RSS 1.0WHOI Theses
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WHOI's educational role, at the graduate level, was formalized in 1968 with a change in its charter and the signing of an agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a Joint Program leading to doctoral (Ph.D. or Sc.D.) or engineer's degrees. Joint master's degrees are also offered in selected areas of the program. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is also authorized to grant doctoral degrees independently.
New theses are added as they are published.
Recent Submissions
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The effect of attenuation from fish on long-range active and passive acoustic sensing in the ocean
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2022-02)Attenuation from fish can reduce the intensity of acoustic signals and significantly decrease detection range for long-range active and passive sensing in the ocean. This makes it important to understand the relevant ... -
Observing and quantifying kinematic properties and lagrangian coherent structures of ocean flows using drifter experiments
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)This thesis analyzes data from two types of unique drifter experiments in order to characterize two aspects of ocean flows that are often difficult to study. First, vertical velocities and their associated transport processes ... -
Reduced order modeling for stochastic prediction and data assimilation onboard autonomous platforms at sea
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)There are many significant challenges for unmanned autonomous platforms at sea including predicting the likely scenarios for the ocean environment, quantifying regional uncertainties, and updating forecasts of the evolving ... -
The stratification maxima of the seasonally varying Surface layer in the Arctic Ocean’s Beaufort Gyre
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)The Beaufort Gyre region of the Arctic Ocean is strongly stratified at the base of the wintertime mixed layer, which impedes the vertical transport of heat, energy, and other tracers. Ice-Tethered Profiler observations ... -
A metabolic lens on phytoplankton physiology
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Phytoplankton are communities of diverse groups of prokaryotic and eukaryotic single-celled organisms responsible for nearly 50% of global primary production. The relative abundance of individual groups changes dynamically ... -
Investigating chromium cycling in global oxygen deficient zones with chromium isotopes
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Chromium (Cr) isotopes have shown great potential as a paleo-redox proxy to trace the redox conditions of ancient oceans and atmosphere. However, its cycling in modern environments is poorly constrained. In my thesis, I ... -
Characterizing the impact of underwater glider observations on the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) in the Gulf Stream Region
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)As the western boundary current of the North Atlantic, the Gulf Stream is a well established area of interest for the United States Navy, predominately due to its proximity to the continental shelf and the associated ... -
Environmental effects of the Beaufort Lens on underwater acoustic communications during Arctic operations
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Operations in the Arctic Ocean are increasingly important due to the changing environment and the resulting global implications. These changes range from the availability of new global trade routes, accessibility of newly ... -
Assessing anthropogenic noise impacts and relevant soundscape cues for marine invertebrates: leveraging squid and coral reefs as model systems
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Sound is utilized by marine animal taxa for many ecologically important functions, and these taxa are vulnerable to adverse effects of anthropogenic noise on hearing and behavior. However, little is known about marine ... -
Control of the abyssal ocean overturning circulation by mixing-driven bottom boundary layers
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 201-09)An emerging paradigm posits that the abyssal overturning circulation is driven by bottom-enhanced mixing, which results in vigorous upwelling in the bottom boundary layer (BBL) along the sloping seafloor and downwelling ... -
Environmental drivers of the abundance and distribution of forage fishes on the Northeast US shelf, with a particular emphasis on northern sand lance
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Small pelagic fishes, also termed forage fishes, represent a critical link between secondary production and myriad top predators in marine ecosystems, including the Northeast US shelf. In this dissertation, I analyze the ... -
Multi-path Penalty metric in underwater acoustic communication for autonomy and human decision-making
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)A novel performance metric to improve underwater digital acoustic communication, called Multipath Penalty (MPP), is proposed as an alternative to traditional signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) methods in the context of the Arctic ... -
Inferring the thermomechanical state of the lithosphere using geophysical and geochemical observables
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)This thesis focuses on interpreting geophysical and geochemical observables in terms of the thermomechanical state of the lithosphere. In Chapter 1, I correlate lower crustal rheology with seismic wave speed. Compositional ... -
Diagnosing the variability in temperature and velocity in the Middle Atlantic Bight
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-02)Observations of hydrographic and dynamical properties on the Middle Atlantic Bight shelf document strong variability at time scales spanning events that last a few days to century long trends. This thesis studies individual ... -
A Virtual Ocean framework for environmentally adaptive, embedded acoustic navigation on autonomous underwater vehicles
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are an increasingly capable robotic platform, with embedded acoustic sensing to facilitate navigation, communication, and collaboration. The global positioning system (GPS), ubiquitous ... -
Vertical fluxes in the upper ocean
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-09)Oceanic fronts at the mesoscale and submesoscale are associated with enhanced vertical motion, which strengthens their role in global biogeochemical cycling as hotspots of primary production and subduction of carbon from ... -
Field-Portable dissolved gas sensing and perspectives in aqueous microplastic detection
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-06)Global temperature rise and increased atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels have affected the health of the world’s ocean and water ecosystems, impacting the balances of natural carbon cycling and causing ocean acidification. ... -
Barrier island groundwater dynamics
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-06)Nearly 1.5 million people inhabit barrier islands along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf Coasts and coastal groundwater dynamics influence the availability of freshwater, ecosystem health, pollutant transport, and flooding in ... -
Ambient acoustics as indicator of environmental change in the Beaufort Sea: experiments & methods for analysis
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-06)The Arctic Ocean is a vital component of Earth’s climate system experiencing dramatic environmental changes. The changes are reflected in its underwater ambient soundscape as its origin and propagation are primarily dependent ... -
Pseudo-nitzschia in the Gulf of Maine: investigating bloom dynamics, species introduction, and climate change implications with observations and models
(Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, 2021-01)The apparent global increase in harmful algal blooms (HABs) includes Pseudo-nitzschia blooms in the Gulf of Maine, where shellfishery closures can cost millions of dollars. Temperatures in the gulf are warming, which can ...
