New Coral Dating Method Hints at Possible Future Sea-Level Changes
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Published: 11 September 2011
WHOI researchers found that sea levels fluctuated by 4–6 meters during the Last Interglacial period (~120,000 years ago), suggesting potential ice sheet instability with current warming. Improved coral dating reveals dynamic past sea-level changes.
Keywords: Sea-level rise, Last Interglacial, coral reef dating, ice sheet instability, WHOI, uranium-thorium dating, fossil reefs
Fukushima Site Still Leaking After Five Years, Research Shows
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Published: 7 March 2016
Ken Buesseler of WHOI leads efforts to monitor Fukushima-related ocean radioactivity. While cesium and strontium levels off Japan remain elevated, U.S. West Coast waters show only trace cesium. Continued leaks from Fukushima raise long-term concerns.
Keywords: radioactive isotopes, Our Radioactive Ocean, Pacific Ocean, marine radiochemistry, seafood safety, nuclear accident
Can animals thrive without oxygen?
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Published: 28 January 2018
A WHOI-led study challenges claims that multicellular animals live in permanently anoxic seafloor brine pools. Researchers found no evidence of living metazoans in the deepest zones, suggesting earlier findings may have mistaken bacteria for living animals.
Keywords: Mediterranean Sea, metazoans, extremophiles, deep sea, marine biology, BMC Biology, microbial colonization
