Antarctica

Latest news

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.

Scientists discover solar heat drives rapid melting of Ross Ice Shelf

Media Release
30 April 2019
Part of the world’s largest ice shelf is melting 10 times faster than the overall average and solar-heated waters beneath the ice shelf are to blame, NIWA research has found.
 

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.

 

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

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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.

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All staff working on this subject

Dr Malcolm Clark

Principal Scientist - Fisheries
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Dr Sam Dean

Principal Scientist - Climate
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Dr Stacy Deppeler

Marine Biogeochemistry Technician
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Dr Pablo Escobar-Flores

Fisheries Scientist
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Dr Denise Fernandez

Physical Oceanographer
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Dr Giacomo Giorli

Marine Mammal Acoustician
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Dr Richard Gorman

Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes Scientist
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Dr Simon Hoyle

Fisheries Modeller
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Dr Michelle Kelly

Marine Biologist
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Dr Yoann Ladroit

Fisheries Acoustics Scientist
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Dr Drew Lohrer

Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
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Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher

Atmosphere-Ocean Scientist
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Dr Olaf Morgenstern

Principal Scientist - Atmosphere and Climate
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Dr Richard O'Driscoll

Principal Scientist - Fisheries
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Dr Richard Querel

Atmospheric Scientist
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Dr Graham Rickard

Marine Physics Modeller
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Dr Natalie Robinson

Marine Physicist
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Dr Hinrich schaefer

Atmospheric Scientist
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Dr Craig Stevens

Principal Scientist - Marine Physics
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Dr Amy Whitehead

Freshwater Ecologist
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Andrew Miller

Marine Ecology Technician
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Sadie Mills

Principal Technician - Marine Biology
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Karl Safi

Algal Ecologist
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Craig Stewart

Marine Physicist
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