Multimedia Items

A warning

December 24, 2008

A lionfish spreads out distinctively-patterned fins around its body and shows its zebra stripes. Such striking beauty hides a deadly secret: the lionfish has venomous spines hidden among the […]

Bacterial conversations

December 23, 2008

Holding up a culture plate, Joint Program student Laura Hmelo checks the growth of bacterial colonies. Hmelo is studying a phenomenon called bacterial “quorum sensing”— how marine […]

A very long corer

December 22, 2008

In 2007, WHOI geologists retrieved the first sediment cores with the newly installed “long-corer” on the research vessel Knorr. Bill Curry, Jim Broda, and several WHOI colleagues […]

When corals bleach

December 21, 2008

Coral’s colors come from symbiotic algae cells living inside individual corals, or polyps. This “bleached” coral has expelled much of its algae in response to the stress of unusually warm […]

Once a lake, now a canyon

December 20, 2008

WHOI researchers took a 40 minute hike from their camp on Greenland’s ice sheet this summer to this lake bed (full, it measured more than 3 kilometers in diameter). An astounding […]

Peek-a-boo grouper

December 19, 2008

A Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus) peeks out from his hiding place along Glover’s Reef in Belize. These large fish have a breeding behavior that makes them especially vulnerable […]

Ready for a lift?

December 18, 2008

Alvin breaks the surface and engineering assistant Mike McCarthy talks to the pilot in preparation for recovery operations after a LADDER III project dive to a hydrothermal vent site […]

Measuring corals in the Red Sea

December 17, 2008

Through a research agreement with King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, WHOI scientists are studying coral reef ecosystems, fisheries, and water circulation along Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast. […]

Crystals from corals

December 16, 2008

Seen under a microscope, tiny crystals of aragonite (a form of the mineral calcium carbonate) are carefully organized into a “dissepimental sheet” in the skeleton of a Porites coral. Corals […]

Reaching for the high water mark

December 15, 2008

Until it drained, the depth of this lake on Greenland’s ice sheet reached seven feet (the day before this photo was taken, the spot where University of Washington graduate student […]

Food by day, shelter at night

December 14, 2008

At night, illuminated by the photographer’s flash, a brilliant 18-inch-long parrotfish hides in a niche surrounded by equally brilliant corals in the Red Sea. In daylight, parrotfishes feed […]

Waiting for a ride

December 13, 2008

After dismantling six sleeping tents, a cook tent, and packing instruments and gear, WHOI and University of Washington scientists (who had spent weeks working on Greenland’s ice sheet) waited […]

Red Sea reef

December 12, 2008

Reef-building corals create habitats for many other organisms. The corals reefs of the Red Sea are highly diverse and unique in the world, providing shelter and sustenance for abundant […]

A new star

December 11, 2008

New skeleton made by an eight-day old baby “golfball coral” reared in an experimental aquarium at the Bermuda Institute for Ocean Sciences forms a star-shape. The ongoing experiment is part […]

Ready to roll

December 10, 2008

Members of the REMUS 6000 Operations Group Stephen Murphy (right) and Mark Dennett (left) roll out one of two newly-built Hydroid REMUS 6000 Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) for […]

Mud, shells, and monsoons

December 9, 2008

Joint Program student Fern Gibbons scoops thin slices of mud from a long sediment core taken from the sea floor. Rinsing the mud samples through a sieve […]

Hunting for eddies

December 8, 2008

“Hunting for eddies—this is effectively what we are doing with this instrument,” said Fiammetta Straneo, a researcher at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This month, Straneo’s team is looking for Read More

Home on the reef

December 7, 2008

An orange clownfish (Amphiprion percula) peeks out from the protection of sea anemones on a reef in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Clownfish are the focal species in ongoing research […]

Give ’em the hook

December 6, 2008

Following a June 2008 dive off the west coast of Mexico, Alvin technician Jeff McDonald and Atlantis’ steward Carl Wood reach for the submersible’s tail line in preparation […]

Working around the clock

December 5, 2008

Entries in the log mark the scientific work that continues day and night on an oceanographic cruise. During a recent cruise aboard the R/V Oceanus that WHOI scientist Phoebe Lam participated […]

Jet-propelled Jelly

December 4, 2008

The image above shows a “jet wake” produced by a salp (also called a pelagic tunicate), a relatively common gelatinous animal in oceanic waters. Salps swim by jet propulsion, […]

Looking to the ocean for cloud clues

December 3, 2008

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researchers Carlos Moffat and Sean Whelan, along with University of Hawaii graduate student Rebecca Simpson, deploy an instrument this month that they hope will shed light on the […]