Through an Ice Sheet, Darkly

Massachusetts. Constructed in 1969, it has supported more than a half century of seagoing operations at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Since construction, relative sea level in Woods Hole has risen by 0.19 m, as measured by a tide gauge on the Iselin Dock. As the current facility reaches the end of its design life, and the Institution plans for a new marine research complex enabling future ocean science, engineering, and education, one question looms largest: how high should the new dock structure and bulkhead be elevated to account for future sea-level rise?