New Bioplastic Straw Degrades Even Faster in the Ocean Than Paper
Researchers determine the lifetimes of commercial drinking straws in the coastal ocean and develop a prototype bioplastic straw that degrades even faster than paper. A…
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution News
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) is a private, non-profit research facility dedicated to the study of marine science and engineering. Located in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, it was established in 1930 and has since become one of the most prestigious oceanographic institutions in the world. WHOI operates a number of research vessels and submersibles, including the famous submersible Alvin, which has been instrumental in numerous deep-sea explorations, including the study of the Titanic wreck. The institution’s research covers a broad spectrum of topics related to oceanography, such as marine biology, coastal science, geology, and ocean circulation. WHOI scientists contribute significantly to our understanding of the ocean’s role in climate, marine ecosystems, and geophysical processes. Through its research, education programs, and technological innovations, WHOI continues to lead in advancing ocean science and addressing global challenges related to the marine environment.
Decades of Damage: Humans Are Contaminating the Baltic Sea With Toxic Metals
New research by scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and other institutions reveals that human activities have contributed significantly to the presence of…
Unlocking Arctic Secrets Through Mercury and Ice
MIT PhD candidate Emma Bullock studies the local and global impacts of changing mineral levels in Arctic groundwater. A quick scan of Emma Bullock’s CV…
New Research Provides Clear Evidence of a Human “Fingerprint” on Climate Change
Claims that climate change occurs naturally conflict with recent trends in ocean temperatures, which are indicative of human influence. New oceanic research provides clear evidence…
Accidental Deep Ocean Discovery Changes Our Understanding of Earth
Studying a rock is like reading a book. The rock has a story to tell, says Frieder Klein, an associate scientist in the Marine Chemistry…
Vast Implications – Scientists Discover Algae That Doesn’t Need Vitamin B12 To Survive
Vitamin B12 deficiency can lead to serious and potentially deadly health issues in humans. Until now, the same deficiencies were thought to impact certain types…
Unexpected New Species Discovered in a Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vent Provides a Deeper Understanding of Bacterial Evolution
A newly discovered species of bacteria found at the deep-sea hydrothermal vent known as ‘Crab Spa’ offers significant insights into the evolution of bacteria. Deep-sea…
Unveiling the Mysteries: New Insights on Why Marine Predators Dive Into the Dark, Deep Sea
Data from over 300 tags on large marine predators, along with shipboard sonar, point to the ecological importance of the ocean’s twilight zone. If you’ve…
First Evidence of the Beaufort Gyre’s Stabilization: A Precursor to a Freshwater Catastrophe?
A recent study has presented the initial observational proof of the stabilization of the anti-cyclonic Beaufort Gyre, which is the dominant circulation in the Canada…
New Insight Into the Extraterrestrial Origins of Earth’s Lakes, Rivers and Oceans
Where did Earth’s water come from? Not melted meteorites, according to scientists. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is part of a collaborative study, offering new insight…
Explosive New Tectonic Discovery May Help Explain Location of Silver and Gold Ore Deposits
Magma Beneath Tectonic Collision Zones Is Wetter Than Previously Thought New research findings may help explain how Earth’s crust forms, the location of ore deposits,…
Sunlight Can Help Dissolve Oil Into Seawater
Dissolving Oil in a Sunlit Sea The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill was the largest marine oil spill in United States history. The disaster was…
A Recent Reversal Discovered in the Response of Greenland’s Ice Caps to Climate Change
Greenland may be best known for its enormous continental-scale ice sheet that soars up to 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level, whose rapid melting…
What Happens to Marine Life When There Isn’t Enough Oxygen?
In September of 2017, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution postdoctoral scholar Maggie Johnson was conducting an experiment with a colleague in Bocas del Toro off the…
Microbial Predators at Hydrothermal Vents Play Important Role in Deep-Sea Carbon Cycling
Researchers Emphasize the Need for Baseline Information of Microbial Food Webs The hydrothermal vent fluids from the Gorda Ridge spreading center in the northeast Pacific…
$500 Billion: The Staggering Potential Value of Studying the Ocean’s Biological Carbon Pump
The ocean takes up an estimated five to 12 gigatons of carbon dioxide per year through a process known as the biological carbon pump. More…
A Rapidly Changing Arctic: Significantly More Carbon & Nutrients to North Pole
Shelf sediments, freshwater runoff from rivers brings more carbon, nutrients to North Pole. Trace elements may increase with future Arctic melt releasing dissolved organic matter…
Efficiency of the Ocean’s “Biological Carbon Pump” Has Been Drastically Underestimated
The Ocean’s ‘Biological Pump’ Captures Twice as Much Carbon as Expected Every spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the ocean surface erupts in a massive bloom…