Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

What’s blacker than black? The fangtooth’s “ultra-black” skin absorbs 99.5% of light, rendering the small fish nearly invisible as it waits for prey in the darkness of the #OceanTwilightZone. Get your creep on at go.whoi.edu/otz-fangtooth! 📸 Composite by Paul Caiger © WHOI

A marine cold snap has sent ripples through Northeast fisheries. 🥶 A new WHOI-led study shows that the sudden drop in temperature pushed warm-water species out of the region, causing economic turmoil for certain fisheries. Dive in: go.whoi.edu/gulf-coldpulse

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 October 28! 🧑🏽‍🎓👩🏻‍🔬🤖 📲Get the details and register:mit.whoi.edu/admissions/info-sessions

What happens when a shuttered power plant becomes a futuristic greenspace? 🌊🌿 Learn how WHOI is partnering with the Manresa Island Corporation to help transform Norwalk, CT’s coastline into a bold, new restoration site. go.whoi.edu/manresawilds

We get it. Figuring out a Halloween costume is hard. 👻🧟‍♀️🧞‍♂️ That's why we've created this handy personality guide to help you figure out your inner (ocean) demons. The costume itself should come naturally! Share your results in the comments!

We’re used to seeing our planet with land at the center. But what if we shift our perspective? 📲 Experience our ocean planet as you never have before with our Webby Award-winning interactive experience: go.whoi.edu/ocean-world

How do engineers certify that Alvin will survive the pressure of the deep sea? Following the upgrades to the personnel sphere in 2011-2013, the sphere was put in a hydrostatic test chamber to certify its safety. With 99% of the ocean within reach, where do you think Alvin should explore next?

📣 Calling all marine science and engineering majors! Could the -WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering be your next step? Find out in one of our live virtual info sessions on October 6 and October 28! 📲Get the deets and register at go.whoi.edu/mit-info

🌊 Are our fears of sea level rise exaggerated? Scientists have been raising alarms for decades that sea level rise will flood coastal communities, but what evidence is there? Turns out—a lot. 🧐 Learn more through the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub:go.whoi.edu/sealvl

🤖🐳🚢 Why are we eavesdropping on whales? As whales migrate through busy shipping channels, fishing grounds, and wind farms, a network of moorings and gliders record and transmit potential detections to on-shore scientists, who post positive IDs to the website robots4whales.whoi.edu

🌊 The ocean’s welfare connects every nation, every community, and every generation. With @scrippsocean.bsky.social and #OceanPavilion partners, we're announcing a bold vision for ocean action ahead of @cop31.bsky.social. 📲Read the full Antalya Ocean Declaration: oceanpavilion-cop.org/declaration

For tiny oyster larvae, a heavy shell does more than offer protection. 🦪 Using high-speed imaging, WHOI scientists found that shell weight generates currents that draw food toward their mouths, helping them survive to maturity! 📲Learn more from @wcai-npr.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/cai-oyster

Did you know that the common periwinkle is actually an invasive species? Originally from Europe, humans accidentally brought this hitchhiker to North American waters, where it has changed intertidal ecosystems through its eating habits. 📸 Brady Clarke

📣 Momentum is building for the United Nations climate conference, or @cop31.bsky.social! WHOI, @scrippsocean.bsky.social + partners are converging ocean climate advocacy and action at the #OceanPavilion for the 5th year in a row. 🌊 Learn more: go.whoi.edu/blue-cop #ForOurBluePlanet

🥵 Above-average ocean temperatures from this year’s El Niño are stressing vulnerable reefs, but innovative techniques from the WHOI Schiller Center for Reef Solutions could be making a difference. Read more in @nature.com : go.whoi.edu/nature-reefs

🤢 FACT: Harmful algal blooms, or #HABs, threaten marine life and human health every year. ☣️ FICTION: There’s nothing you can do to protect yourself. 🦠 Get the facts from #WHOI experts in our latest Ocean Fact-Checker: go.whoi.edu/HABsfactcheck ⁠#TogetherforScience #ScienceMatters #redtide

This Indigenous Peoples Day, find out how WHOI researcher Jordan Kennedy incorporates traditional knowledge and engineering to rethink how we study and restore coastal landscapes. 📲Dive in with Oceanus magazine: go.whoi.edu/oceanus-rk

Droughts, floods, storms, bleached corals... what, exactly, is El Niño? How will it impact you—and communities and ecosystems around the world? Find out from ocean experts! 📲Watch the Ocean Encounters replay on YouTube: go.whoi.edu/el-nino-replay

📣 Calling all post-docs and recent PhDs! 🧑‍🔬 We’re currently seeking applicants with background in math, engineering, economics, policy, and physical and biological sciences for 18-month appointments with a WHOI advisor. 📲 Find out more and apply by Oct. 15: go.whoi.edu/pdscholarship

Sunita “Suni” Williams is a recently-retired NASA astronaut who has spent 608 days in space and completed nine spacewalks—the most spacewalk time by a woman. 📲So what has her perspective from space taught her about our ocean planet? Find out from Oceanus: go.whoi.edu/suniwilliams

Have a little one in your life who’s big on the ocean? 🌊 From shirts to stuffies, the WHOI Shop has everything you need to keep them curious about the ocean—while supporting marine science 💙 👉 Check out our Kids Collection: go.whoi.edu/Kids-apparel

#Throwback to just last year, when the nation's deepest-diving crewed submersible Alvin returned to Woods Hole! 🥳 After its 3,000-mile journey from San Diego, the sub spent 6 months getting a complete overhaul from WHOI engineers. By June, it was ready for another 5 years of deep sea science!

🌀🌡️ As Hurricane Isaias barrels towards the Alabama coast, Argo floats are picking up near-record sea surface temperatures of 30°C-31°C. Hurricanes are fueled by ocean temperatures over 27°C. 📲Learn how ocean observations help us stay one step ahead of these storms: go.whoi.edu/hurricane-info

Why are marine scientists putting their equipment on cargo ships? WHOI Research Technician Emily Peacock recently installed a phytoplankton imaging sensor on the M/V Oleander. How does this partnership advance understanding of the changing marine food web? Find out: go.whoi.edu/samplingplankton

Happy World Octopus Day! 🐙 In 2019, scientists in Alvin discovered thousands of octopuses tending their eggs in a part of now known as Octopus Garden. 📲Watch the full video with WHOI principal engineer Andy Bowen and MBNMS research specialist Chad King: go.whoi.edu/octo-garden

How do you study a potential climate solution responsibly? 🌊🔬 The newly-formed @exois-oceaniron.bsky.social Field Research Coalition unites independent organizations studying ocean iron fertilization in different regions of the global ocean. 👉Learn more: go.whoi.edu/ocean-research

One researcher's biofouling is another person’s delicacy! Depending on where they come from, when they are harvested, and their size, goose barnacles can range from about $13 to $130 per pound in some markets! (Scientists do not harvest from these buoys.) Have you had goose barnacles?

What, exactly, is #ElNiño? How will it impact you—and people around the world? Find out from WHOI’s Alex Kinsella, Deepti Singh of @wsunews.bsky.social and @calpoly.bsky.social ’s Ben Ruttenberg TONIGHT at #OceanEncounters! 📲Sign up for TONIGHT's live Zoom event: go.whoi.edu/2026-el-nino

The small leaks from our cars, roads, and roofs can create long-term health problems for marine organisms and the habitats they rely on. 👉Find out where ocean oil comes from—and what we can do about it—from WHOI's Oceanus magazine: go.whoi.edu/ocean-oil-spills

What does it take to keep the nation’s deepest-diving crewed submersible running for over six decades? OnCape Magazine traces the WHOI-operated sub's evolution from its 1964 commissioning to its current work studying the deep sea. Read more from OnCape Magazine: go.whoi.edu/on-cape-mag

Albatross can ride the wind for days, but can they keep pace with a warming ocean? WHOI population ecologist Stéphanie Jenouvrier and colleagues analyzed 30+ years of data to find out. Learn how these seabirds are adapting from @earthdotcom.bsky.social: go.whoi.edu/albatross-evolution

📣 Calling all marine science and engineering majors! Could the -WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering be your next step? Find out in one of our live virtual info sessions on October 6 and October 28! 📲Get the deets and register at go.whoi.edu/mit-info

Why do storm petrels fly into storms instead of away? The answer may surprise you! Find out what WHOI research reveals about these pelagic seabirds: go.whoi.edu/stormpetrels

See you at the Cambridge Science Carnival on Sunday, October 4th from 12-4 pm! Stop by our table to meet some of our underwater robots, SharkCam and RESQ ROV. You can also enter a raffle for WHOI-branded gear and learn about our latest research! Learn more: cambridgesciencecarnival.org/

⛈️🌊 Atmospheric rivers, droughts, and hurricanes—no matter where you live on our planet, your weather is influenced by the sea. 👉Find out why a warmer ocean means a stormier future—and how ocean observatories can help us prepare: go.whoi.edu/oceanweather

Heading out for another Beaufort Gyre expedition! WHOI engineers Jeff O'Brien, Chris Basque, Tim McDonough, and Eric Hutt are aboard the Canada Coast Guard's icebreaker Louis S. St.-Laurent in the Beaufort Sea off the North Slope of Alaska and the Yukon. Learn more: go.whoi.edu/Beaufortgyre

What's the connection between the floods, wildfires, and drought in the headlines? Join us for a live virtual discussion with ocean experts to understand El Niño's consequences around the world—and in your community. 📲Sign up for #OceanEncounters: go.whoi.edu/2026-el-nino

📣 Calling all marine science and engineering majors! Could the -WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering be your next step? Find out in one of our live virtual info sessions on October 6 and October 28! 📲Get the deets and register at go.whoi.edu/mit-info

You can’t understand how the ocean is changing without observing it. Long-term data from OOI and Argo floats inform scientific discoveries and help fishers understand where and when to find their next catch. 👉Get the full picture of this critical research from @wbur.org : go.whoi.edu/bur-ooi

🌀⛈️🌀With all the hurricanes swirling in the Pacific these days, you may be wondering... where do these storms come from, and how do they get so intense?

Antarctica is not all penguins, icebergs, and sunshine. Living in this remote and sometimes downright hostile environment for months at a time, scientists say the work can be incredibly challenging and extremely rewarding. 📲 Watch the Ocean Encounters episode all about it: go.whoi.edu/Antarctica

We’re heading back to the future this week at the first-ever #MITFutureFest! 📲Visit MITFutureFest.org to explore the full program of 50+ events at the intersection of art, design, science, and technology.

📣Help shape the future of knowledge about the ocean! Submit your comments about the importance of ocean observations to NSF by Sept. 30! 📲Read NSF's Dear Colleague Letter and submit your response: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/information/dcl-request-input-future-ocean-observing-priorities

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!

How do you discover heat-resilient corals in a vast ocean? 🤔 Meet Yellowfin, a robot developed by WHOI engineers to study the Marshall Islands' "super reefs"—and help other vulnerable reefs before it’s too late. 📲 Watch the full video: go.whoi.edu/elnino-super-reefs

Throwback to that time when we lit up the United Nations in New York with a visitor from the ocean twilight zone! ⁠ This 2021 Climate Week projection featured a siphonophore—a colony of specialized marine organisms that work together to enhance group survival. Learn more: twilightzone.whoi.edu

Celebrating oceanographer Marie Tharp’s induction into the 2026 Women's Hall of Fame! 🥳🎉 Born in 1920, at a time when there were few options for women in science, Tharp revolutionized our understanding of the ocean floor. Learn more about this year’s inductees: go.whoi.edu/womens-hall-of-fame

You've probably heard about the “super El Niño” that's impacting weather patterns around the world. But how exactly does unusually warm water in the Pacific impact us thousands of miles away? 📲Find out in a live virtual discussion with ocean experts on Oct. 7: go.whoi.edu/2026-el-nino

Seaweeds are common ingredients in sushi and soups, but what about the invasive seaweed Codium fragile? While commercial harvest of C. fragile is uncommon, it is edible. Be aware of the dangers associated with misidentification and improper harvesting. Would you eat it? 📸 Brady Clarke

📣Have you always wanted to work in Woods Hole? Don't miss this opportunity! WHOI's Marine Policy Center invites applications from established career professionals for its 3-month Visiting Scholar Program. Applications due June 15! 📲Find out more: go.whoi.edu/visiting-scholar