News

Areas deemed hotspots have expanded significantly during the past week in the North Island, while in the South Island the previous hotspot encompassing Nelson and nearby portions of Tasman has continued to strengthen during the past week.

The water in the New Zealand region is significantly warmer than it was 30 years ago, and all indications are the warming trend will continue, says a NIWA scientist.

The previous hotspot in the Far North has expanded in size during the past week, now encompassing much of the eastern Far North and the Aupouri Peninsula. A hotspot remains in place across Nelson and nearby portions of Tasman, but no other South Island hotspots are in effect at this time.

As a young child growing up on an Irish farm, one of Eimear Egan’s chores was to regularly clean out the well from where her family drew its drinking water. In the well lived a large eel that, no matter how many times it was shifted, just kept coming back.

A NIWA-led team of marine ecologists are using seal-mounted cameras to get a first-hand view into the behaviour and movements of Weddell seals under the Antarctic ice.

The driest soils across the North Island compared to normal for this time of the year are found in an area stretching from coastal Manawatu-Whanganui northeast to Taupo. The driest soils across the South Island compared to normal for this time of the year are found in far southern Westland District. A small hotspot has emerged in Nelson in the past week.

All previous hotspots in the North Island dissipated this past week due to the heavy rainfall. Substantial rainfall in the past week caused the small hotspot in northwestern Marlborough to dissipate, and no other hotspots are currently in place in the South Island.