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Read about the important science being undertaken at NIWA, and how it affects New Zealanders. 

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NIWA scientists are working at the cutting edge of earthquake research, developing new ways to interpret the history of undersea earthquakes occurring on major faultlines around New Zealand. This work will help scientists determine the likelihood of damaging earthquakes from underwater faults close to the coast.

Over two hundred hopeful school students will showcase their science talent at the NIWA Bay of Plenty Regional Science & Technology Fair this week.

NIWA’s Sustainable Aquaculture project was recently awarded six years of research funding by the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology to help grow New Zealand aquaculture in an environmentally sustainable way.

NIWA is looking at the long-term effects of motorways and wood smoke on air quality. Scientists are assessing the impacts of Auckland’s southern motorway on air quality in a surrounding neighbourhood. They are doing this to understand more about the health effects of air pollution.

NIWA has recently tested our cultured hapuku on a selection of high profile chefs as part of our development of new high value species for the New Zealand aquaculture industry. The fish was highly praised for its taste and versatility of use and shows potential to grace fine dining establishments in North America, Europe and Asia.

The recreational scallop season opens today for the Auckland and Kermadec Fishery Management Area, and NIWA scientists are calling for help from scallop fishers to return tagged scallops.

‘Whitebait’ tagged as part of a unique experiment have turned up. Earlier this year the giant kōkopu released into the Nukumea Stream in Orewa had disappeared, but when scientists returned in June the fish were back!

Scientists returned to the Nukumea Stream in Orewa in June, to investigate the trial release of giant kōkopu and found that they were back!

The aptly named ‘Rumble III’ undersea volcano on the Kermadec Ridge, 200 km northeast of Auckland, has dropped in height by 120 metres in the last couple of years, pioneering research by NIWA has shown.

Hundreds of budding scientists from the Waikato will display projects covering all areas of science and technology in Hamilton next week.

Hundreds of budding scientists from Auckland will display projects covering all areas of science and technology next week.

They are silent, produce no emissions when operating and create electricity - they are photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. NIWA Nelson has just installed 56 Jiawei 185W solar modules onto its rooftop to generate electricity.

The 2010 winner of the prestigious New Zealand Marine Science Award is NIWA principal scientist, Dr Simon Thrush, in recognition of his enormous contribution to estuarine and coastal studies not only in New Zealand but internationally.

NIWA scientists have captured never seen before footage of schools of orange roughy swimming above a seamount nearly a kilometre below the ocean surface.

Moored video cameras were used to film the orange roughy swimming above a seamount called “Morgue”, located on the northern Chatham Rise, about 500 kilometres east of New Zealand. The seamount rises from a depth of 1250 metres to a peak of 890 metres.

“Morgue” is one of 19 seamounts around New Zealand which were closed to all fishing in May 2001 under a Seamounts Management Strategy.

A two‑year ocean and coastal survey project in the Bay of Islands is now complete, Land Information New Zealand announced today.

A mysterious fish ‘language’ is being uncovered at a New Zealand marine reserve, leading to startling hypotheses about fish communication.
NZ Marine Sciences Society conference on the latest in marine research.

New Zealand science is taking a global lead in assessing techniques for the mitigation of pastoral greenhouse gas emissions.

How fast is the earth’s climate changing and where do greenhouse gases go? A world expert in the use of satellites to study climate change is in Wellington this week to deliver a seminar. Dr David Crisp is a man with a mission. He is the principal investigator of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) mission at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

What is known about life in the ocean? Even though it’s the biggest habitat on the planet, most of the ocean remains unexplored biologically. So what do we know? And how does New Zealand’s biodiversity compare with the rest of the world?

A New Zealand sponge has been selected for the prestigious international Top 10 species of the year. Each year, an international Top 10 New Species selection committee selects the 10 most notable new species described from around the world.

NIWA scientists say concentrations of ozone high in the atmosphere are projected to increase.

This is good news for the ozone hole over the South Pole.  However, modelling shows that, by the year 2100, ozone in the lower atmosphere could actually be a problem for New Zealand and for much of the Southern Hemisphere.

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