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Ocean holds clues to climate change

25 May 2001

For many of us, the temperature of the ocean simply determines whether or not we go for a quick dip or opt for lazing on the beach instead.

NIWA Australia Pty Ltd opens in Brisbane

27 April 2001

NIWA Australia Pty Ltd, established in Brisbane, Queensland, commenced trading on 1 February 2001. The official launch took place on 26 April at NIWA Australia’s office premises at 527 Gregory Terrace, Bowen Hills.

Dinosaur technology keeps track of fish

27 March 2001

The same technique used to create the frighteningly life-like dinosaurs in the BBC documentary 'Walking with Dinosaurs' is now being used to help monitor New Zealand’s fish populations.

The minister and the packhorse

23 February 2001

Pete Hodgson, the Minister of Research, Science and Technology, will come face to face with a couple of giant packhorse lobsters in Wellington on Friday.

NIWA scientist elected official of global oceanic research group

29 November 2000

Dr Julie Hall, of NIWA Hamilton, has been elected secretary of the international committee of the Washington DC-based Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (SCOR).

Different patterns for tropical cyclones in the Pacific

27 November 2000

The chances of a tropical cyclone affecting the Melanesian countries from southern Papua New Guinea to New Caledonia are higher than usual this cyclone season, according to climate scientist Dr Jim Renwick of the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Iron makes the southern ocean bloom

12 October 2000

In February 1999, New Zealand scientists led an international research expedition to the remote Southern Ocean,to artificially initiate an algal bloom by adding dissolved iron to the sea. The results of this expedition are published today in a series of papers in the prestigious scientific journal Nature.

Average cyclone risk for New Zealand this summer

2 October 2000

The chances of a remnant tropical cyclone crossing northern New Zealand bringing high winds and heavy rainfall are about average this season, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) says.

Record low ozone at Scott Base

2 October 2000

NIWA measurements of atmospheric ozone above Arrival Heights, near Scott Base in Antarctica, have reached the lowest values recorded. On September 30 the ozone level recorded there was 124 Dobson Units (DU) which is a new record low measurement for the site.

Toxic algae in Wellington harbour

12 September 2000

The toxic algal species that has caused the current outbreak on the west coast of the North Island has finally been detected in Wellington Harbour.

Glaciers reveal southern alps climate change

28 March 2000

An annual monitoring flight over 48 Southern Alps glaciers has revealed that the glaciers’ summer snow lines are the highest they have been for two decades.

Senior NIWA Climate Scientist Dr Jim Salinger and glaciologist Trevor Chinn said today this was the third year in a row where the glaciers had lost ice mass, suggesting that in 1998 the Southern Alps climate abruptly shifted.

New Zealand and french scientists collaborate to investigate faults in sediments off Wanganui

28 March 2000

French and New Zealand scientists are examining sediments deposited over the last two million years in the offshore Wanganui Basin.

The French scientists are from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the University of Rennes, and they are working with geologists and geophysicists from NIWA (the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research).

Their aim is to study the most recently active submarine faults in the basin and the influence of sea-level changes on the sequence in which the sediment was deposited.

Climate science certainties increase

18 February 2000

Scientific understanding of climate change has made significant progress in the past five years, leading climate scientists said in Auckland today.

Climate report on track for 2001

17 February 2000

This week, 120 of the world’s leading climate scientists, who are meeting in Auckland, have managed to work through 700 pages of detailed comments about their 750-page draft report which assesses the latest scientific knowledge of global warming and climate change.

NIWA buoy damaged in midnight incident

1 February 2000

The NIWA meteorological buoy collecting wave and weather data in the Hauraki Gulf was put out of action between midnight and 1a.m. today. Mr Gavin Fisher, Auckland Regional Manager of NIWA, said transmission from the highly sophisticated buoy stopped soon after midnight.

1999 warm globally and regionally at the end of the millennium

21 January 2000

The earth’s surface air temperature in 1999 was the fifth warmest in the record of observations stretching back to 1860.

International scientists focus on global warming and climate change

19 January 2000

More than a hundred of the world’s top climate scientists are meeting in Auckland next month to prepare their latest United Nations report on global warming and climate change.

First to see the light?

16 December 1999

Tangaroa on station for new millenium dawn

NIWA strengthens executive structure - in line with strategic growth plans

2 December 1999

NIWA (the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Limited) announced today a restructuring of its senior executive team in line with strategic growth plans.

Earthquake assessment in the Bay of Plenty

10 November 1999

NIWA scientists are discovering geological faults beneath the seabed in the volcanic coastal region of the Bay of Plenty.

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