Latest Woods Hole Stories

With news this week of additional radioactive leaks from Fukushima nuclear power plants, the impact on the ocean of releases of radioactivity from the plants remains unclear. But a new study by U.S. and Japanese researchers analyzes the levels of radioactivity discharged from the facility in the first four months after the accident and draws some basic conclusions about the history of contaminant releases to the ocean. The study, conducted by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution chemist...

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists have discovered that bacterial communication could have a significant impact on the planet's climate. In the ocean, bacteria coalesce on tiny particles of carbon-rich detritus sinking through the depths. WHOI marine biogeochemists Laura Hmelo, Benjamin Van Mooy, and Tracy Mincer found that these bacteria send out chemical signals to discern if other bacteria are in the neighborhood. If enough of their cohorts are nearby, then bacteria...

More than a year after the largest oil spill in history, perhaps the dominant lingering question about the Deepwater Horizon spill is, "What happened to the oil?" Now, in the first published study to explain the role of microbes in breaking down the oil slick on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) researchers have come up with answers that represent both surprisingly good news and a head-scratching mystery.In research scheduled to be published in the...

Study finds connection between atmospheric events and the deep oceanResearchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their colleagues have discovered that massive, swirling ocean eddies"”known to be up to 500 kilometers across at the surface"”can reach all the way to the ocean bottom at mid-ocean ridges, some 2,500 meters deep, transporting tiny sea creatures, chemicals, and heat from hydrothermal vents over large distances.The previously unknown deep-sea phenomenon,...

Woods Hole Research Center scientists leading collaborationsMany of the mapping and monitoring efforts associated with REDD focus on the big picture of carbon stock and of deforestation trends throughout the tropics. A research expedition just underway, led by scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center, is focusing on the third piece necessary to inform a global REDD mechanism "“ namely, how do people use the land? Through a series of participatory mapping workshops with indigenous...

WHOI Scientists and Engineers Provide Tools and Expertise to Assist with DiscoveryThey were called the Eighth Wonder of the World. Until the late 19th century, New Zealand's Pink and White Terraces along Lake Rotomahana on the North Island, attracted tourists from around the world, interested in seeing the beautiful natural formations created by a large geothermal system. But the eruption of Mt. Tarawera on June 10, 1886, buried the terraces in sediment and caused the lake basin to enlarge,...

Plume detected 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below surfaceScientists funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and affiliated with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) have detected a plume of hydrocarbons at least 22 miles long and more than 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.The 1.2-mile-wide, 650-foot-high plume of trapped hydrocarbons was detected during a ten day subsurface sampling effort from...

An international team of scientists and technicians from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School, the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and Environment Canada are participating in a groundbreaking buoy deployment that will help them to better understand interactions between the ocean and atmosphere during typhoons. The research is funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research.The R/V Revelle, a Scripps research vessel departed from the port...

Scientists plan to launch a new Titanic expedition next month to create a detailed three-dimensional map that will "virtually raise the Titanic" for the public. The ASsociated Press (AP) reports that the expedition will take place 2 1/2 miles beneath the surface of the North Atlantic and is said to be the most advanced scientific mission to the Titanic wreck site since its discovery 25 years ago. The 20-day journey will leave on August 18 from St. John's Newfoundland under a...

Method included first use of Nereus hybrid vehicle in 'autonomous' modeThe first expedition to search for deep-sea hydrothermal vents along the Mid-Cayman Rise has turned up three distinct types of hydrothermal venting, reports an interdisciplinary team led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The work was conducted as part of a NASA-funded effort to search extreme environments for geologic, biologic, and chemical clues...