Geological hazards

Dog Island levels

The New Zealand Palaeotsunami Database (Database) brings together all known information about tsunamis that occurred prior to written records.

The scientific records of palaeotsunamis to have affected New Zealand shores can now be accessed in a new one-stop information shop.

The sounds of whales and dolphins rarely seen in New Zealand waters have been recorded by a NIWA scientist in a pioneering underwater sound project.

Huge mudslides from November’s earthquakes have wiped out all organisms living in the seabed of the Kaikōura Canyon.

NIWA scientists on board RV Ikatere have been surveying the coastal area around Kaikoura for the first time since November's magnitude 7.8 earthquake.

NIWA scientists scan Lake Tekapo with the aim of finding out if submarine landslides can create a tsunami hazard for the Lake Tekapo township and hydropower infrastructure.

We are using modern techniques to map seafloor surrounding Kapiti Island, an area of significant cultural and environmental value to New Zealand.