When the global pandemic dashed her plans to study coral reefs in the remote Society Islands, MIT-WHOI Joint Program student Megan Gillen turned to Google Earth.
Explore the river-reef patterns that emerged from a distance: go.whoi.edu/riverreef
Close-up of a scallop with its shell partially open, revealing bright orange inside. The scallop's shell is ridged with a line of tiny, vivid blue eyes along the edge. It rests on a sandy seabed.
Did you know that bay scallops have up to 200 eyes? 🤯
Made of guanine crystals, these small, mirror-like eyes behave like reflecting telescopes or concave mirrors—allowing scallops to see clearly close up and far away at the same time!
Happy International Women's Day—from all of us making waves in ocean science and engineering! 🌊💪🏽💐
#IWD2026 #WomenInSTEM
A person in a bright orange and yellow jacket leaps across a gap between snow-covered ice formations, with the sky as a backdrop.
⏰ It's time to spring forward! Even in the midst of polar field work, remember to set your clock one hour ahead before turning in tonight!
📸 by Peter Kimball © #WHOI
A woman with curly hair smiles broadly while standing outdoors. She wears a black puffy vest with a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution logo, under which is a green shirt. They have one hand in the pocket of their blue jeans. A wooden railing and a white building are in the background.
A man with short hair smiles while standing in front of a blue shipping container is wearing a blue vest with a WHOI logo and crossing his arms
🍃 Get ready for whatever the season blows your way with a cozy WHOI vest—now 25% off!
For an added warm fuzzy, every purchase supports our ocean science!
👉Grab yours while supplies last: go.whoi.edu/WinterSale
A woman with glasses and curly hair is seated at a cluttered desk filled with papers and files. Behind her are shelves stacked with jars and boxes in a room resembling a busy office or laboratory.
Behind every great mind... is a really messy desk!
Mary Sears was one of the first staff members at WHOI who transformed the once-obscure field of oceanography into a prestigious international science.
📲 Learn how Sears helped “solve the ocean” during WWII: go.whoi.edu/MarySearsWWII
A person wearing a beige beanie and glasses adjusts an ultrasonic water level sensor mounted on a post. The sensor has a yellow sticker with a sailboat logo and text for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. A white solar panel is attached above the sensor, and a coiled rope is visible nearby. The background shows a clear blue sky and blurred trees.
A man in a white beanie and orange safety vest kneels on a dock, adjusting an ultrasonic water level sensor mounted on a post. The bright blue sky and water are in the background. Another man in a brown jacket stands behind, observing.
A small solar panel is mounted on a metallic box attached to a pipe. The box has coiled cables secured on its side and is positioned near a wooden pier with weathered posts. The background shows water and additional wooden structures.
Connecticut has over 600mi of coastline, but only three tide gauges to track sea level rise.
To help the state understand how and where flooding happens, WHOI scientists are partnering with communities to install low-cost sensors.
Full story from @ctinsider.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/ctinsidergauge
Close-up of a fish eye, displaying iridescent colors with green, blue, and silver hues against a speckled skin background. The eye's circular pupil is surrounded by a vibrant, reflective iris, and delicate fish scales are visible on the periphery.
A translucent fish with a large eye and fan-like fins swims against a dark background. Its body is iridescent with hints of purple and silver.
Oh my! What big eyes you have!
Juvenile bluefin driftfish can be found near the surface, where large eyes help them navigate and spot small prey. As adults, bluefin driftfish venture to deeper waters to find food and avoid predation, where their large eyes improve their ability to detect prey.
A promotional image featuring the title "Vital Coasts" with a green and yellow gradient, overlaid on a photo of crabs crawling on a muddy mangrove floor. Text below reads: "Life at the edge of land and sea. Wednesday, March 4, 7:30PM-8:30PM ET." At the bottom, "Ocean Encounters" and "Virtual Series from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution" are displayed.
Immerse yourself in the splendor and science of wetlands in a live virtual discussion with coastal ecologists! 🌊Dive into #OceanEncounters, tonight at 7:30pm (ET): http://go.whoi.edu/vitalcoasts
🤟ASL interpretation for our Zoom viewers!
An official event of the @unoceandecade.bsky.social
A bird flies over a marshy wetland, surrounded by lush greenery. The text "Vital Coasts" is integrated with nature-themed designs, and additional text reads, "Life at the edge of land and sea. Wednesday, March 4 | 7:30PM ET." Below, "Ocean Encounters" and "Virtual series from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution" are displayed.
How can science protect the salt marshes, kelp forests, and mangroves that protect us all? Find out from coastal ecology experts at #OceanEncounters TONIGHT at 7:30pm (ET)!
👉 Register for this free, live virtual event: go.whoi.edu/vitalcoasts
+ASL interpretation for Zoom viewers🤟
What does ocean noise sound like to the world’s smallest sea turtles? WHOI postdoc Charles Muirhead found that low-frequency sounds—like those emitted from boating and industrial operations—fall right in the range that Kemp's ridley turtles detect.
🔊Learn more: go.whoi.edu/popsci-noise
A minke whale surfaces through cracked ice, with its dark, streamlined body and distinctive throat grooves visible. A misty spray rises from its blowhole against the glistening, icy background.
Just a curious minke whale popping up through the sea ice!
During a 2012 research cruise in Antarctica, WHOI scientists were mapping the underside of sea ice when they were met with an unforgettable surprise: a minke whale surfaced just meters away!
Just another day exploring our ocean planet 🐋
A person in outdoor attire stands on a rocky shoreline, holding a large drone with a camera. The scene has a backdrop of rocks and seaweed under a clear sky.
Aerial view of rugged, rocky cliffs meeting turbulent ocean waves. The water is a vibrant mix of deep blues and frothy whites, crashing against the jagged, textured surface of the earth-toned cliffs. Some greenery peeks through the rocky terrain above.
Two people in wetsuits stand on a beach holding seaweed, with waves crashing in the background under a partly cloudy blue sky. One holds snorkeling fins.
An estimated 30% of the world’s seagrass meadows & mangroves have disappeared in the last century.
🛰️ Find out how tech is giving us us the "10,000-foot view" we need to save these critical blue carbon resources: go.whoi.edu/coastal-monitoring
Three albatrosses overlap their beaks. The background is soft-focused, highlighting their interaction.
❤️ “I’m also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her!” works in Notting Hill, and sometimes in the wild too.
In a recent @nhpr.org story, WHOI experts explain how nature handles matters of the heart in a changing world: go.whoi.edu/nhpr-love
📸 Gregory Smith/CC BY-SA 2.0
We’re prescribing probiotics, round-the-clock monitoring, and a microbial panel to rule out any illness. 👩⚕️Doctors orders—for corals! 🪸
👉🏾Learn how the WHOI’s Reef Solutions team's holistic approach gives corals a fighting chance in a warmer world: go.whoi.edu/reefRX
#GiveReefsAChance
A dolphin swims near an underwater camera setup on a tripod in a seagrass meadow. Sunlight filters through the water, casting patterns on the dolphin's skin.
Crabs scuttle through a muddy wetland, surrounded by tall marsh grasses with exposed roots.
A narrow stream flows through a marshy landscape with thick grass on raised muddy banks. The sky above is cloudy, casting a muted light on the scene.
It’s World Seagrass Day! Though it provides food, shelter, and coastal protection, the world loses a soccer field's worth of seagrass every 30 minutes.
So how can science help protect seagrass? Find out at our live virtual event, Ocean Encounters, March 4 at 7:30pm (ET): go.whoi.edu/vitalcoasts
Three emperor penguins walking in a line across a snowy landscape under a soft pink sky, with distant icebergs bathed in the warm glow of the sunset.
Think your commute is bad? Try being an emperor penguin!
During the winter, these penguins huddle together, weathering storms as a community. Sound familiar?
As this week’s Nor’easter reminded those of us in New England, when nature presents a challenge, adapt, layer up, and lean on each other.
A polar bear is leaping across icy, blue water between snow-covered ice floes. The bear appears mid-air, with its front paws extended forward. The surrounding landscape is a vast, icy terrain.
A polar bear stands on a piece of floating ice surrounded by vast, broken ice sheets and open water in an Arctic landscape.
A large red and white icebreaker ship is stationed on a vast expanse of ice under a clear blue sky. Several people in red suits are visible walking on the ice toward the ship, with vehicle tracks and a yellow barrel in the foreground.
🐻❄️✨️ Celebrate International Polar Bear Day with this incredible scene, witnessed by scientists who shared daily dispatches during the Beaufort Gyre Observing System research cruise in 2024.
📲 Learn more about our polar research: go.whoi.edu/sea-ice-topic
📸 Paige Hagel + Marty Davelaar
A man stands confidently on a wooden dock next to a white boat equipped with navigation electronics. The sky is clear, and industrial buildings are in the background.
Fishing boats in the water surrounded by flying seagulls, with a sunset-lit sky and distant sandy shores.
A fisherman in a red shirt and blue overalls uses a metal tool to sort a pile of shiny silver fish on a metal table outdoors. A large hanging scale is visible in the background. The sky is bright and clear.
As the Gulf of Maine warms faster than 97% of the global ocean, many commercial species are migrating to cooler waters. Through WHOI's Fishery Futures Alliance, our scientists are partnering with commercial fishers to re-imagine fisheries management.
🐟 Learn how: go.whoi.edu/fisheryalliance
Did you know you can tell the history of an iceberg based on its shape?
1: A jagged berg means the ice has likely never been underwater
2: A diagonal ridge, the iceberg has likely rolled
3: Rounded surfaces mean the top was underwater at one point
What would you call an octopus with fins as big as an elephant's ears?! 🐙
If you said "Dumbo," you think like a scientist! Found as deep as 13,000 feet, this deep sea octopus flaps and drifts like a parachute to sneak up on prey, swallowing it whole!
Think the snow that’s falling on the East Coast today is a lot? Try 200 million tons!
That’s how much marine snow falls in the ocean each year: a veritable avalanche of carbon-rich detritus.
Take a break from shoveling! Learn more: twilightzone.whoi.edu/explore-the-otz/climate/
How does a wartime wreck become a reef? 🤔
WHOI scientists are studying sunken ships and planes in the Pacific to figure out what makes some vibrant habitats—and others, sources of pollution 🪸
👉Dive into the intersection of history and ecology with Oceanus: go.whoi.edu/ruin2reef
🐳 Ship strikes kill an estimated 10,000 marine mammals around the world each year. To help mariners become better stewards of the sea, WHOI researchers are developing breakthrough technologies like thermal imaging and acoustic buoys.
📲Go behind the scenes of innovation: go.whoi.edu/whale-aware
A man in a navy long-sleeve shirt and gray cap inspects equipment. The orange machinery he's working on has "MARINE" written on it. The background is a blurred industrial setting.
A person stands beside oceanographic equipment near a body of water. They are wearing a blue WHOI (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) hat and a matching long-sleeve shirt. The equipment has several cylindrical parts with labels and caps of different colors. The scene suggests a scientific or research setting.
Need a shirt that's a bold as you?🦾
Made from 100% upcycled cotton & recycled polyester, now you can literally wear your love for ocean science on your sleeve!
📲Get your WHOI Long-Sleeve T-Shirt today: go.whoi.edu/longslv
Ever rummage around in your attic and find a hidden gem? That's exactly what happened when our archivists reached deep into the WHOI sound library! 🤩
🐋 Find out how they uncovered the earliest-preserved recording of a humpback whale: go.whoi.edu/bur-whales
In recent years, record amounts of sargassum have been washing ashore from Florida to the Caribbean. A new WHOI-led study shows that cleanup efforts and cancelled beach days are costing billions.
@fox35orlando.bsky.social takes a look at the impacts: go.whoi.edu/fox25-sargassum
Wetland habitats are rapidly declining from coast to coast. How can science help?
Join our expert panelists for a live virtual conversation on March 4 to find out: go.whoi.edu/vitalcoasts
+ASL interpretation for our Zoom viewers 🤟
#OceanEncounters is a @unoceandecade.bsky.social official event
How can oil travel over 5,000 miles in the ocean?
Scientists from WHOI + @northeasternu.bsky.social tracked oil-covered debris that washed up along Palm Beach back to a 2019 spill off Brazil, revealing that petroleum can travel much farther than we thought.
📲Learn more: go.whoi.edu/cen-oil
Are you a grad student, postdoc, or early career researcher interested in sea-level science? Apply to the WHOI+NASA Summer School in Sea-Level Science, taking place May 17-30 in Woods Hole!
Applications accepted until March 20.
📲Learn more at more whoi.edu/summer-school or email ssisls@whoi.edu
