Atmospheric analysis

Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have returned from a six-week voyage to Antarctica.

We are happily heading back from a highly successful trip to the frozen continent knowing that the data from this voyage will contribute to a broad body of science critically important to understanding the Ross Sea ecosystem and the impacts of climate change.

A research project co-led by Blue Carbon Services and NIWA will aim to provide New Zealand’s first national estimate of natural kelp-carbon sequestration in the marine environment.

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels are averaging higher in 2022 compared to 2021, atmospheric scientists are warning.

A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing significant soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.

One of our main tasks for this voyage is to better understand the geographic distribution - biogeography - of Antarctic organisms in the western Ross Sea, from the frozen coast out onto the continental shelf at 500m deep.

We have now visited 23 separate sites in these coastal areas, albeit some of them very close together. Every time we visit a new site, we first need to map the seafloor as we are working in unchartered coastal waters.

Traits are defined as the components of organisms that can be measured and have an effect on ecosystem functioning. Examples of traits include the behaviour, life history, morphology, and physiology characteristics

Casal2 is an advanced software package developed by NIWA for modelling the population dynamics of marine species.

Downloadable and printable guides on identification of common freshwater invertebrates found in New Zealand waterways and lakes.

NIWA’s Stream Health Monitoring Assessment Kit (SHMAK) gives land owners, iwi, school and community groups simple, scientifically-sound tools and resources to monitor the ecological health of New Zealand’s streams.

A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent.