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Small Boat, Big Heart

Coastal waters account for only a fraction of the ocean’s total, but processes that play out close to shore have an oversized impact on us here on land. To study things like harmful algal blooms, endangered local right whale populations, and carbon and nutrient fluxes, scientists often rely on fast, nimble research platforms like WHOI’s coastal research vessel Tioga. The vessel can accommodate six people overnight or 10 on day trips and is equipped with sensors and samplers commonly found on larger ships. (Photo by Heather Kilduff, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)