Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute Archives

Cape Cod scientists want to dump 60,000+ gallons of sodium hydroxide into ocean in climate change experiment

July 16, 2024 — Environmentalists and fishermen are pushing back against a plan from a group of scientists who want to dump more than 60,000 gallons of sodium hydroxide, more commonly known as lye, into the ocean off Cape Cod to gain an understanding of how to slow climate change.

Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute in Falmouth are seeking a federal permit for their project, which would start sometime this summer with a field trial program that would disperse roughly 6,600 gallons 10 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

Woods Hole says there are two central goals to its so-called LOC-NESS project, short for “Locking away Ocean Carbon in the Northeast Shelf and Slope.”

The first is to “understand potential environmental impacts of using ocean alkalinity enhancement to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.” The other is to “verify and report the amount of carbon dioxide this method might realistically remove if deployed at scale.”

“While emission reductions are key to minimizing human impact on Earth’s climate, it has become clear in recent years that drastic emission reductions must be supplemented by efforts to actively remove existing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere,” Woods Hole scientists wrote in their application to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Environmentalists and fishermen are not taking kindly to the proposed experiment which would continue next summer at a more drastic scale of roughly 60,000 gallons in the waters northeast of Provincetown, in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the full article at the Boston Herald

‘Great news’: 17 North Atlantic right whale calves spotted so far this season

February 6, 2024 — Marine wildlife officials on Monday shared promising news about the number of North Atlantic right whales born this season, as they continue to monitor the number of whales being injured or killed by entanglement and vessel strikes at sea.

The number of North Atlantic right whales born this season has already surpassed that of last year, with 17 new calves spotted with their mothers along the coast from Florida to South Carolina, according to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on Cape Cod.

“While this is great news, the North Atlantic right whale population is still dwindling,” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute officials said in a statement.

Read the full article at Boston 25 News

Spencer Fullerton Baird: Founder of the Woods Hole Laboratory and Fisheries Science

June 18, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Spencer Fullerton Baird was born in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1823. Time spent as a child exploring the countryside with his brother fueled his passion for natural history. In 1838 he met John James Audubon, who gave him part of his bird collection, and encouraged young Baird’s interest in ornithology and collecting specimens.

He attended Dickinson College, receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1840. Baird then enrolled in the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York for a year, but decided he was not cut out for medical practice. He returned to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to continue his studies at Dickinson College. He received a master’s degree in 1843 and an honorary doctor of physical science degree in 1856

Baird was offered a teaching position at the college in 1845 as a professor of natural history. Popular with students for taking them into the field to study nature, he became chair of both the natural history and chemistry departments in 1848. He also served as librarian and curator of the college’s natural history collections.

Read the full release here

Massachusetts waters remain closed to lobstermen

May 6, 2021 — The state Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding lobstermen and other trap fishermen that state waters north and east of Cape Cod remain closed to all commercial harvesting because of the continued presence of North Atlantic right whales.

DMF and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies continue to fly aerial survey flights to gauge the scale of right whale presence in state waters as the imperiled stock continues its northward feeding migration.

The agency said its most recent flight, on April 28, 2021, observed 86 right whales in the waters of northern Cape Cod Bay, southern Massachusetts Bay, and Stellwagen Bank, a fishing ground located about 15 miles southeast of Gloucester to about six miles north of Provincetown.

“Additional surveillance flights are anticipated to occur over the next several days,” DMF stated. “DMF will reevaluate the status of this closure based on the presence or absence of whales. Should observational data demonstrate right whales have migrated out of Massachusetts waters, DMF may lift the trap gear closure prior to May 15.”

Also, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Slocum underwater glider on Sunday acoustically detected the presence of North Atlantic right whales north of Cape Cod and NOAA Fisheries on Monday instituted a voluntary right whale slow zone north of Cape Cod until May 17.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Extended: Slow Speed Zone Southeast of New York City to Protect Right Whales

December 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is extending a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone) southeast of New York City, New York.

This Slow Zone was in already in effect when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy again detected right whales in the New York Bight on December 9.

Mariners, please go around this area or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

The New York Bight Slow Zone is in effect through December 24 for waters bounded by:

40 41 N
40 01 N
073 03 W
073 55 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Reinstated: Slow Speed Zone Southeast of Atlantic City to Protect Right Whales

December 7, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is reinstating a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey

This Slow Zone was in effect November 20-December 5, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales southeast of Atlantic City. The buoy detected right whales again on December 7.

Mariners, please go around this area or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

Southeast of Atlantic City Slow Zone is in effect through December 22 for waters bounded by:

39 25 N
38 44 N
073 44 W
074 36 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Extended: Slow Speed Zone Southeast of New York City to Protect Right Whales

November 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Through December 15

NOAA Fisheries is extending a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of New York City.

This Slow Zone was first triggered on November 17, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales in the New York Bight, New York. The buoy detected right whales again on November 30.

Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

Southeast of New York City Slow Zone is in effect through December 15.

40 41 N
40 01 N
073 03 W
073 55 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones and dynamic management areas currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Slow Speed Zone Southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey to Protect Right Whales

November 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Through December 5

NOAA Fisheries is triggering a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

This Slow Zone was triggered on November 20, 2020, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales in the area.

Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

Southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey

39 25 N
38 44 N
073 44 W
074 36 W

Other Slow Speed Zones

Southeast of New York City Slow Zone is in effect through December 2

40 41 N
40 01 N
073 03 W
073 55 W

South of Nantucket, MA DMA is in effect through November 30

40 59 N
40 23 N
069 05 W
069 52 W

Active Seasonal Management Areas November 1- April 30

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Block Island Sound
Ports of New York/New Jersey
Entrance to the Delaware Bay
(Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington)
Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay
(Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore)
Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC
Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia.

Read the full release here

Studies investigate marine heatwaves, shifting ocean currents

September 22, 2020 — In a paper published September 17 in the Journal of Climate, WHOI oceanographers and collaborators at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel in Germany use a new model to understand how ocean processes affect marine heatwaves at depth off the west coast of Australia. Known as “Ningaloo Niño,” these extreme warming events have caused mass die-offs of marine organisms, coral bleaching, and potentially permanent ecosystem shifts, all of which impact fisheries and the economies that depend on them.

“This area is a hotspot for increasing temperature and extreme events, with drastic impacts on regional marine species,” said lead author Svenja Ryan. “It’s important to understand where in the water column temperature and salinity changes are happening so you can determine how the ecosystem will be impacted.”

For the first time in the Southern Indian Ocean, Ryan and her co-authors, WHOI physical oceanographers Caroline Ummenhofer and Glen Gawarkiewicz, showed that the effects of marine heatwaves extend to 300 meters or more below the surface along the entire west coast of Australia. They found that during La Niña years, the southward-flowing Leeuwin Current becomes stronger and is associated with warm temperature anomalies at greater depths. These conditions were observed during the 2011 marine heatwave that led to the first-recorded coral bleaching at Ningaloo Reef, a World Heritage site, and extensive loss of a nearby kelp forest. During El Niño periods, the temperature and salinity anomalies associated with marine heatwaves are limited to the ocean surface, showing that complex ocean processes play an important role in the depth-extent of extreme events.

Ryan and her colleagues are using a similar modeling approach to study marine heatwaves in the Northwest Atlantic. “The challenge, wherever you go, is that marine heatwaves have so many drivers,” Ryan said. “Understanding different types of events and their associated depth structure is crucial for regional impact assessment and adaptation strategies, as well as for predicting potential changes in a future climate.”

Read the full story at Science Daily

Sea Grant Funds New Technology to Monitor for Harmful Algal Blooms

October 18, 2018 — A new system using next-generation robotic sensors to monitor coastal waters for disease-causing microalgae has been funded by the NOAA Sea Grant Program as part of a national strategic investment in aquaculture.

The PhytO-ARM (Phytoplankton Observing for Automated Real-time Management), under development by a team led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) biologist Mike Brosnahan, will vastly improve our ability to detect harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the toxins they produce and provide aquaculturists, resource managers, and others detailed, real-time information about the bloom using a web-based, user-friendly dashboard.

“Clams and oysters grown in our coastal waters depend on phytoplankton as an important food source, yet some phytoplankton produce toxins, which accumulate in shellfish and pose a threat to humans and other animals that consume them,” says Brosnahan. “The information the system provides is very powerful and holds great potential for protecting human health and maximizing aquaculture operations.”

The project’s intent is to streamline the system so that it can be adapted for a range of uses, including by farmers to protect and maximize their shellfish yields; resource managers anticipating and responding to outbreaks to protect human health, and scientists working to better understand HAB dynamics in our changing environment.

In its most sophisticated form, the PhytO-ARM system couples two powerful sensors: the Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB), which continuously records microscope images of phytoplankton and identifies them in real time; and a new high capacity Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), a “molecular lab in a can” that can positively identify species and toxins. “This system will provide rapid biotoxin measurements, alerting managers to the presence of biotoxins that cause severe, even fatal reactions in humans,” says Brosnahan.

A smaller scale version of the system couples the IFCB with a profiling conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) probe to provide rich pictures of the distribution of phytoplankton around shellfish beds, which can inform and trigger management actions.

“Many harmful algal bloom species migrate vertically through the water column,” says Brosnahan. “By combining these sensors we can focus sampling on where cells are most abundant. Knowledge of the vertical distribution of cells may also enable farmers to tweak nursery operations to limit the exposure of juvenile animals to harmful algae.”

Another powerful aspect of the system is in monitoring not only the organisms that are known to have caused problems for many decades, but also for detecting species that are nascent problems for the aquaculture industry. New England has a well-established biotoxin problem with Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning caused by the phytoplankton Alexandrium. But the region is experiencing emergent problems with biotoxins from Pseudo-nitzschia and Dinophysis, both of which have caused shellfish bed closures in recent years. With real-time data from PhytO-ARM sensors, resource managers can detect and monitor potentially toxic phytoplankton cells that are normally not part of their monitoring program.

Brosnahan has first-hand experience with this. In 2015, working with a proto-type PhytO-ARM system in Nauset Marsh on Cape Cod, Brosnahan and his team spotted some unusual cells. “We had finished with our work with the Alexandrium bloom and our IFCB was showing relatively high numbers of Dinophysis acuminata – a dinoflagellate that causes diarrhetic shellfish poisoning or DSP,” he says. “We were able to continue monitoring the development of the Dinophysis bloom throughout the summer and alerted the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries and collaborators at FDA to a potential hazard, which ultimately resulted in the first closure of a shellfish bed due to DSP in the northeast U.S.”

Read the full story at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute