Steven Elgar
The Riddle of Rip Currents
Rip currents claim more than 100 lives in the United States each year and are the leading cause of lifeguard rescues. Scientists created a large gash in the seafloor to learn more about their complex dynamics.
Shifting Tactics in Shifting Shoals
The best-laid plans of scientists often go awry when they actually get into the field.
“That’s when designing an experiment becomes adapting an experiment,” said Peter Traykovski, an oceanographer at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).
Traykovski had […]
Shifting Sands and Bacteria on the Beach
Most coastal communities in the United States test the water at beaches for the presence of bacteria. But they don’t routinely test the sand. Does sand also harbor bacteria?
Until recently, few people have worried about […]
No Day at the Beach
Field research in oceanography is no day at the beach—even when it’s at the beach. Just ask the students who spent last summer doing research on a swash zone near Seattle.
The swash zone, the area between […]
The WHOI Marine Mammal Center Is Born …
The WHOI Marine Mammal Center Is Born …
A new center has been established at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to pursue research on marine mammal behavior, physiology, and health, and the potential effects of human […]