Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 15h

🎉 We’re excited to announce the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub! ✨🌊

Explore ocean knowledge, from in-depth articles to bite-sized facts, and peek below the surface into dynamic imagery and in-depth explainer videos 🤩.

So start exploring—and let us know what you think! 👇

go.whoi.edu/OLH

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 21h

Researchers from #WHOI + northeasternu.bsky.social tested 13 types of straws to see which one breaks down best in the ocean. The winner wasn’t paper or plant-based—it was a straw made from captured methane.

🥤 Take a sip of the science with nuglobalnews.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/ngn-straw

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 1d

Wishing fair winds and following tides to #Alvin, as the iconic submersible trades the deep sea for the Interstate!

The nation’s deepest-diving human-occupied vehicle departed San Diego today by truck, and will traverse deserts, mountains, and plains to arrive in Woods Hole by Thursday.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 1d

Are you curious about graduate studies in ocean science or engineering? Find out if the #MIT_WHOI Joint Program is right for you at our virtual info session on Wednesday, October 8 at 6 pm (EST)!

📲Get the details and register: mit.whoi.edu/admissions/info-sessions

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 2d

Salt marshes are powerful protectors—buffering coastlines from storms, supporting fisheries like lobster and scallops, and locking away carbon. But what happens in these vital ecosystems during the winter months?

👉 Find out: go.whoi.edu/JuliaGuimond

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 2d

🔌 What’s a wuzzle? To #WHOI engineers, it’s a mess of tangled cords and wires. While it doesn’t hold an official spot in the dictionary, experts say it originated as a verb meaning “to jumble…”

📲 Learn more about its origins from waywordradio.org: go.whoi.edu/www-wuzzle

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 3d

Keeping plastic out of the ocean, one shirt at a time 🌊👕

This WHOI Logo T-Shirt is more than just a tee—it’s a statement. Made from 100% recycled materials, this soft, durable shirt shows the world that you support ocean protection.

Science looks good on you: go.whoi.edu/shortslv

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 3d

This World Animal Day, we are spotlighting an important collaboration helping safeguard the less than 400 North Atlantic right whales remaining.

Our researchers at Robots4Whales are working with shipping company CMA CGM to operate acoustic monitoring buoys in busy shipping lanes: go.whoi.edu/R4W

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 4d

It’s #NationalDisabilityEmploymentAwareness Month! One shining example of an inclusive workplace is Elizabeth Sibert’s Paleo-FISHES Lab, the first ADA-accessible lab at #WHOI.

🤔What does your workplace do to accommodate people of all abilities? Share your experiences in the comments!

Accessible Sink is shown with chair in the knee space for scale. The sink has two white DI water faucets, as well as a tap water faucet and an eye wash. To one side of the sink is a drying station with numerous sieves and falcon tubes. To the other side of the sink are some empty beakers and DI water wash bottles. There is a beaker drying rack on the wall behind the sink, and a 8" washing sieve in the sink for scale

Photo shows the accessible fume hood in the Paleo-FISHES Lab space. It is located near a large window, and has a blue lab chair sitting in front of it at the workstation spot. The fume hood sash is open, and it is clear that the chair easily fits into the empty knee-space in the middle of the fume hood counter.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 4d

🎉 Congratulations to #WHOI marine radiochemist @cafethorium.bsky.social, who was recently awarded the 2025 Ambassador Award from the @agu.org.

AGU recognized Buesseler’s innovative contributions to science through his studies of radiation in marine environments.

Learn more:go.whoi.edu/Buesseler

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 5d

Meet the “squidworm” 🦑🪱

Discovered by WHOI biologist Larry Madin and colleagues, this 4-inch-long animal was just one of roughly 6,000 new species uncovered during the Census of Marine Life, a decade-long global effort involving more than 2,700 scientists to explore and document ocean life.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 5d

We’re saddened to learn of the recent passing of Jane Goodall, an advocate for conservation, community, and connectedness across our planet.

As we join the global community mourning Goodall’s loss, we are thankful for the light, wisdom, and hope that she gifted the world.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 6d

An estimated 3 million wrecks are lying on the seafloor across the globe. Whether they're sunken war ships or modern cargo vessels, the wreckage can provide shelter for marine life—or damage the ecosystem.

📲 Learn about the science of shipwrecks:go.whoi.edu/shipwreck

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 6d

⛴️ Researchers recently found what they believe to be a massive hidden freshwater reservoir off Cape Cod. The effort builds on work done by #WHOI’s Rob Evans, whose 2015 research mapped contours of the aquifer remotely.

📲 Dive into the research with apnews.com: go.whoi.edu/ap-water

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 7d

This past January, a rapid string of over 28,000 earthquakes hit the Greek islands of Santorini, Amorgos, and Anafi stemming from an unknown cause.

WHOI geophysicist Jonas Preine and other scientists set out to uncover the seismic mystery.

Learn more from Nat Geo:⁠ go.whoi.edu/temblor

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 8d

Do you know what type of marine mammal this is?

Some hints:

🐬 They belong to the oceanic dolphin family, even though "whale" is in their name.
🐳 They have a rounded, bulbous forehead and no pointed snout.
🏝️ They are often involved in mass stranding events.

📸 Amy Van Cise, NMFS permit #15530

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 8d

Your local meteorologist may not cover the underwater forecast– but #WHOI scientist Gordon Zhang does! He creates hydrodynamic models to understand how water flows—and how its movement affects coral reefs.

📲Dive in with The Virgin Islands Source: go.whoi.edu/sts-corals

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 10d

Need a shirt that's a bold as you?

Represent ocean exploration with the WHOI Long Sleeve T-Shirt! Made from 100% recycled materials by , it’s a powerful way to show your support for ocean science.

📲Get yours today: go.whoi.edu/longslv

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 11d

“Robots can provide us with the information we need to untangle these complex planet-scale systems that buffet and protect us,” writes WHOI engineer Gwytheth Packard. "Send us beyond with your questions & follow along as the stories unfold.”

📲Get some perspective: go.whoi.edu/deepseamusings

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 11d

Meet the Phronima. Also known as a “pram bug,” when it’s ready to lay eggs, it’ll hollow out a salp, trim it into a tiny nursery with its knifelike mouth, and push the empty husk around like a pram.

No wonder it's famous for inspiring the xenomorph in the movie Alien!

Learn more: go.whoi.edu/pram

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 12d

Scientists recently identified three new snailfish species off the California coast. Found 10,000 feet below the surface, #WHOI deep ocean ecologist Johanna Weston told @nytimes.com that the discovery underscores the importance of ocean research!

📲Learn more: go.whoi.edu/nyt-snailfish

A New, ‘Adorable’ Deep-Sea Fish Swims Into View

The bumpy snailfish, discovered 10,000 feet down off the coast of California, shows that not all denizens of the abyss are frightening.

go.whoi.edu

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 12d

In celebration of #WorldMaritimeDay, let's remember our first-ever research vessel, Atlantis!

From 1931-1966, Atlantis helped researchers investigate the secrets of the ocean. The legacy continues with today’s R/V Atlantis, the support ship for deep sea sub Alvin!

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 13d

What can a whale’s bones tell us?

After a ship strike killed a North Atlantic right whale, her broken jaw and skull revealed the harm of vessel collisions. Former MIT-WHOI Joint Program student Regina Campbell-Malone used this tragedy to model collisions, which now helps guide ship speed limits.

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 13d

We know that American eels leave East Coast rivers to spawn—but no one has ever figured out exactly where.
⁠
WHOI oceanographer Irina Rypina is using ocean models to test how tiny eel larvae travel thousands of miles from the Sargasso Sea to U.S. rivers.

👉 Read the full story: go.whoi.edu/eel

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution @whoi.edu · 14d

Two decades in the making, last week's UN #HighSeasTreaty ratification is a crucial step towards the ambitious goal of conserving 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

🤔What will it take to get there? #WHOI researchers weigh in: go.whoi.edu/30x03

#30x30 #BBNJ

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