SEA & WHOI to Explore Ocean Twilight Zone
January 28, 2019

Top left: Dr. Kerry Whittaker; middle: Dr. Annette Govindarajan; right: Dr. Porter Hoagland.
By Doug Karlson, Director of Communciations
Scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will join this spring’s SEA Semester: Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (MBC) program on a special collaboration to explore the ocean’s mesopelagic or twilight zone, further augmenting one of SEA’s most advanced scientific undergraduate programs.
This collaboration will leverage SEA’s repeat oceanographic voyages through the high seas of the North Atlantic, and will involve SEA Semester students in novel genetic techniques to explore biodiversity in the ocean twilight zone – located 200 to 1000 meters below the surface and described as one of the Earth’s hidden frontiers.
Dr. Kerry Whittaker, SEA assistant professor of oceanography, is chief scientist for the Marine Biodiversity & Conservation program. She will be joined on campus by two members of WHOI’s Ocean Twilight Zone project, Dr. Annette Govindarajan, WHOI research specialist, and Dr. Porter Hoagland, senior research specialist at WHOI’s Marine Policy Center. Hoagland is a visiting professor of ocean and coastal policy at SEA and taught at last year’s MBC program and will sail aboard the SSV Corwith Cramer from Bermuda to New York City. Also on board will be Rene Francolini, WHOI research assistant in Gonvindarjan’s Lab, who will conduct mesopelagic eDNA sampling.
“SEA has sampled extensively in the ocean twilight zone, but there’s still so much to explore,” said Dr. Paul Joyce, dean at SEA. “We’re excited to work with leading scientists from WHOI and to expand our range of offering for our students. This collaboration allows our students to engage in cutting-edge research and analysis, and to contribute meaningfully to our understanding of the mesopelagic zone.”
“I’m also looking forward to introducing a cohort of talented students to our partners at WHOI, and to WHOI’s participation in the MBC Symposium at the culmination of the program,” added Joyce.
Contact: Douglas Karlson, Director of Communications | 508-444-1918 | dkarlson@sea.edu | www.sea.edu
Share This Story
Recent News
Sea Education Association Appoints Dr. John Wigglesworth President
Veteran Educator, Mariner, and SEA Alumnus Takes Helm Woods Hole, MA – Jan. 12, 2023 – Sea Education Association (SEA) has [...]
SEA’s Dr. Kara Lavender Law Shares Insights on Ocean Plastic Pollution
SEA Research Professor of Oceanography Kara Lavender Law shares insights on ocean plastic pollution in two recently published news articles. Plastics [...]
Students Conduct Field Research on Health of Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are vital ocean ecosystems, yet they face many threats caused by human excess. This fall, students enrolled in Caribbean [...]
Students Sail South Pacific to Study Island Cultures, Ecosystems, and Environmental Issues
This fall, a select group of college students is sailing the South Pacific aboard the tall ship ocean research vessel SSV [...]
John Wigglesworth, W-5, Returns to SEA as Interim President
John “Wiggs” Wigglesworth, W-5, has returned to SEA to serve as interim president for a brief period until the presidential search [...]
With Newly Published Research, SEA’s Dr. Jeff Schell Seeks to Unlock Mysteries of Vital North Atlantic Ecosystem
By Douglas Karlson With co-authors and former SEA faculty members Deborah Goodwin and Amy Siuda, SEA Professor of Oceanography and Henry [...]