A global conveyor belt, the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is a system of ocean currents that circulates water within the Atlantic Ocean.
Tag: Ocean Science
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution helps lead groundbreaking study on the human and ocean health impacts of ocean plastics
For the first time, leading researchers from the fields of healthcare, ocean science, and social science have collaborated to quantify plastic’s considerable risks to all life on Earth.
Sleeping giant could end deep ocean life
A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s oceans with life-supporting oxygen. Continental movement could ultimately have the opposite effect, killing most deep ocean creatures.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution names Paul Salem as new Board of Trustees Chair
Paul Salem, a leader in private equity and non-profit board service, has been named Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s new Chair of the Board of Trustees. Salem will transition into the role officially on January 1, 2023, taking over for David Scully, who has served as the Board Chair for the past seven years.
Rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine reverses 900 years of cooling
Rapid 20th century warming in the Gulf of Maine has reversed long-term cooling that occurred there during the previous 900 years, according to new research that combines an examination of shells from long-lived ocean quahogs and climate model simulations.
Mid-depth waters off the United States East Coast are getting saltier
A new study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) shows a significant increase in frequency of warm saltwater intrusions from the deep ocean to the continental shelf along the Middle Atlantic Bight, which extends from the Gulf of Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Using data collected from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service Ecosystem Monitoring program, as well as data collected from the fishing industry, the study’s results show that ocean exchange processes have greatly changed over the past 20 years in this region.
Scientists Link the Changing Azores High and the Drying Iberian Region to Anthropogenic Climate Change
Projected changes in wintertime precipitation make agriculture in the Iberian region some of the most vulnerable in Europe, according to a new study that links the changes to increased anthropogenic greenhouse gases.
Innovative, new “road map” for kelp crop improvement
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Connecticut, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences have executed a license agreement for a kelp germplasm, or collection of microscopic cells called gametophytes, containing more than 1,200 samples all developed and isolated by WHOI and UConn-led teams.
Climate Change Could Lead to a Dramatic Temperature-Linked Decrease in Essential Omega-3 Fatty Acids, According to New Study
The effects of global climate change already are resulting in the loss of sea ice, accelerated sea level rise, and longer and more intense heat waves, among other threats. Now, the first-ever survey of planktonic lipids in the global ocean predicts a temperature-linked decrease in the production of essential omega-3 fatty acids, an important subset of lipid molecules.
WHOI-led projects receive UN endorsement as part of Decade of Ocean Science
Four projects led or co-led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) scientists were named on World Ocean Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to receive Endorsed Action status as part of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030.
Geoscience technology company founded by MIT/WHOI Joint Program student awarded $3.8M from U.S. Department of Energy
Eden, a geoscience technology development company co-founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program student Paris Smalls, will receive $3.8 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
Innovation Takes Off at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the world’s largest independent institution specifically focused on ocean science, engineering, and education, today announced the establishment of the George and Wendy David Center for Ocean Innovation, the latest in a series of new initiatives aimed at cementing WHOI’s position as a national leader in ocean innovation and laying the foundation for a future of scientific discoveries, breakthrough technologies, and unparalleled advances on land and at sea.
Deepest sediment core collected in the Atlantic Ocean
A team of scientists, engineers, and ship’s crew on the research vessel Neil Armstrong operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) recently collected a 38-foot-long cylindrical sediment sample from the deepest part of the Puerto Rico Trench, nearly 5 miles below the surface.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution reveals upgrades to human occupied vehicle Alvin submarine
Increased depth range and the ability to explore 99% of the ocean floor, including the abyssal region—one of the least understood areas of the deep sea—are just some of the upgrades underway for the iconic human-occupied Vehicle (HOV) Alvin that were unveiled today at the American Geophysical Union’s (AGU) Fall Meeting 2020.
The $500 billion question: what’s the value of studying the ocean’s biological carbon pump?
A new study puts an economic value on the benefit of research to improve knowledge of the biological carbon pump and reduce the uncertainty of ocean carbon sequestration estimates.
WHOI Announces D’Works Marine Technology Initiative for Massachusetts Startups and Entrepreneurs
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech) are teaming up to make WHOI’s unique mix of resources available through the D’Works Marine Technology Initiative to accelerate the pace of marine technology innovation.
WHOI receives $2.7M from Simons Foundation to study nutrients, microbes that fuel ocean food web
The Simons Foundation has awarded Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) two grants totaling $2.7 million to study key processes that help fuel the health of our ocean and planet.
Expedition to Service Pioneer Array Departing Woods Hole, Sunday 7 June
After weeks of preparation, isolation, and testing, a science team will depart on the R/V Neil Armstrong from Woods Hole, MA for an 11-day expedition.
URI appoints NASA scientist to lead Graduate School of Oceanography
KINGSTON, R.I. – MAY 11, 2020 – The University of Rhode has announced the appointment of NASA scientist Paula S. Bontempi as dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography. An alumna of GSO and a biological oceanographer for more than 25 years, Bontempi joins URI from the Earth Science Division, Science Mission Directorate of NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.
Study reveals Missoula Floods impact on past abrupt climate changes
A new study shows for the first time how massive flood events in the eastern North Pacific Ocean—known as the Missoula Floods—may have in part triggered abrupt climate changes in the Northern Hemisphere during the last deglaciation (approximately 19,000–11,700 years ago). The findings are contrary to the long held notion that cooling was primarily driven by changes in North Atlantic circulation.