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Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

Follow the Carbon

Follow the Carbon

September 6, 2012

“Carbon is the currency of life,” said David Griffith, a marine chemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). “Where carbon is coming from, which organisms are using it, how they’re giving off carbon themselves—these things say a lot about how…

Mentors for Budding Scientists

Mentors for Budding Scientists

August 31, 2012

For the fourth consecutive year, local high school students interested in science spent part of their summer vacations working on projects undertaken with Delia Oppo’s lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. This year, they teamed up to reconstruct the last…

Climate Change Spurred Fall of Ancient Culture

Climate Change Spurred Fall of Ancient Culture

August 24, 2012

The Harappans may be the most advanced ancient civilization that most Westerners have never heard of. They flourished in the Indus River basin on the Indian subcontinent around the same time the Egyptians were building the pyramids along the Nile…

A Serendipitous Seafloor Sample

A Serendipitous Seafloor Sample

July 5, 2012

This research was funded by the National Science Foundation. The pillow lava display and coffee table were funded by the Deep Ocean Exploration Institute at WHOI.

In Search of the Pink and White Terraces

In Search of the Pink and White Terraces

May 9, 2012

The dazzling Pink and White Terraces on the shores of Lake Rotomahana at one time were the greatest national treasure of New Zealand. They were cherished by the Maori and known far and wide as the eighth natural wonder of…

News Releases

Drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution

Mantle rock recovery may reveal secrets of Earth’s history

August 8, 2024

Scientists unravel the role of our planet’s mantle in volcanism and global cycles

new vent

Warm water could persist within icy ocean worlds

June 24, 2024

A new study investigates how the influence of low gravity, as found on ocean worlds in our solar system, impacts flow of water and heat below their seafloors.

Titan

Wave activity on Saturn’s largest moon

June 20, 2024

MIT, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution researchers find wave activity on Saturn’s largest moon may be strong enough to erode the coastlines of lakes and seas.

HOV Alvin

Five new hydrothermal vents discovered in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean

March 26, 2024

Ocean scientists discovered the new deep-sea hydrothermal vent sites on the seafloor at 2,550 meters (8366 feet, or 1.6 miles) depth.

An icy sunset

Study says ice age could help predict oceans’ response to global warming

January 22, 2024

Woods Hole, MA – A team of scientists led by a Tulane University oceanographer and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has found that deposits deep under the ocean floor reveal a way to measure the ocean oxygen level and…

News & Insights

Deep-sea coral reef discovered in the Galápagos with Alvin

May 12, 2023

In April 2023, scientists diving in the human-occupied submersible Alvin discovered extensive, ancient deep-sea coral reefs within the Galápagos Marine Reserve.

The Search for Life

February 17, 2021

This week, NASA’s Perseverance Rover lands on Mars to continue the search for life on the Red Planet. At the same time, WHOI scientists and engineers are applying their experience exploring the deepest parts of planet Earth to the quest…

iceberg

Can icebergs be towed to water-starved cities?

January 6, 2021

WHOI researchers are now investigating the feasibility of towing icebergs to alleviate water shortages.

A REMUS-600 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) communicates with an ocean-bottom seismograph (OBS) via a WHOI-developed optical modem link during lab testing. This link enables REMUS vehicles to act as "seismic data mules" whereby they offload data OBS stations without the need for ships or human intervention. (Photo by Dara Tebo, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)

Can seismic data mules protect us from the next big one?

October 7, 2020

Ocean scientists leverage game-changing technologies to improve our understanding of the global ocean’s most dangerous earthquake faults and enable more advanced warnings for seismic risk.

greenland ice

Will melting glaciers cool the climate?

July 29, 2020

As glaciers melt at unprecedented rates, WHOI’s Simon Pendleton is looking back to historical records to predict whether this new cool runoff will slow ocean circulation and cool the northern hemisphere––findings which could mean adjustments to some climate predictions.