Tag Archives: woods hole oceanographic institution

Study Assesses Nations’ Vulnerabilities to Reduced Mollusk Harvests from Ocean Acidification

By Guest PostAugust 7, 2011Environmentatmosphere, carbon dioxide emissions, carbonate shells or skeletons, changes in ocean chemistry, CO2, co2 levels, corrosive environment, fossil fuel, gambia, haiti, hauke kite powell, industrial revolution, Madagascar, marine ecosystems, marine environments, marine fisheries, mollusk aquaculture, mollusk harvests, mollusks, mozambique, noelle lucey, ocean acidification, ph, sarah cooley, scott doney, senegal, shellfish, transition decade, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution, world oceans

Changes in ocean chemistry due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are expected to damage shellfish populations around the world, but some nations will feel the impacts much sooner and more intensely than others, according to a study by scientists at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

As CO2 levels driven by fossil fuel use have increased in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, so has the amount of CO2 absorbed by the world’s oceans, leading to changes in the chemical make-up of seawater. Known as ocean acidification, this decrease in pH creates a corrosive environment for some marine organisms such as corals, marine plankton, and shellfish that build carbonate shells or skeletons. (more…)

WHOI Study Reports Microbes Consumed Oil in Gulf Slick at Unexpected Rates

By Guest PostAugust 4, 2011Environmentbacterial microbes, benjamin van mooy, bethanie edwards, breaking down the oil slick, catherine a carmichael, christopher m reddy, deepwater horizon spill, dilution, dispersion, evaporation, gulf of mexico, gulf waters, krista longnecker, largest oil spill in history, macondo well, metabolic potential, microbes, new cells, nitrogen, nutrients, oil consumption by the microbes, oxygen levels in water samples, oxygen optode, oxygen to create carbon dioxide and energy, phosphorus, richard camilli, sensor, state of the art methods, surface oil slick, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

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 Aug. 2 online edition of Environmental Research Letters, the WHOI team studied samples from the surface oil slick and surrounding Gulf waters. They found that bacterial microbes inside the slick degraded the oil at a rate five times faster than microbes outside the slick—accounting in large part for the disappearance of the slick some three weeks after Deepwater Horizon’s Macondo well was shut off. (more…)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Advanced Imaging Lab Assists in Location of Thunder Bay Shipwrecks

By Guest PostJuly 30, 2011Environment, Scienceadvanced imaging and visualization lab, aivl, bill lange, evan kovacs, expedition, exploration of historic wrecks, lake huron, marine archaeologists, national oceanic and atmospheric association, noaa, project shiphunt, remotely operated vehicles, rov, shipwrecks, sony 3d hd stereoscopic imaging systems, sony vaio computers, steel freighter etruria, the brittanic, the interseas explorer, the laurentian, the schooner m f merrick, the titanic, thunder bay wrecks, underwater led and hid lighting systems, uss arizona, woods hole oceanographic institution

When a group of five high school students embarked on Project Shiphunt, an expedition in search of lost shipwrecks, in May in Lake Huron, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab (AIVL) was there, surveying and capturing 3D footage of the finds. The work was conducted as part of Project Shiphunt, an initiative developed by Sony and Intel Corp and led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).

“It was gratifying to be a part of a project that engages kids in the excitement of exploration and discovery,” said Bill Lange, director of AIVL. Lange led a crew of videographers, divers and pilots of two remotely operated vehicles (ROV) during the expedition. “Our Sony cameras gave the students the ability to have that experience in real time and in some cases to direct the cameras to investigate specific features of the wreck. The high-definition footage we collected will be invaluable to scientists and marine archaeologists working to learn from the wrecks.” (more…)

WHOI Scientists Analyze, Explain the Chemical Makeup of Gulf Plume

By Guest PostJuly 20, 2011Environmentaquatic organisms, autonomous underwater vehicle sentry, benzene, btex, chemicals, christopher reddy, conductivity, ctd, dana yoerger, deep sea hydrothermal vents, deep submergence laboratory, deepwater horizon oil spill, depth, ecotoxicological impact of plumes, ethybenzene, gas and oil, gas to oil ratio, gor, gulf of mexico, hydrocarbon containing plume, jeff seewald, judith mcdowell, macondo well, mass spectrometer tethys, milligrams per liter, natural resource damage assessment protocol, nrda, plume, research vessel endeavor, richard camilli, surface spills, temperature, toluene, toxicity levels of btex, undersea life, water soluble petroleum compounds, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution, xylenes

Taking another major step in sleuthing the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, a research team led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has determined what chemicals were contained in a deep, hydrocarbon-containing plume at least 22 miles long that WHOI scientists mapped and sampled last summer in the Gulf of Mexico, a residue of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Moreover, they have taken a big step in explaining why some chemicals, but not others, made their way into the plume.

The findings, published this week in the online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, “help explain and shed light on the plume formation and verify much of what we thought about the plume’s composition,” said WHOI chemist Christopher Reddy, lead author of the study. The data “provide compelling evidence” that the oil component of the plume sampled in June 2010 essentially comprised benzene, toluene, ethybenzene, and total xylenes—together, called BTEX—at concentrations of about 70 micrograms per liter, the researchers reported. (more…)

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to Lead Expedition to Measure Radioactive Contaminants in the Pacific Ocean

By Guest PostJune 3, 2011Environmentacoustic doppler current profiler, adcp, assessment, atlantic, cesium 137, contamination pathways and dispersion, drinking water standard, fukushima nuclear power plant, fukushima plant, gordon and betty moore foundation, gulf stream, iodine and cesium isotopes, Japan, kaimikai o kanoloa, ken buesseler, kuroshio current, levels and dispersion of radioactive substances in the pacific ocean, marine organisms, moore funding, nick fisher, ocean current, phytoplankton, radiation, radioactive contaminants, radioactivity in ocean, radioisotope geochemistry, radionuclides, reactors, research vessel, spain, susan avery, tepco, tokyo electric power company, tokyo institute of technology, university of bremen, university of hawaii, us environmental protection agency, vicki chandler, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will lead the first international, multidisciplinary assessment of the levels and dispersion of radioactive substances in the Pacific Ocean off the Fukushima nuclear power plant—a research effort funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

“This project will address fundamental questions about the impact of this release of radiation to the ocean, and in the process enhance international collaboration and sharing of scientific data,” said Vicki Chandler, Chief Program Officer, Science at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “It is our hope that through this adverse event, we can increase our current knowledge about various natural and man-made sources of radioactivity in the ocean, and how they might ultimately impact ocean life and health around the world.” (more…)

Japan Earthquake Appears to Increase Quake Risk Elsewhere in the Country

By Guest PostMay 26, 2011Environmentaftershocks, boso, coulomb stress triggering, earthquake, geological evidence, honshu island, izu islands, Japan, japan sea, jian lin, kyoto university, magnitude, mainshocks, microearthquakes, mount, nagano, normal faults, ross s stein, sanriku hokobu, sendai, stress, toda, tohoku earthquake, tohoku mainshock, tokyo area, tsunami, usgs, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

Japan’s recent magnitude 9.0 earthquake, which triggered a devastating tsunami, relieved stress along part of the quake fault but also has contributed to the build up of stress in other areas, putting some of the country at risk for up to years of sizeable aftershocks and perhaps new main shocks, scientists say.

After studying data from Japan’s extensive seismic network, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Kyoto University and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have identified several areas at risk from the quake, Japan’s largest ever, which already has triggered a large number of aftershocks. (more…)

Emerging Explorers Award to WHOI’s Kakani Katija

By Guest PostMay 20, 2011Environment, Nature, Sciencebiogenic ocean mixing, copepods, dian fosseys, edmund hillarys, emerging explorers, engineering diagnostic techniques, jacques cousteaus, kakani katija, motion of oceans, national geographic, ocean currents, oceanographic applications, sea creatures, swarms of tiny krill, swimming animals, terry garcia, tom kleindinst, weather patterns, whoi, winds and tides, woods hole oceanographic institution

Kakani Katija, a postdoctoral scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), has been selected as one of 14 National Geographic Emerging Explorers for 2011 for her investigation into the role swimming animals might play in mixing and moving the oceans and other large bodies of water.

National Geographic’s Emerging Explorers Program recognizes and supports uniquely gifted and inspiring adventurers, scientists and storytellers making a significant contribution to world knowledge through exploration while still early in their careers. The Emerging Explorers each receive a $10,000 award to assist with research and to aid further exploration. The program is made possible in part by the Catherine B. Reynolds Foundation, which has supported the program since its inception in 2004. (more…)

Eddies Found to be Deep, Powerful Modes of Ocean Transport

By ShamsMay 1, 2011Environment, Scienceadams, computer models, deep sea phenomenon, deep-sea moorings, dennis j mcgillicuddy, diane k adams, east pacific rise, east scotia ridge, el niño, eruption, hydrothermal vents, indian ridge, jets, lauren s mullineaux, mid atlantic ridge, ocean, ocean bottom, ocean eddies, sea creatures, surface ocean dynamics, underwater mountain range, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

*Study Finds Connection between Atmospheric Events and the Deep Ocean*

Researchers 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, reported in the April 28 issue of the journal Science, helps explain how some larvae travel huge distances from one vent area to another, said Diane K. Adams, lead author at WHOI and now at the National Institutes of Health. (more…)