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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Jason Versus the Volcano

Jason Versus the Volcano

August 4, 2006

Through the camera eyes of the undersea vehicle Jason, scientists were investigating a quietly bubbling pit on the side of a large volcano on the seafloor south of Japan in April. Then the volcano erupted. Jason’s cameras captured the pit,…

Ocean Microscope Reveals Surprising Abundance of Life

Ocean Microscope Reveals Surprising Abundance of Life

July 25, 2006

Towing an underwater video microscope across the Atlantic Ocean, two scientists found unexpected abundances of colonial cyanobacteria that fertilize the oceans with nitrogen. The bacteria may turn out to be “a crucial component” that stimulates the growth of plants and…

New Hybrid Deep-sea Vehicle Is Christened Nereus

New Hybrid Deep-sea Vehicle Is Christened Nereus

June 26, 2006

Nereus—a mythical god with a fish tail and a man’s torso—was chosen Sunday (June 25) in a nationwide contest as the name of a first-of-its-kind, deep-sea vehicle under construction at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The vehicle, known until now…

A Laser Light in the Ocean Depths

A Laser Light in the Ocean Depths

June 19, 2006

Graduate student Anna Michel is adapting laser technology to the murky fluid environment and crushing pressures at depths of 11,000 feet. The goal is to develop an instrument that can directly measure the many elements spewing from hydrothermal vents just as they emerge from Earth?s crust.

Building a Computer Model to Forecast Red Tides

May 31, 2006

The algae Alexandrium fundyense are notorious for producing a toxin that accumulates in shellfish such as clams, mussels, and oysters, leading to paralytic shellfish poisoning in humans. The microscopic plants are naturally distributed in New England waters, but in some…

News Releases

Streaming off the ice shelf

WHOI receives $1.6 Million to build revolutionary Antarctic ice shelf monitoring system

August 13, 2024

SAMS will operate autonomously for years in hostile, difficult-to-reach locations that are Ground Zero for global sea-level rise

Researchers improve satellite surveillance of emperor penguins

May 29, 2024

New method will provide accurate counts and breeding success of the threatened species in the light of climate change

Sargassum Patch

Study Clearly Identifies Nutrients as a Driver of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt

October 11, 2023

Findings could lead to locating nutrient sources and providing management options

El Gordo hydrothermal chimney

WHOI tapped by NSF to lead OOI Program Management for an Additional Five Years

September 21, 2023

The OOI collects and serves measurements from more than 900 autonomous instruments on the seafloor and on moored and free-swimming platforms.

The Shared Autonomy for Remote Collaboration (SHARC)

A new framework for oceanographic research

August 24, 2023

The Shared Autonomy for Remote Collaboration (SHARC) framework “enables remote participants to conduct shipboard operations and control robotic manipulators.

News & Insights

A robot lives in this Antarctic penguin colony. It’s trying to save them

May 6, 2022

Fisherman strengthen science

January 27, 2022

Fishing community and OOI scientists unite to study how the ocean is changing & what it means for global fishing industries

WHOI builds bridges with Arctic Indigenous communities

February 10, 2021

NSF program fosters collaboration between indigenous communities and traditional scientists, allowing WHOI’s autonomous vehicles to shed light on a changing Arctic

WHOI-assisted study finds ocean dumping of DDT waste was “sloppy”

October 29, 2020

An investigative report this week in the LA Times features the work of WHOI’s marine geochemistry lab in identifying the discarded barrels and analyzing samples from the discovery.

DUNEX Pilot Program map allows you to explore an intensive coastal study

July 6, 2020

DUNEX is a multi-agency, academic and stakeholder collaborative community experiment to study nearshore processes during coastal storms. Use this ArcGIS map to learn more about all the project sites along the North Carolina coastline.