Often mistaken for a type of jellyfish, the beautiful-but-poisonous Portuguese man-of-war is actually a siphonophore! These "colonial organisms" are made up of genetically identical, highly specialized parts called zooids that work together for the good of the whole—and can pack a powerful punch!

Take a deep dive into the history and legacy of the nation’s deepest-diving crewed submersible, #Alvin. 📲Hear from Alvin pilots and researchers past and present, and dive deep into discovery with Yankee Magazine: go.whoi.edu/yankee-sub #DeepSeaHistory #DeepSeaDiscovery

⁠🐬 #WHOI biologist Laela Sayigh has spent decades cataloging dolphins' signature whistles, which dolphins identify each other, much like human names! ⁠ ⁠ 📲 Dive into dolphin communication—read or listen to the @wcai-npr.bsky.social story: go.whoi.edu/cai-dolphin

Heading to @cop30brazil.bsky.social next week? Be sure to stop by the #OceanPavilion for a deep dive into ocean-based climate solutions! Get the full programming schedule online or on Ocean Pavilion app! https://oceanpavilion-cop.org/sessions/

🌋Did you know that there's more volcanic activity under the waves than on land? Find out how underwater explosions impact our planet at the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub, a free resource that's perfect for educators, students, and the ocean-curious: go.whoi.edu/volcano 📸 via ROV Jason 2009 © #WHOI

A salp in the Southern Ocean carries the next generation, seen here as the white embryo on the lower left. Its transparent, inch-long (2.2 cm) body also reveals white muscle bands and brownish guts.

🐳 Ship strikes kill an estimated 10,000 marine mammals around the world each year. To help mariners become better stewards of the sea, WHOI researchers are developing breakthrough technologies like thermal imaging and acoustic buoys. 📲Go behind the scenes of innovation: go.whoi.edu/whale-aware

Last week, #WHOI welcomed ten journalists from @ksjatmit.bsky.social! While at #WHOI, they heard from ocean experts about pollutants and invasive species, and got a close-up look at the submersible HOV Alvin! Learn more about this group of scholars: go.whoi.edu/knight-fellows

As those of us in the northern hemisphere adjust to the end of daylight savings, keep in mind that a majority of the ocean is eternally pitch black—and life thrives even in ocean trenches 36,000 feet deep! ⁠🔦 ⁠ 🤿 Explore the #oceanzones: go.whoi.edu/oz

Why do they call it Planet Earth, when it's so clearly Planet Ocean? 🌏🌍🌎 Start conversations with this limited-edition #ItsAnOceanWorld T-shirt, featuring the iconic Spilhaus projection—a map that changes the way we see our world. 👉Claim yours: explore.whoi.edu/campaign

Our work is grounded in marine science and exploration, but we're making waves far beyond the ocean surface. 🌊 👉🏽Find out how #WHOI research drives breakthroughs, from human health and infrastructure design to emergency response and national security: go.whoi.edu/breakthroughs-below-the-surface

💀 Alvin pilot Bruce Strickrott recently brought this creepy foam skull on a research dive to 2500 m (8200 ft). The result? A shrunken head that’s about half of its original size! 👻 📲Learn how ocean robots are built to withstand deep sea pressure: whoi.edu/how-do-ocean-robots-take-the-pressure

Wishing you a deep-sea Halloween! 🎃 It may be spooky season, but really, the only thing scary about the deep sea is how little we have explored it. We’ve figured out the tricks on how to get down there, now it’s time to find the treats!

✅❌ Fact or Fiction: Are shark attacks on the rise? This year marks the 50th anniversary of the movie Jaws. But does the movie’s tale of an aggressive human-eating shark reflect reality? Find out through the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub: go.whoi.edu/shark

“Redwing”, an ocean robot designed by Teledyne and Rutgers, set off to become the first autonomous vehicle to circumnavigate the globe. Early versions of glider tech were developed by WHOI scientists, including Doug Webb, who went on to found Teledyne. Learn more from @wbur.org: go.whoi.edu/wbur

As #HurricaneMelissa makes landfall in Jamaica, our hearts are with the people in the Cat 5 storm's path.💔 WHOI #Argo floats track ocean temps & salinity, which help meteorologists forecast storm direction & intensity. Recent profiles indicate an immense pool of warm water fueling the hurricane.

As we gear up for @cop30brazil.bsky.social next month, we’d like to announce the Belém Ocean Declaration, which outlines concrete steps to safeguard the ocean and the communities that depend on it. oceanpavilion-cop.org/belem-ocean-declaration #ForOurBluePlanet #OceanPavilion #COP30

Are you curious about graduate studies in ocean science or engineering? Find out if the #MIT_WHOI Joint Program is right for you at our virtual info session October 28 at 12pm (EST)! 🧑🏽‍🎓👩🏻‍🔬🤖 📲Get the details and register:mit.whoi.edu/admissions/info-sessions

🌊 Throughout history, the ocean has inspired people to explore and understand its mysteries. WHOI researchers are continuing that legacy, addressing some of our generation’s most pressing problems through breakthrough science and technology. 👉Explore with us: go.whoi.edu/breakthroughs

Body snatchers are real! They just happen to be much, much smaller than the movies… 👻🦀 Check out the biological arms race between a parasitic barnacle & its host, the humble mudcrab, with #WHOI biologist Carolyn Tepolt: go.whoi.edu/bodysnatchers

Recent research shows that organisms are using WWII ammunition as habitat—even more than the surrounding seabed! #WHOI biologist Jesús Pineda, who wasn’t involved in the study, says the results could help measure their impact on the food web. Learn more from @forbes.com: go.whoi.edu/forbes-baltic

An ominous milestone that scientists consider a planetary #tippingpoint has been reached. Ocean #acidification, a result of excess carbon dioxide absorbed in seawater, has surpassed safe levels in many #coralreef ecosystems. 📲Learn more from @grist.org:go.whoi.edu/grist-acidification

We're happy to announce the #OceanPavilion will again champion the ocean’s role in climate action at @cop30brazil.bsky.social! With @scrippsocean.bsky.social +partners, we welcome BlueZone participants to come strategize ocean science solutions to address the climate crisis. #ForOurBluePlanet

Throwback to that time when we lit up the United Nations in New York with a visitor from the ocean twilight zone! ⁠ This 2021 Climate Week projection featured a siphonophore—a colony of specialized marine organisms that work together to enhance group survival. Learn more: twilightzone.whoi.edu

🤔What if we’ve been looking at our world the wrong way? Instead of continents separated by cold, wet emptiness, what if we saw that land as merely floating on a life-giving expanse of opportunity? 🌊Trade your land-based perspective for new possibilities beneath the waves:go.whoi.edu/reimagine

Photographs taken by blackwater divers are helping scientists spot behaviors never seen before. #WHOI’s Simon Thorrold says this innovative method for observing marine life makes it possible to study tiny planktonic species. See more at @nytimes.com: go.whoi.edu/nyt-fish

For 95 years, WHOI scientists have boldly explored the ocean’s extremes, asking provocative questions—and building the tools to answer them. Find out how we're keeping our high-risk, high-impact research strong for the next century from @bostonglobe.com: go.whoi.edu/globe-campaign

🎉 Congratulations to Bruce Strickrott, who recently completed his 400th dive as the Pilot in Charge of HOV Alvin! Strickrott joined WHOI in 1996 as an engineer and an Alvin Pilot in Training. Over the past three decades, Strickrott has spent over 3000 hours in Alvin—totaling 125 days underwater!

Are you curious about graduate studies in ocean science or engineering? Find out if the #MIT_WHOI Joint Program is right for you at our virtual info session October 28 at 12pm (EST)! 🧑🏽‍🎓👩🏻‍🔬🤖 📲Get the details and register:mit.whoi.edu/admissions/info-sessions

What was it like on the expedition to discover the #Titanic shipwreck? Find out from one of the lead navigators on Robert Ballard’s team. WHOI oceanographer emeritus Cathy Offinger reflects on her work, 40 years after finding the ill-fated ship Tune in: go.whoi.edu/Titanic40

🌊 Are our fears of sea level rise exaggerated? Scientists have been raising alarms for decades that sea level rise will flood coastal communities, but what evidence is there? Turns out—a lot. 🧐 Learn more through the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub:go.whoi.edu/sealvl

A milestone achievement for the REMUS AUV! WHOI’s Ocean Systems Lab, HII, and the US Navy’s Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport recently completed the first-ever recovery of a REMUS 620 from a submarine torpedo tube during tests. Read the full story: go.whoi.edu/NTMention

🔪🎃 Ready to carve up some Halloween fun? Transform your pumpkin into a creature of the deep with our ocean-inspired stencils! It's easy! Visitwhoi.edu/whoi-halloween-stencils to download and print your template, then get carving! ✨Enjoy the glow!👺

80 years after it went down off Pearl Harbor, oil is still seeping from the USS Arizona. With an estimated 600,000 gallons of oil still on board, #WHOI marine chemist Chris Reddy is taking advantage of real-world conditions to learn from environmental disaster. 📲 Full story:go.whoi.edu/Arizona

#Throwback to just last week, when the nation's deepest-diving crewed submersible ALVIN returned to Woods Hole! 🥳 The sub crossed North America by truck last week while its support ship, R/V Atlantis, undergoes maintenance on the West Coast. They're looking forward to reuniting in June!

During a 2012 research expedition off East Antarctica, WHOI scientists and colleagues collected sea ice data that helped researchers better understand how sea ice forms, melts, and impacts global climate. After a day of field research, the team decided to build igloos— and added a skylight!

🌊 How are marine robots reshaping the way we explore our ocean planet? 🎧 Tune in to @wcai-npr.bsky.social's The Point to find out how marine robots are helping humans better understand, protect, and work within the ocean:go.whoi.edu/cai

For the past five years, WHOI sensory biologist Aran Mooney and his team have been studying the impacts of offshore wind construction noise on the marine environment, including key commercial species like lobster. Find out how this research could help protect marine life:go.whoi.edu/mvtimes

Congratulations to WHOI's @julesdeep.bsky.social, who was recently selected to deliver the prestigious @agu.org Rachel Carson Lecture. The award recognizes women whose work in ocean science is both cutting-edge and deeply relevant to today’s societal & environmental challenges: go.whoi.edu/Huber

Sound travels more efficiently underwater than it does through air, so why does it sound muffled to our ears when we are underwater? Find out through the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub! A free resource exploring ocean knowledge. Learn more: go.whoi.edu/sound 📸 François Baelen/Ocean Image Bank

This #IndigenousPeoplesDay, explore the history of shellfish in Wampanoag culture—and the challenges facing our shared marine resources in the full video series, produced by @Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe members in collaboration w/ @seagrant.whoi.edu: seagrant.whoi.edu/shellfish-sustaining-communities

🐧 Is #Antarctica trying to talk to us? As warming temperatures chip away at the continent’s ice shelves, #WHOI scientists are listening for signs of unstable ice using acoustic data collected by the @awi.de 🔊 Listen in with Oceanus: go.whoi.edu/polarstethoscope

The Mass. Division of Marine Fisheries recently issued an advisory for "low-oxygen zones" in Cape Cod Bay. So why do these hypoxic areas form—and what does it mean for marine life? 🦞 #WHOI senior scientist Malcolm Scully breaks it down with wcai-npr.bsky.social. Listen here: go.whoi.edu/cai-loz

Meet your new favorite sidekick 🧢 The WHOI baseball hat brings together comfort, style, and support for ocean science. Made from 100% cotton and stamped with our iconic seal, it’s the perfect fit for beach days, boat decks, and beyond. Simple, timeless, unmistakably WHOI: go.whoi.edu/WHOIhat

Why does a pigeon-sized bird purposely throw itself into hurricane-force winds? With the help of lightweight GPS trackers, WHOI biologist Francesco Ventura has unlocked the Desertas petrel’s secret to success: cyclones! 📲 Find out what surprised researchers the most from BBC: go.whoi.edu/Petrel

After completing a 3,000 mile cross-country journey by truck, our beloved submersible #Alvin arrived in Woods Hole today! 🎉 For the next 6 months, the nation’s deepest-diving human-occupied vehicle will undergo a complete overhaul—ensuring its spotless safety record continues.

Throwback to 1949, when these scallop fishermen found a mastodon tooth in Georges Bank—and shared it with WHOI scientists! Fossilized mastodon teeth can provide insights into the prehistoric conditions when these animals lived, including their diet, sea levels, and climate.

The Philippines just protected 200 square miles of ocean to safeguard “super reefs” that can withstand heat and bleaching. WHOI’s Anne Cohen says such protected areas not only save existing reefs, but also help new ones develop. 📲 Learn more from insideclimatenews.org: go.whoi.edu/icn-superreef

Are you curious about graduate studies in ocean science or engineering? Find out if the #MIT_WHOI Joint Program is right for you at our virtual info session on Wednesday, October 8 at 6 pm (EST)! 📲Get the details and register: mit.whoi.edu/admissions/info-sessions

🎉 We’re excited to announce the WHOI Ocean Learning Hub! ✨🌊 Explore ocean knowledge, from in-depth articles to bite-sized facts, and peek below the surface into dynamic imagery and in-depth explainer videos 🤩. So start exploring—and let us know what you think! 👇 go.whoi.edu/OLH