Multimedia Items
How does the ocean impact hurricanes?
Hurricanes are the most powerful storms on the planet, spanning hundreds of miles. We know them for the destruction they cause when they reach land. Their high winds, heavy rains, and storm surges cause billions of dollars in damage each year. But the effects of hurricanes aren’t limited to landfall. They have an outsized impact on the ocean, as well.
Read MoreDrawing of Porpita lutkeana by Henry Bigelow
Because their bodies have no hard parts, gelatinous animals, commonly called “jellies,” have always been fascinating and elusive to naturalists. They were already a favorite subject for Henry Bigelow (WHOI’s […]
Read MoreIllustration showing the effects of two Beaufort Gyre air pressure shifts
Arctic climate is regulated by an intricate series of interconnected mechanisms that shift winds, ice, currents, and other conditions. In the recent past, the Arctic had reliably shifted between high-pressure […]
Read MoreBacterial degradation and disaggregation of marine detritus
1. Colonization. Searching for food, bacteria colonize particles of marine detritus.
2. Proliferation & communication. Bacteria produce acylated homoserine lactones, or AHLs (small squiggles) Bacteria send out chemicals (AHLs) to sense […]
Read MoreHow bacteria is transported through the environment into the ocean
Much of our waste from homes, hospitals, and farms contains bacteria and antibiotics that make their way to wastewater treatment plants and rivers and end up in the ocean, where […]
Read MoreHow bacteria achieve a “quorum”
How bacteria achieve a “quorum.” (Illustration by E. Paul Oberlander and Katherine Joyce, WHOI, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreGrowing bacteria in petri dishes applied with antibiotics
For her experiments, Megan May grows bacteria collected from beaches on different petri dishes and applies antibiotics. Antibiotics can encourage antibiotic resistance by killing off all the susceptible bacteria and […]
Read MoreAtlantic Ocean currents carrying warm water up to Greenland
Up from the tropics– Ocean currents carry warm waters from the subtropics to the eastern coast of Greenland. The subtropical waters lose some heat along the way, but are still […]
Read MoreAtlantic Ocean currents circulation
To reconstruct climate changes over millennia, scientists like WHOI’s Delia Oppo and former colleague Jerry McManus use conceptual models, like the one depicted here, that simulate the workings of the […]
Read MoreAtlantic and Arctic Oceans currents
Atlantic and Arctic Oceans currents. (Illustration by Jack Cook, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreTerritorial Arctic map
Multiple countries control territories within the Arctic circle, with Russia alone accounting for 53% of the Arctic coastline. (Illustration by Natalie Renier, as sourced from Natural Earth, Flanders Marine Institute […]
Read MoreIllustration showing the global boundaries of the Arctic region
Illustration showing the global boundaries of the Arctic region. (Illustration by Jack Cook, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreChanges from 2007 to 2015 on the release of radium in the Arctic
Diminishing sea ice near the Arctic coast leaves more open water for winds to create waves. The increased wave action reaches down and stirs up sediments on shallow continental shelves, […]
Read More2011 Global Hydrothermal Vents map
2011 Global Hydrothermal Vents map. Updated data source: InterRidge Vents Database, Version 2.1, release date 8 November 2011. (S. E. Beaulieu, E. T. Baker, C. R. German, and A. Maffei […]
Read More2009 Global Hydrothermal Vents map
2009 Global Hydrothermal Vents map. Funding from InterRidge and Morss Colloquium Program at WHOI. Data sources: InterRidge Vents Database, Version 2.0, release date 5 Mar. 2010; University of Texas PLATES […]
Read MoreBiological Carbon Pump
Biological Carbon Pump Once the solubility pump introduces carbon into surface waters, the ocean twilight zone’s biological carbon pump (BCP) plays an important role in the rapid removal of a […]
Read MoreMixing layer diagram
Mixing layer diagram. (Illustration by Jayne Doucette, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Read MoreThe life cycle of Greenland’s meltwater lakes
Meltwater lakes pool on Greenland’s ice sheet each spring and summer, then drain through cracks to bedrock, and ultimately out to the ocean. these lakes could accelerate global sea level […]
Read MoreThe location of the power plant disaster and the story of its continued effects
Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant.
1. High levels of radioactive cesium-137 released in the 2011 accident were transported along the coast by ocean currents.
2. Waves and tides brought the […]
The birth of a black smoker
During Stage 1 of black smoker chimney growth, hot, calcium-rich vent fluid mixes turbulently with cold, sulfate and calcium-rich seawater, resulting in precipitation of a ring of calcium sulfate (anhydrite) […]
Read MoreThe Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC)
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) propels warm surface water to high-latitude regions. There, the water encounters strong winds and cold air temperatures, which causes it to become colder and […]
Read MoreThe formation of 18° mode water
18° water forms when cold winter winds blow over warm surface waters. Heat and moisture rise into the atmosphere. The cooler, denser waters left behind sink and form a layer […]
Read MoreInfographic explaining the formation of calcium carbonate skeletons
Corals combine calcium and carbonate ions in seawater to make calcium carbonate skeletons. Lower ocean pH means fewer carbonate ions available for corals to build skeletons. (Illustration by Eric S. […]
Read MoreLife cycle of dinoflagellate Alexandrium
Life cycle of the Dinoflagellate Alexandrium. (Illustration by Jack Cook, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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