This 3D image of the vessel’s remarkably intact hull was generated by Marine Geology Technician Sam Davidson, using multibeam echosounder data gathered during a harbour seabed survey.
Davidson used advanced processing techniques to reveal the 20m deep wreck resting almost perfectly on the muddy seafloor. While much of the vessel’s superstructure has been removed to avoid navigation hazards, some features, including an extended lifeboat davit (yellow), are still visible.
Davidson entered the image in the data visualisation section of the 2023 NIWA Staff Photography competition.
As the following images show, the South Sea wreck is just one of many colourful scenes NIWA staff encounter working in the world of environmental science.
Fresh August snow adds extra bite to environmental monitoring technician Andrew Willsman’s servicing trip to the remote Takahē Valley climate station in the Murchison Mountains.
Scientific dive specialist Richie Hughes couldn’t resist a selfie as he documented a bloom of mauve stinger jellyfish drifting past in the Poor Knights Islands.
Freshwater ecologist Elizabeth Graham heads towards a remote Fiordland tarn in search of rare aquatic insects. High altitude waterways hold a surprising diversity of unique invertebrates.
A garden of sea pens anchored on the seafloor of Doubtful Sound. Named for their resemblance to old fashioned quill pens, the soft corals filter plankton through their tentacles.
Scientific diver Aleki Taumoepeau emerges from Southland’s Waituna Lagoon, draped in the native aquatic plant ruppia. Ruppia is a key ecosystem indicator and NIWA surveys the lagoon annually.
