Atmospheric analysis

Detecting and quantifying methane emissions by satellite

Introduced pests and diseases can harm the health of Aotearoa New Zealand's marine ecosystems, our seafood industry, and the social and cultural benefits that we derive from the sea.

Decisions about how we adapt to sea-level rise need to be based on information about our exposure to coastal flooding, both now and in the future after a period of rising sea levels.

NIWA is supporting the advancement of New Zealand's growing aquaculture sector through the development of high value products of verifiable quality and sustainability.

NIWA is developing a national river flow forecasting tool for New Zealand that aims to support and strengthen our planning for and response to extreme rainfall events.

NIWA's fisheries research sits within three research programmes.

NIWA is developing and applying standardised stock monitoring and assessment methodologies for New Zealand's deepwater, inshore, and freshwater fisheries. This will enable better monitoring and prediction of changes in fish population biology, fish stock biomass, and size and age composition.

Storm-tide red alerts are the highest high tide (also known as king tides) dates that Emergency Managers and Coastal Hazard Managers should write in their diaries and keep an eye on adverse weather (low barometric pressure, onshore winds), river levels and sea conditions (waves and swell). This page shows the 2023 dates of the highest high-tide "red alert" dates, and the lowest high-tide dates.

NIWA researchers are developing a physics-informed and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven method to vastly reduce the computer power needed to provide accurate climate change projections.

The development of updated national climate projections for Aotearoa New Zealand is underway and expected to be completed in 2024.

Funded by the Ministry of Health, NIWA air quality researchers are carrying out research to understand ventilation behaviour and examine how well spaces used by our most vulnerable populations are, and could be, ventilated.

The My Coastal Futures game was developed to help people understand climate change impacts and start thinking about how they might adapt.