The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI, pronounced HOO-ee) is a private, nonprofit research and educational organization that focuses on studying the ocean and engineering.
It was created in 1930 in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and is the largest independent ocean research center in the United States. WHOI has about 1,000 staff and students working there.
Constitution
The institution has six departments, one called the Cooperative Institute for Climate and Ocean Research, and another called the Marine Policy Center. Its main buildings are in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States, and there are other buildings on the Quissett Campus, which is about a mile and a half away. Most of the money comes from grants and contracts given by the National Science Foundation and other government groups. They also get money from foundations and private donors.
Scientists, engineers, and students work together to create theories, test ideas, build tools for ocean research, and gather data in different ocean areas. WHOI operates ships that take scientists around the world. Their fleet includes two large ships (Atlantis and Neil Armstrong), a coastal boat called Tioga, smaller boats like the Echo, a deep-diving submersible named Alvin, a remotely operated vehicle called Jason/Medea, and underwater robots like REMUS and SeaBED.
WHOI offers graduate and post-doctoral programs in marine science. They have partnerships with MIT for degrees. They are approved by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. They also have public programs, like the Exhibit Center and summer tours. There are volunteer and membership opportunities called WHOI Associate.
WHOI shares a library called the MBLWHOI Library with the Marine Biological Laboratory. This library has books and electronic resources in biology, medicine, ecology, and oceanography. They also work on digitizing data and preserving information.
On October 1, 2020, Peter B. de Menocal became the 11th president and director of the institution.
History
In 1927, a group from the National Academy of Sciences decided it was time for the United States to take part in global ocean research. Their suggestion to create a permanent research lab on the East Coast to study all areas of oceanography led to the founding of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1930.
A $2.5 million grant from the Rockefeller Foundation helped scientists work during the summer, built a laboratory, and launched a research vessel called the 142-foot (43 meters) ketch Atlantis, which is still used as the institution's logo.
During World War II, the institution expanded to support defense-related research. Later, it grew steadily in staff, research ships, and scientific reputation. From 1950 to 1956, Dr. Edward "Iceberg" Smith, an Arctic explorer, oceanographer, and former Coast Guard rear admiral, served as director.
In 1977, the institution appointed oceanographer John Steele as director, a role he held until his retirement in 1989.
On September 1, 1985, a joint French-American team led by Jean-Louis Michel of IFREMER and Robert Ballard of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found the wreck of the RMS Titanic, which sank off the coast of Newfoundland on April 15, 1912.
On April 3, 2011, within a week of restarting the search for Air France Flight 447, a team led by WHOI used autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) owned by the Waitt Institute to locate a large part of the debris field from the flight using sidescan sonar.
In March 2017, the institution began an open-access policy to share its research online for public use.
In 2019, iDefense reported that Chinese hackers attacked many academic institutions to gain information about technology being developed for the U.S. Navy. The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution was one of the targets, and the attacks started at least as early as April 2017.
In August 2024, researchers from the institution plan to conduct a $10 million ocean alkalinity enhancement experiment, pending approval from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The experiment, partially funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will release 6,000 gallons of a sodium hydroxide solution into the ocean 10 miles south of Martha's Vineyard to remove 20 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
Military contracting
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution creates technology for the United States Navy. This includes sensors for military use in the ocean, robotic underwater vehicles, and systems that use sound for navigation and communication in the Arctic. The institution is also working on Project Sundance for the Office of Naval Research.
Awards issued
The B. H. Ketchum Award was created in 1983 to recognize new ideas in coastal and nearshore research. It is named after oceanographer Bostwick H. "Buck" Ketchum. The award is managed by the WHOI Coastal Ocean Institute and Rinehart Coastal Research Center.
Recipients of the award include:
• 2017: Don Anderson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 2015: Candace Oviatt, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island
• 2010: James E. Cloern, United States Geological Survey
• 2007: Richard Garvine, University of Delaware
• 2003: John Farrington, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 2003: Nancy Rabalais, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium
• 1999: Willard Moore, University of South Carolina
• 1996: Ronald Smith, Loughborough University
• 1995: Christopher Martens, University of North Carolina
• 1992: Scott Nixon, University of Rhode Island
• 1990: Daniel Lynch, Dartmouth College
• 1989: William Boicourt, University of Maryland
• 1988: Alasdair McIntyre, Aberdeen University (Emeritus)
• 1986: John S. Allen, Oregon State University
• 1985: Thomas H. Pearson, Oban, Argyll, Scotland
• 1985: Michael Moore, Plymouth, United Kingdom
• 1984: Edward D. Goldberg, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
The Henry Bryant Bigelow Medal in Oceanography was created in 1960 to honor Henry Bryant Bigelow, the first director of WHOI and a biologist.
Recipients of the Bigelow Medal include:
• 2004: David M. Karl (Professor of Oceanography, University of Hawaiʻi) – for his work in studying tiny ocean life and long-term ocean studies.
• 1996: Bill J. Jenkins (Senior Scientist, Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry, WHOI) – for his work in developing a method to study ocean movements and his dedication to science.
• 1993: Robert Weller (Senior Scientist, Physical Oceanography; Director, CICOR; WHOI)
• 1992: Alice Louise Alldredge (University of California, Santa Barbara) and Mary Wilcox Silver (University of California, Santa Cruz) – for their research on how tiny ocean particles move through the ocean.
• 1988: Hans Thomas Rossby (University of Rhode Island) and Douglas Chester Webb (Webb Research) – for their work in creating tools to study the ocean and ocean movements.
• 1984: Arnold L. Gordon (Columbia University) – for completing a study of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current.
• 1980: Holger W. Jannasch (WHOI) – for his research on tiny ocean life and how ocean food chains work.
• 1979: Wolfgang Helmut Berger (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California at San Diego) – for his research on ancient ocean conditions and how ocean basins form.
• 1974: Henry M. Stommel (WHOI)
• 1970: Frederick J. Vine (WHOI) – for his research on Earth's geological processes.
• 1966: Columbus O'D. Iselin (WHOI)
• 1964: Bruce C. Heezen (WHOI)
• 1962: John C. Swallow (WHOI)
• 1960: Henry Bryant Bigelow
Scientists
Over the years, WHOI scientists have made important discoveries about the ocean that have helped improve US commerce, health, national security, and quality of life. They have received awards and recognition from scientific groups such as The Oceanography Society, the American Geophysical Union, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and others.
Notable scientists include:
- Amy Bower, senior scientist, blind oceanographer
- Stan Hart, scientist emeritus, William Bowie Medal recipient
- Elizabeth Kujawinski, American oceanographer, Woods Hole Senior Scientist
- Loral O'Hara, research engineer, NASA astronaut
- Christopher Reddy, senior scientist, oil spill researcher
- Alfred C. Redfield (1890–1983), oceanographer. He discovered the Redfield ratio and worked as WHOI senior biologist from 1930 to 1942 and associate director from 1942 to 1957. The Redfield Laboratory at WHOI was named after him in 1971.
- Mary Sears, senior scientist in marine biology who worked at the Naval Hydrographic Office during World War II and helped gather ocean data for the Pacific Campaign
- Heidi Sosik, senior scientist in Biology, inventor
- Klaus Hasselmann, Doherty Professor at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1970 to 1972
- Robert Ballard, oceanographer, retired US Navy officer, explorer, and maritime archeologist who discovered the wreck of the Titanic
- Lisan Yu, known for serving on the Earth Science Advisory Committee (ESAC) and on the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) committee of NASA.
Research fleet
WHOI operates several research vessels that are owned by the United States Navy, the National Science Foundation, or the institution itself. These vessels include:
- R/V Atlantis (AGOR-25) – 274 feet long, the main ship for the Alvin submarine
- R/V Tioga (WHOI-owned) – 60 feet long
- R/V Neil Armstrong (AGOR-27) – 238 feet long
WHOI previously operated R/V Knorr, which was replaced by R/V Neil Armstrong in 2015. It also operated R/V Oceanus, which was moved to another location in 2011.
WHOI uses many small boats for research in inland harbors, ponds, rivers, and coastal bays. All of these boats are owned by the institution. These include:
- Motorboat Echo – 29 feet long (used mainly for work tasks to support diving operations; it is the newest small research boat at WHOI)
- Motorboat Mytilus – 24 feet long (used in shallow water areas and is a flexible boat for coastal research)
- Motorboat Calanus – 21 feet long (used in local water areas such as Great Harbor, Vineyard Sound, and Buzzards Bay)
- Motorboat Limulus – 13 feet long (used to move equipment to larger boats and as a work platform for research near the shore)
- Rowboat Orzrus – 12 feet long (used in harbors and ponds where motor boats are not allowed)
WHOI has also developed many underwater vehicles for research, including:
- Alvin (DSV-2) – a human-occupied vehicle, one of the institution’s most famous tools
- Deepsea Challenger – a human-occupied vehicle designed, tested, and later donated to WHOI by Canadian filmmaker James Cameron
- Jason – a remotely operated vehicle (ROV)
- Sentry – an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that replaced ABE
- Nereus – a hybrid remotely operated vehicle (HROV); it was lost on May 10, 2014, while exploring the Kermadec Trench
- Remus – a family of autonomous underwater vehicles used for monitoring the environment
- Mesobot – an autonomous underwater vehicle designed to follow marine life in the mesopelagic zone
- SeaBED – an autonomous underwater vehicle that creates detailed images of the ocean floor
- Spray Glider – a remotely operated vehicle used to collect data about water salinity and temperature
- Slocum Glider – a remotely operated vehicle with functions similar to the Spray Glider
- CAMPER – a vehicle pulled by a ship to collect samples from the Arctic Ocean floor
- Seasoar – a submarine pulled by a ship
- TowCam – a submarine with cameras that is pulled along the ocean floor to take pictures
- Video Plankton Recorder – a submarine with tiny cameras that is pulled by a ship to record videos of plankton
- Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) – an autonomous underwater vehicle