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A Bite Out of a Buoy

In the early 1960s, the WHOI Buoy Group struggled to keep its moorings intact and its instruments functioning in the harsh ocean environment. Some equipment, such as this toroid, or doughnut-shaped, surface buoy, suffered major damage, and much equipment was lost before engineers found ways to ensure the long-term survival of moorings at sea. This image was recently found in the WHOI Archives and is included in a new timeline celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Buoy Group’s first mooring.(Photo courtesy of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Archives)