Climate change

A two-week expedition to tag blue whales in New Zealand waters for the first time, almost came up empty due to warmer sea temperatures causing the animals to change their behaviour.

Rapid warming of the ocean near Tasmania may provide a good indication of how the water around New Zealand will change as the planet warms, say NIWA scientists.

Does climate change affect the position of the Subtropical Front around New Zealand?

New Zealand winters are a month shorter than they were 80 years ago, NIWA scientists say.“This is a consequence of rising temperatures around the globe, and such trends in colder temperatures and frosts will influence the life cycle of plants and animals” - Dr Brett Mullan.

A dramatic change in sea ice this year is likely to hamper a NIWA-led research project aiming to better understand how ice shelves will melt as the ocean warms.

A decade of scientific research into how ocean acidification is affecting New Zealand waters has led to far greater understanding of the vulnerability of our marine ecosystems, according to a newly published review.

The Deep South National Science Challenge is one of New Zealand’s most audacious collaborative projects in recent times.

Pioneering NIWA scientists are returning to the cold continent in October, this time to focus on the seabed.

Tropical cyclones forming in the south-west Pacific are becoming less frequent but those that do form are likely to be more severe.

The construction of improved climate information and services in Vanuatu has posed unique logistical challenges.

The most commonly grown variety of kiwifruit around Te Puke will not be commercially viable in the area by the end of the century, say scientists.

Sitting at the surface of Taylor Glacier in Antarctica, are layers of ice more than 10,000 years old. And trapped inside those layers are bubbles of ancient air – like tiny time capsules - able to tell scientists a story about what the world used to be like and how humans have changed it.