Antarctica

Latest news

New ocean data from under the world’s biggest ice shelf

Media Release
30 June 2020
New measurements from the ocean under the centre of the Ross Ice Shelf have significantly improved our understanding of the complex processes that drive melting in Antarctica.

It’s a colourful life under the Antarctic ice

Feature story
13 January 2020
The rich diversity of marine life near Scott Base in Antarctica has stunned scientists diving under the ice to set up environmental monitoring sites.

Scientists brave winter in Antarctic waters

Media Release
14 November 2019
The New Zealand ship Janas has recently returned from a six-week winter research voyage to the Ross Sea where scientists made the first observations of developing Antarctic toothfish embryos.

Setting new baselines in the southern seas

Feature story
14 June 2019
While most New Zealanders were settling into their summer break, some scientists were double-checking their survival gear before heading to work deep in the Southern Ocean.
 

Our work

Climate Present and Past

Climate Present and Past is a core-funded project under NIWA's National Climate Centre. It aims to explore historical climate data and track past changes in climate through a range of approaches.

Plankton biodiversity in the Southern Ocean

NIWA is conducting a five–year study to map changes in the distribution of plankton species in surface waters between New Zealand and the Ross Sea.

Ocean acidification and warming

Acidification of the world’s oceans from rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reduces the availability of carbonate required by some marine organisms to build shells and skeletons, and potentially affects their ability to maintain existing structures.

Antarctic fisheries research

NIWA’s Antarctic fisheries research is allowing us to investigate possible effects of the longline Antarctic toothfish fishery on the toothfish population and on the local ecosystem.
 

Latest videos

2018 - Antarctic Voyage Update #3

2018 - Antarctic Voyage Update #3

2018 - Antarctic Voyage Update #3
2018 - Antarctic Voyage Update #1

2018 - Antarctic Voyage Update #1

TAN 1802 - Antarctic voyage leader Dave Bowden on the phone from the Southern Ocean.
Dolphins farewell RV Tangaroa - 9 February 2018

Dolphins farewell RV Tangaroa - 9 February 2018

RV Tangaroa is farewelled by a pod of dolphins as it heads off on its 12th voyage to the white continent. Footage courtesy of Kareen Schnabelke.
Researching NIWA's Antarctic sea ice

Researching NIWA’s Antarctic sea ice

NIWA marine physics technician Brett Grant gives a tour of our Antarctic field camp and explains how we are conducting research into sea ice in the coldest place on the planet.

 

Greenhouse gases and climate sensitivity - insights from ice cores

By analysing air trapped in ancient ice we can see how wetlands and permafrosts responded to warming periods in the past, and help predict what will happen in the future.

Atmospheric ozone, ultraviolet radiation, and stratospheric change

CFCs have damaged the ozone layer and led to higher UV levels and increased health risks. Our role is to understand the causes and effects of ozone depletion, to inform the public of the risk.

Epic Antarctic voyage complete: analysis begins

Part of a sea lily ‘meadow’ at 550 m on the Admiralty. (Photo: DTIS, IPY-CAML)

Tangaroa and 44 intrepid voyagers successfully completed the most comprehensive survey of marine life ever undertaken in the Ross Sea region. They returned to Wellington on 20 March after an epic 50-day, 7140 nautical mile voyage, bearing more than 37 000 biological specimens, and images of seafloor communities never seen before.
The focus of the voyage was to survey biodiversity to provide a fuller picture of the Ross Sea ecosystem and what makes it tick.

Issue 27, 2008

Epic Antarctic voyage complete: analysis begins

Applying the science: didymo

Major port biosecurity surveillance underway

What risk from alien fish?

Epic Antarctic voyage complete: analysis begins

26 March 2008

NIWA’s ice-strengthened research vessel Tangaroa has now returned from its latest voyage to Antarctica.

Sea ice effects on Ross Sea food webs

Benthic community at Terra Nova Bay, Ross Sea, including: encrusting coralline algae, seastars, and sea urchins camouflaged with pieces of drift red algae. (Photo: Rodd Budd, NIWA)

Scientists from NIWA and the Finnish Institute of Marine Research are using novel ways to explore the effects of sea ice on coastal food webs in Antarctica.
Sea ice is a major driver of polar marine ecosystems, partly through its effect on light levels and, hence, productivity.

PM Launches Antarctic Science voyage

30 January 2008

Prime Minister Helen Clark last night launched a major New Zealand scientific voyage to Antarctica as part of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML) and International Polar Year (IPY).

Twenty-six scientists and 18 crew will leave this week on the eight-week voyage aboard RV Tangaroa.

Map Scott

Scott Base, Antarctica
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest continent. Scott Base is New Zealand's permanent Antarctic base. Sited on the coast, temperatures, although very low, are higher than those recorded inland.
Average Rainfall and Temperature
Scott Base

Back

How cold is the Antarctic?

Write a report, with guided questions, to answer the question: “How cold is the Antarctic?”

Life thrives on Antarctic lake floor

3 July 2006

Scientists from NIWA have made the first measurements of photosynthesis in the icy gloom of an Antarctic lake floor.

Discovery voyage of Ross Sea begins

2 February 2004

On 27 January 2004 a team of scientists set out from Wellington on board NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa bound for the Ross Sea in Antarctica.

Pages

 

All staff working on this subject

Dr Malcolm Clark

Principal Scientist - Fisheries
Email Dr Malcolm Clark

Dr Sam Dean

Principal Scientist - Climate
Email Dr Sam Dean
placeholder image

Dr Stacy Deppeler

Marine Biogeochemistry Technician
Email Dr Stacy Deppeler
placeholder image

Dr Pablo Escobar-Flores

Fisheries Scientist
Email Dr Pablo Escobar-Flores
placeholder image

Dr Denise Fernandez

Physical Oceanographer
Email Dr Denise Fernandez

Dr Giacomo Giorli

Marine Mammal Acoustician
Email Dr Giacomo Giorli
placeholder image

Dr Richard Gorman

Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes Scientist
Email Dr Richard Gorman
placeholder image

Dr Simon Hoyle

Fisheries Modeller
Email Dr Simon Hoyle

Dr Michelle Kelly

Marine Biologist
Email Dr Michelle Kelly
placeholder image

Dr Yoann Ladroit

Fisheries Acoustics Scientist
Email Dr Yoann Ladroit
placeholder image

Dr Drew Lohrer

Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Email Dr Drew Lohrer

Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher

Atmosphere-Ocean Scientist
Email Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher

Dr Olaf Morgenstern

Principal Scientist - Atmosphere and Climate
Email Dr Olaf Morgenstern

Dr Richard O'Driscoll

Principal Scientist - Fisheries
Email Dr Richard O'Driscoll
placeholder image

Dr Richard Querel

Atmospheric Scientist
Email Dr Richard Querel
placeholder image

Dr Graham Rickard

Marine Physics Modeller
Email Dr Graham Rickard
placeholder image

Dr Natalie Robinson

Marine Physicist
Email Dr Natalie Robinson

Dr Hinrich schaefer

Atmospheric Scientist
Email Dr Hinrich schaefer

Dr Craig Stevens

Principal Scientist - Marine Physics
Email Dr Craig Stevens
placeholder image

Dr Amy Whitehead

Freshwater Ecologist
Email Dr Amy Whitehead
placeholder image

Andrew Miller

Marine Ecology Technician
Email Andrew Miller

Sadie Mills

Principal Technician - Marine Biology
Email Sadie Mills

Karl Safi

Algal Ecologist
Email Karl Safi
placeholder image

Craig Stewart

Marine Physicist
Email Craig Stewart
Subscribe to RSS - Antarctica