Skip to content

Research Highlights

Oceanus Magazine

DMS: The Climate Gas You've Never Heard Of

DMS: The Climate Gas You’ve Never Heard Of

July 17, 2008

For generations of mariners, a tangy, almost sweet odor served as a signal that land was nearby. What sailors called “the smell of the shore” had the opposite meaning to landlubbers, who would catch the same sweet scent wafting over…

Earth, Wind, and Fire in Antarctica

Earth, Wind, and Fire in Antarctica

June 25, 2008

From a windy, isolated camp in southern Victoria Land, Antarctica, three scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution explore how the waterless, lifeless, volcanic terrain formed and evolved. Read the story and watch the video. <!—-> When you get off the…

Popular Way to Assess Oil Spills Can Be Misused

Popular Way to Assess Oil Spills Can Be Misused

May 28, 2008

Environmental assessment teams increasingly may be using a method to assess oil spill contamination in situations where it doesn’t work well and are in danger of reaching false conclusions, a scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has warned In a…

Protecting Public Health by Preventing Pollution

Protecting Public Health by Preventing Pollution

April 3, 2008

Growing up in Maine, Desirée Plata watched her grandmother suffer from illnesses that she suspected were related to trichloroethylene-a colorless liquid, used as a solvent for cleaning metal parts, that had been dumped in the area and had made its…

Making Nanotubes Without Harming the Environment

Making Nanotubes Without Harming the Environment

April 3, 2008

They are 10,000 times thinner than a strand of human hair, yet stronger than steel, more durable than diamonds, and able to conduct heat and electricity with efficiency that rivals copper wires and silicon chips. Ever since their discovery in…

News Releases

The National Academy of Sciences selects WHOI’s Laura Motta as Kavli Fellow

March 20, 2025

Her research focuses on advancing our fundamental understanding of chemistry inspired by marine processes that challenge our current chemical knowledge.

WHOI’s Julie Huber Among 65 Fellows Elected to the American Academy of Microbiology

February 19, 2025

Fellows are elected annually through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions.

Cellulose Diacetate Side by Side

WHOI Scientists Discover Fastest Degrading Bioplastic in Seawater

October 17, 2024

A new version of CDA was found to be the fastest degrading bioplastic material tested in seawater and is a promising replacement for other long-lasting foam plastic materials.

Benjamin Van Mooy

WHOI senior scientist named 2024 MacArthur Fellow

October 1, 2024

Benjamin Van Mooy receives “genius grant” for his research on biogeochemical networks and the impacts of climate change on ocean health

Ben Van Mooy and a Sediment Trap

Microbe Dietary Preferences Influence the Effectiveness of Carbon Sequestration in the Deep Ocean

September 13, 2024

A series of seemingly small processes helps carry carbon dioxide from the ocean’s surface to the deep sea, where it can be stored away for decades.

News & Insights

What happens to natural gas in the ocean?

October 6, 2022

WHOI marine chemist Chris Reddy weighs in on a methane leak in the Baltic Sea

Wave Glider provides gateway to remote exploration

November 10, 2020

WHOI geochemist Chris German pairs an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) called a Wave Glider with other vehicles to expand research here and on other Ocean Worlds

Sea Dust

Mining ancient dust from the ocean’s loneliest spot

September 24, 2020

Researchers investigate dust from the ocean’s farthest point from land to reconstruct the climactic history of the Southern Hemisphere, and understand how micronutrients have influenced biological productivity in this oceanic desert.

Working from Home: Mallory Ringham

July 2, 2020

WHOI-MIT joint program student outfits her basement to do vital work on a marine carbon sensor

plastics by the numbers

The many lifetimes of plastics

June 15, 2020

Infographics strive to give us a sense of how long plastic goods will last in the environment. But is this information reliable? The findings of a new study from WHOI may surprise you.