Oceans

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.

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.

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.

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.

NIWA is active in a broad range of eDNA topics and can provide expert advice on applications and expected outcomes.

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.

Initial data suggests careful handling of released snapper could help fishers save thousands of fish annually.

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

Scholl Deep is the deepest known point of the Kermadec Trench, which lies to the north of New Zealand.

A New Zealand-led team has completed the fullest investigation to date into January’s eruption of the underwater Tongan volcano.

In the latest NIWA Biodiversity Memoir, researchers examined and registered over 250 sponge specimens in the family Latrunculiidae, discovering 14 new species and 1 new fossil species.

A group of international scientists are visiting some of New Zealand’s most significant coastal wetlands as part of a five-year research project to help the country adapt and prepare for sea-level rise.