Greenhouse and trace gases

Ocean acidification is the name given to the lowering of pH of the oceans as a result of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is a warming of the earth's surface and lower atmosphere caused by substances which let the sun's energy through to the ground but impede the passage of energy from the earth back into space.

NIWA makes available and regularly updates results from several greenhouse gas measurement projects.

Climate data and common terms explaining the causes and effects of climate change.

NIWA makes a range of trace gas data freely available on our FTP site.

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is measured continuously at Baring Head, providing the longest running record of this type in the Southern hemisphere.

Methane (CH4) is the second most important greenhouse gas after CO2 that is produced by human activities.

A breakthrough in understanding about the causes of climate change has today been published online in the prestigious international journal Science.

The World Meteorological Organisation Congress has confirmed NIWA's Lauder atmospheric research station as one of Earth's leading providers of upper-air data critical for measuring climate change.

Now back on dry land, Voyage Leader Richard O'Driscoll reflects on the final days of RV Tangaroa's 2015 Antarctica expedition.

In a small green laboratory perched on the rocky volcanic southern peninsula of Ross Island, Antarctica, there’s a space waiting for a new shiny, hi-tech Christmas present.

Carbon monoxide (CO) plays a key role in atmospheric chemistry because it is the largest sink for hydroxyl radical (OH). OH is often called the 'detergent' of the atmosphere because it destroys many harmful pollutants.