Oceans

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

  • Record low sea ice levels mixed bag for Antarctic voyage

    Media release
    Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have returned from a six-week voyage to Antarctica.
  • Research aims to quantify New Zealand’s Blue Carbon capacity of kelp seaweeds

    Media release
    A research project co-led by Blue Carbon Services and NIWA will aim to provide New Zealand’s first national estimate of natural kelp-carbon sequestration in the marine environment.
  • TAN2302 voyage update - 10 February 2023

    We have now visited 23 separate sites in these coastal areas, albeit some of them very close together. Every time we visit a new site, we first need to map the seafloor as we are working in unchartered coastal waters.
  • NZTD - The New Zealand Trait Database for marine benthic invertebrates

    Software Tool/Resource
    Traits are defined as the components of organisms that can be measured and have an effect on ecosystem functioning. Examples of traits include the behaviour, life history, morphology, and physiology characteristics
  • TAN2302 voyage update - 26 January 2023

    We are two weeks into the voyage and while we have yet to enter the Ross Sea we have already seen so much! We are onboard RV Tangaroa with a team of 20 scientists and 18 crew, including a ship doctor and ice pilot, heading for the Ross Sea to study ocean physics, food web dynamics, subseafloor fluid systems and benthic ecology.
  • New discoveries from New Zealand’s deepest waters

    Media release
    A joint Chinese – New Zealand research expedition to the Kermadec Trench at Ranghitāhua (Kermadec Islands region) has revealed fascinating new insights into life in the deepest part of New Zealand waters.
  • Researchers to unveil Antarctic secrets

    Media release
    As New Zealanders search for the summer sun, 38 researchers and crew will board RV Tangaroa tomorrow for a six-week science voyage deep into the waters of Antarctica.
  • Reducing the impact on Hawke’s Bay’s marine environment

    News article
    A study investigating the level of change needed to improve the state of Hawke’s Bay’s marine environment highlights the magnitude and frequency of interventions required for the seafloor ecosystem to recover.
  • eDNA research and services

    Service
    NIWA is active in a broad range of eDNA topics and can provide expert advice on applications and expected outcomes.
  • Making big waves in the Pacific

    Feature story
    Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.
  • New research indicates careful fish handling helps support sustainable fisheries

    News article
    Initial data suggests careful handling of released snapper could help fishers save thousands of fish annually.
  • Marine heatwave developing

    Media release
    Coastal waters around Aotearoa New Zealand became unusually warm last month, say NIWA.