A group of Earth Sciences NZ scientists will be in the Cook Islands moana over June and July to conduct an oceanographic survey.
Climate Change Cook Islands (CCCI) has partnered with Earth Sciences NZ to conduct the survey with a focus on the northern group.
This marks the beginning of the CCCI Ocean Monitoring Programme (OMP), which has been designed to strengthen the national understanding of oceanographic conditions surrounding the Cook Islands.
The data collected will help the Cook Islands understand future changes in our ocean and potential community impacts brought about as a result of climate change.
The voyage is led by physical oceanographer, Denise Fenrdandez. Team members include Eleanor Haigh, Alain de Verneil, Svenja Halfter, Cassandra Elmer and Etan Carson-Groom. The Earth Sciences NZ team will be joined on board by CCCI project coordinator Yvette Turua and National Environment Service ranger Karen Silk.
The team will be measuring physical, geochemical and biological properties like water temperature, salinity, zooplankton, fluorescence and ocean currents, as well as collecting samples for plastic pollution analysis, this first voyage will establish an environmental baseline for future OMP activities.
The first leg will make almost a complete circuit of the Cook Islands’ outer maritime boundary north of Rarotonga, passing Palmerston, Nassau, Pukapuka and Tongareva before heading to Pape’ete on Tahiti to refuel.
The second leg of the voyage will depart Pape’ete and head west towards Aitutaki, then turn north towards Manihiki and Rakahanga, before returning south past Suwarrow and Palmerston to Rarotonga.
The overall voyage will collect data at about 30 different sampling locations, with the vessel stopping for around four to six hours at each location to collect data over the full ocean depth.
This OMP voyage is a major activity within the Cook Islands CIS-Pac5 programme – officially known as ‘Enhancing Climate Information & Knowledge Services for Resilience in 5 Island Countries of the Pacific Ocean’.
Established to combat the increasing threat of climate-related impacts across the Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Palau and the Marshall Islands, CIS-Pac5 is a US$49.9 million project led by the United Nations Environment Programme and funded by the Green Climate Fund, an international climate financing body.
Learn more: Climate Change Cook Islands launches ocean research voyage - Cook Islands News