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Show Your Support for Sea Grant

By Stephanie Murphy | January 27, 2026 | Comments Off on Show Your Support for Sea Grant

Add your name to our list of supporters! Last year, the Massachusetts Sea Grant programs invited residents to add their names to a sign-on letter urging Congress to maintain strong support for Sea Grant. To date, over 600 constituents-from shellfish growers in Wellfleet to science teachers in Worcester-have already answered the call. Their message is…

Post 4: Summary of First Deployment

By Stephanie Murphy | December 19, 2025 | Comments Off on Post 4: Summary of First Deployment

We are officially done tracking all of the drifters from our first release back in October! The remaining two drifters (Drifter #1 made by Athvika and Drifter #4 made by Maddie) continued their paths out into the Atlantic up until December 1st when, due to the limited GPS tracking time paid for each drifter, we…

Flushing Out Answers: Scientists Investigate Smarter Septic Systems for Cape Cod

By Stephanie Murphy | December 1, 2025 | Comments Off on Flushing Out Answers: Scientists Investigate Smarter Septic Systems for Cape Cod

Ever wonder where your shampoo goes after it swirls down the drain? Spoiler alert: if you live on Cape Cod, the answer could be your backyard-and your favorite swimming spot. One-third of all homes in Massachusetts rely on septic systems rather than sewers to dispose of wastewater, and on Cape Cod that number is much…

O-STEAM Drifters Assist Cape Cod Bay Circulation Study

By Stephanie Murphy | November 25, 2025 | Comments Off on O-STEAM Drifters Assist Cape Cod Bay Circulation Study

This October, four ocean drifters made by O-STEAM fellows were launched into Cape Cod Bay. The GPS transmitters on the drifters are tracking their paths in and around the Bay. As a part of this summer’s O-STEAM fellowship program, Margaret Gregory, a fifth year PhD candidate in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program, spent a day with…

The Science Behind Shifting Sands

By Stephanie Murphy | November 25, 2025 | Comments Off on The Science Behind Shifting Sands

“In my opinion, the beach is a living breathing thing. It changes every day, with every wave. When the wind blows, the beach changes.” That’s what WHOI Sea Grant coastal processes specialist Bryan McCormack told the more than 185 people who filled the auditorium for the 2025 State of Wellfleet Harbor Conference on November 1.…

Q&A with Knauss Fellow Lina Taenzer

By Stephanie Murphy | November 25, 2025 | Comments Off on Q&A with Knauss Fellow Lina Taenzer

WHOI Sea Grant recently caught up with 2025 Knauss Fellow Lina Taenzer for a short interview.  Dive into the Q&A to hear about her life in D.C. and her experiences at NOAA’s Global Ocean Monitoring and Observation office. 

Help Track a Surprising New Arrival on Our Shores

By Stephanie Murphy | November 24, 2025 | Comments Off on Help Track a Surprising New Arrival on Our Shores

For WHOI Sea Grant/Cape Cod Cooperative Extension’s marine team, it started with a text message back in the spring of 2023:  “Any idea what this strange clam is?” And from there a story has begun to unfold. Spotted by commercial harvesters in Chatham and Wellfleet, Manila Clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) had not been documented in New…

Research Coordinator Jennie Rheuban Moves to New Role at WHOI

By Stephanie Murphy | November 20, 2025 | Comments Off on Research Coordinator Jennie Rheuban Moves to New Role at WHOI

In October, WHOI Sea Grant bid farewell to our research coordinator Jennie Rheuban. Jennie joined Sea Grant in 2019 as the program’s first research coordinator, where she helped shape the program’s research agenda, administered our biennial call for proposals, and worked closely with scientists to bring their work to those that will benefit from it.…

Post 3: First Drifter Recoveries

By Stephanie Murphy | November 17, 2025 | Comments Off on Post 3: First Drifter Recoveries

We’ve had an exciting few weeks tracking our drifters! As of November 12 two drifters – yellow “Sofia” and teal “Sophia” – have reached shore! Keep reading to find out where they came ashore and who found them. The other two – purple “Maddie” and red “Athvika” – are still drifting but have exited Cape…

Post 2: Our First Deployment

By Stephanie Murphy | October 27, 2025 | Comments Off on Post 2: Our First Deployment

We released our first set of four drifters into Cape Cod Bay on Friday (10/24/2025)! We had planned to deploy them a few days earlier, but weather conditions prevented us from going out. We finally had a window on Friday – which, unfortunately, was a day I was unable to join. So, thank you to…