Climate change

While we know that glaciers are sensitive to changes in their local climate, our understanding of exactly how mountain glaciers will respond to climate change is incomplete.

NIWA is using serious games to look at problems holistically, support understanding and give a framework for climate change adaptation decision-making.

Two reports released today by NIWA and the Deep South National Science Challenge reveal new information about how many New Zealanders, how many buildings and how much infrastructure could be affected by extreme river and coastal flooding from storms and sea-level rise.

Daily CO2 measurements from NIWA’s atmospheric monitoring station at Baring Head.

Understanding how the Antarctic oceans work is vital to predicting the world’s future climate and the implications of climate change for humankind and the planet.

The on-going rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) that is fuelling climate change is also driving significant changes in the waters off our coasts.

NIWA is bringing together decision makers and influencers from across New Zealand this month to shape the science we need to respond to our changing climate.

Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher is looking to turn the internationally accepted science of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions upside down – and the rest of the world is watching closely.

Susan Pepperell reports on a region trying to cope with a changing climate

Thermal images taken by a NIWA scientist during this year’s aerial survey of South Island glaciers have revealed in extraordinary detail how heat in the surrounding landscape is affecting the ice.

Scientists have taken a step closer to predicting marine heatwaves with new NIWA-led research finding a link between their formation and the length of time sea temperatures are warmer than normal.^.

Part of the world’s largest ice shelf is melting 10 times faster than the overall average and solar-heated waters beneath the ice shelf are to blame, NIWA research has found.