WHOI Special Reports

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https://hdl.handle.net/1912/24700

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  • Other
    R.M.S. Titanic: a joint French-American discovery
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Institut Francais De Recherche Pour L'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER), 1986) Lauzon, Shelley M.
    The discovery of the sunken luxury liner R. M.S. TITANIC September I, 1985, aboard the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Research Vessel KNORR has begun a new era in underwater exploration and scientific research. The TITANIC, found at a depth of more than 12,000 feet, was first photographed by the new deep-towed sonar and video camera system ARGO, under development in the Institution's Deep Submergence Laboratory (DSL). Additional 35mm photographs were taken by the ANGUS (Acoustically avigated Geological Underwater Survey), another towed vehicle developed at the Institution. The discovery of the TITANIC was a joint French-American effort which began earlier in the summer of 1985 with a cruise aboard the French research vessel LE SUROIT to test France's new sonar system, SAR (Systeme Acoustique Remorque). Dr. Robert D. Ballard, leader of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Deep Submergence Laboratory, participated in that cruise which ended in early August. Three scientists from the Institut Francais De Recherche Pour L'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER) joined the American cruise aboard the K ORR August 15 in Ponta Delgada, Azores, for the trip across the Atlantic to the vessel's home port at Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
  • Other
    Coastal resilience and sea level rise workshop report
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2024-09-17) Grabb, Kalina C. ; Ramakrishna, Kilaparti
    To predict and adapt to future sea levels, we need to understand where and why the sea levels are rising now and have risen in the past. Institutions whether large or small, coastal communities whether rich or poor, cannot control sea level rise by their actions alone. But they can prepare well through a variety of adaptation measures. The goal of this workshop was to review the latest scientific findings on sea level rise and coastal resilience to discuss community approaches to increase resilience and adaptation. While examples abound, the participants focused on what has been attempted in Woods Hole, a small coastal town in southeastern Massachusetts, and in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at the regional and state level. A goal of this exercise was to assess the lessons learned and how they translate to other communities as participants critically reviewed what else is needed to increase coastal resilience. A select group of leading specialists from science institutions within Woods Hole, partnering organizations, coastal community members, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as those involved in policy formulation at the national and international levels were invited to discuss progress and plans while also sharing lessons learned with representatives from other states.
  • Other
    The ocean twilight zone’s role in climate change
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-02) Buesseler, Ken O. ; Jin, Di ; Kourantidou, Melina ; Levin, David S. ; Ramakrishna, Kilaparti ; Renaud, Philip
    The ocean twilight zone (more formally known as the mesopelagic zone) plays a fundamental role in global climate. It is the mid-ocean region roughly 100 to 1000 meters below the surface, encompassing a half-mile deep belt of water that spans more than two-thirds of our planet. The top of the ocean twilight zone only receives 1% of incident sunlight and the bottom level is void of sunlight. Life in the ocean twilight zone helps to transport billions of metric tons (gigatonnes) of carbon annually from the upper ocean into the deep sea, due in part to processes known as the biological carbon pump. Once carbon moves below roughly 1000 meters depth in the ocean, it can remain out of the atmosphere for centuries to millennia. Without the benefits of the biological carbon pump, the atmospheric CO 2 concentration would increase by approximately 200 ppm 1 which would significantly amplify the negative effects of climate change that the world is currently trying to curtail and reverse. Unfortunately, existing scientific knowledge about this vast zone of the ocean, such as how chemical elements flow through its living systems and the physical environment, is extremely limited, jeopardizing the efforts to improve climate predictions and to inform fisheries management and ocean policy development.
  • Other
    Value beyond view: illuminating the human benefits of the ocean twilight zone
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2019-12-12) Hoagland, Porter ; Jin, Di ; Holland, Michael ; Kostel, Ken ; Taylor, Eric ; Renier, Natalie ; Holmes, Mark
    The twilight zone is a fundamental part of the ocean ecosystem, playing an important role in carbon sequestration and marine food webs and supporting the natural function of many planetary processes. Ecosystem services provided by the twilight zone are highly beneficial to humans, but they occur largely out of sight and they are undervalued by society as a result. To better evaluate the benefits that the twilight zone provides, an ecosystem service framework provides a way to organize our thinking about them and even to quantify their economic value. With this information at hand, leaders and policymakers can think more carefully about what we stand to gain or lose from actions that affect the twilight zone and the broader ocean environment to which it is tightly linked, particularly as we strive for the sustainable use of marine resources. The title was changed from "Ecosystem Services of the Mesopelagic" to "Value beyond view: illuminating the human benefits of the ocean twilight zone."
  • Other
    Saving the North Atlantic Right Whale
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2019) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, /
    The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered whales in the world. Only about 411 remain. This report from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) examines the top three threats facing the North Atlantic right whale and explores actions being taken by the scientific community and concerned organizations to ensure the long-term survival of this critically endangered species.
  • Other
    Understanding Sea Level Rise: An in-depth look at three factors contributing to sea level rise along the U.S. East Coast and how scientists are studying the phenomenon
    (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2019) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, /
    Sea levels in many areas across the global ocean are rising. Based on early measurements, we know that modern rates of global sea level rise began sometime between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Since the turn of the 20th century, the seas have risen between six and eight inches globally. New technologies, along with a better understanding of how the oceans, ice sheets, and other components of the climate system interact, have helped scientists identify the factors that contribute to sea level rise.