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Press Room

Chris Land Joins WHOI as General Counsel and VP for Legal Affairs

February 28, 2014

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has appointed Christopher Land to be its General Counsel and Vice President for Legal Affairs. Land assumes his post on March 3.   As general counsel, Land will provide advice, opinions and representation on…

Scientists Train the Next Generation on Oil Spill Research

February 25, 2014

As part of on-going research nearly four years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will team up with a group of high school students in Florida to collect remnants of oil from…

Radioactive Ocean Website Garners Public Support

February 24, 2014

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has teamed up with the public to build the most comprehensive and up-to-date dataset on marine radiation levels in the aftermath of the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant disaster. With no U.S. government or…

Three Years after Fukushima: Tracking Radionuclides in the Pacific Ocean

February 19, 2014

Scientists have been keeping a close eye on how radionuclides from the Japanese power plant are being transported in the Pacific Ocean since the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Now, three scientists are taking a closer…

Karnauskas

Karnauskas Selected for 2014 Sloan Research Fellowship

February 18, 2014

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientist Kristopher Karnauskas has been selected to receive a 2014 Sloan Research Fellowship. Awarded annually since 1955, the fellowships are given to early-career scientists and scholars whose achievements and potential identify them as rising stars—the…

Killing Whales by Design and Default

February 13, 2014

While countries such as Japan, Norway, and Iceland often are criticized for their commercial whaling practices, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) marine biologist Michael Moore points out how the majority of nations are also complicit in killing whales by deploying…

Solving An Evolutionary Puzzle

February 12, 2014

For four decades, waste from nearby manufacturing plants flowed into the waters of New Bedford Harbor—an 18,000-acre estuary and busy seaport. The harbor, which is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and heavy metals, is one of the EPA’s largest Superfund…

A Look Back and Ahead at Greenland’s Changing Climate

February 6, 2014

Over the past two decades, ice loss from the Greenland Ice Sheet increased four-fold contributing to one-quarter of global sea level rise. However, the chain of events and physical processes that contributed to it has remained elusive. One likely trigger…

Radioactive Ocean Website a Success

January 28, 2014

With concern among the public over the plume of radioactive ocean water from Fukushima arriving on the West Coast of North America and no U.S. government or international plan to monitor it, a new project from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution…

Deep-Diving Sub Alvin Cleared to Return to Service

January 24, 2014

After a three-year overhaul and major upgrade, the United States’ deepest-diving research submersible, Alvin, has been cleared to return to work exploring the ocean’s depths.

Coral Reefs in Palau Surprisingly Resistant to Naturally Acidified Waters

January 16, 2014

Ocean researchers working on the coral reefs of Palau in 2011 and 2012 made two unexpected discoveries that could provide insight into corals’ resistance and resilience to ocean acidification and to aid in the creation of a plan to protect them.

How Radioactive is Our Ocean?

January 14, 2014

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) marine chemist Ken Buesseler began sampling and analyzing seawater surrounding the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant three months after the 2011 disaster. Today, he launched a crowd sourcing campaign and citizen science website to collect…

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Scientist Receives Grant from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation

January 14, 2014

The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation has awarded Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) assistant scientist Anna Michel $200,000 to develop a sensor that will enable scientists to analyze how methane emissions fluctuate in the Arctic. Methane is a greenhouse gas…

New Study Finds Extreme Longevity in White Sharks

January 8, 2014

Great white sharks—top predators throughout the world’s ocean—grow much slower and live significantly longer than previously thought, according to a new study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). In the first successful radiocarbon age validation study for adult white sharks, researchers analyzed vertebrae from four females and four males from the northwestern Atlantic Ocean. Age estimates were up to 73 years old for the largest male and 40 years old for the largest female.

Online Science Expedition Brings Deep Sea Vents to the Computer Screen

December 30, 2013

Scientists and engineers using advanced technology and a unique robotic vehicle to study the deep sea will also be using their computers to interact with students, teachers, and the public about the research they are conducting.

New Study Reveals the Biomechanics of How Marine Snail Larvae Swim

December 18, 2013

Equipped with high-speed, high-resolution video, scientists have discovered important new information on how marine snail larvae swim, a key behavior that determines individual dispersal and ultimately, survival. Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Stony Brook University grew…

Reddy

Reddy Selected for C.C. Patterson Award

December 11, 2013

Marine geochemist Chris Reddy has been selected to receive the 2014 Clair C. Patterson Award from the Geochemical Society for his analytical and scientific contributions to organic geochemistry. The C.C. Patterson Award recognizes one scientist a year who has led…

Susan Humphris

Susan Humphris Named 2013 American Geophysical Union Fellow

December 11, 2013

WHOI Senior Scientist Susan Humphris has been elected a 2013 Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). A committee of Fellows recognizes her “sustained and exemplary contributions to our understanding of volcanic and hydrothermal processes at mid-oceanic ridges.” Humphris is…

Study Offers Economical Solutions for Maintaining Critical Delta Environments

December 9, 2013

Millions of people across the world live or depend on deltas for their livelihoods. Formed at the lowest part of a river where its water flow slows and spreads into the sea, deltas are sediment-rich, biodiverse areas, a valuable source…

WHOI Hosts Talk on ‘To The Denmark Strait’

December 5, 2013

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will host a talk by author Dallas Murphy and videographer Ben Harden on Friday, December 13, about the new book To The Denmark Strait, which features a firsthand account of a modern oceanographic adventure. The talk will begin at noon in Redfield Auditorium, located at 45 Water Street, Woods Hole, Ma.