WHOI discovers the oldest known whale recordings, dating to 1949
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Published: 10 February 2026
WHOI researchers identified the earliest known preserved whale recording: a humpback whale song captured on March 7, 1949, near Bermuda, predating previously known recordings by over a decade.
Keywords: marine mammals, whale acoustics, humpback whales, bioacoustics, underwater sound, historical audio, ocean recording
NOC researchers gain insight into Greenland's changing fjords
National Oceanography Centre
Published: 20 February 2026
NOC researchers studied three Greenland fjords to assess how glacial meltwater affects dissolved organic carbon and phytoplankton, finding distinct differences between marine-terminating and land-terminating glacier fjords.
Keywords: Greenland fjords, glacial meltwater, dissolved organic carbon, phytoplankton, Arctic oceanography, biogeochemistry
New abyssal fishing worm discovered
National Oceanography Centre
Published: 27 January 2026
Scientists described a new deep-sea worm species, Melinnopsis nathanieli, at nearly 5,000m depth in the NE Atlantic. The worm uses a unique fishing behavior, extending tentacles to capture food in the dark abyss.
Keywords: deep-sea biology, marine biodiversity, polychaete worms, Porcupine Abyssal Plain, species discovery, abyssal ocean, benthic ecology
