software best present the clips on these pages. You may need to download the QuickTime software, a plug-in, or a helper application. | |||||
|
|
| |||
Page maintained by the WHOI Information Office and Graphic Services.