Oceans

NIWA aims to provide the knowledge needed for the sound environmental management of our marine resources.

  • NIWA co-leads international expedition to study New Zealand’s largest earthquake fault

    Media release
    An ambitious scientific expedition involving 30 scientists from around the world leaves Perth next week bound for the East Coast of the North Island.
  • DART buoy

    2017 - NOAA tsunami warning station

    A tsunami reporting station situated in the Pacific Ocean that is currently off line is to be upgraded in a joint operation involving New Zealand and United States government agencies.
  • Scientists mark 10th anniversary of ocean acidification research

    Media release
    A decade of scientific research into how ocean acidification is affecting New Zealand waters has led to far greater understanding of the vulnerability of our marine ecosystems, according to a newly published review.
  • A wave of hazard research

    Feature story
    It is well known that earthquakes can trigger tsunami but they can also be caused by landslides – with devastating effects.
  • Intensity of cyclones predicted to increase

    Feature story
    Tropical cyclones forming in the south-west Pacific are becoming less frequent but those that do form are likely to be more severe.
  • Leopard seal pup’s lungs were failing, CT scan shows

    Media release
    A leopard seal pup born off St Kilda beach, Dunedin, on Tuesday has been found to have only had 10 per cent of normal lung capacity.
  • (no image provided)

    Spotted a leopard seal? Scientist seeks sightings

    Media release
    A leopard seal has spent so much time in New Zealand waters she has prompted a NIWA scientist to challenge conventional thinking about the species.
  • Breakfast with Ebony - Episode 3

  • Acoustic Monitoring of whales and dolphins in New Zealand’s Cook Strait region

    Research Project
    The sounds of whales and dolphins rarely seen in New Zealand waters have been recorded in a pioneering underwater sound project.
  • Breakfast with Ebony - Episode 1

  • Acoustic monitoring of the critically endangered Māui dolphin

    Research Project
    Māui dolphins, a subspecies of Hector’s dolphins, are listed as nationally critical in New Zealand with a population estimate between 57 and 75 dolphins over one year old.
  • Pilot whale ((Globicephala sp.) calls detected by acoustic recorder stationed in Cook Strait, New Zealand

    Pilot whale (Globicephala sp.) calls detected by acoustic recorder stationed in Cook Strait, New Zealand from December 2016 to January 2017.