Atmosphere

Latest news

Early and long-lasting ozone hole, forecasts NIWA

5 September 2023

NIWA scientists are predicting that this year’s ozone hole will stay around for longer than usual, potentially lasting into early summer.

NIWA’s Principal Scientist - Atmosphere and Climate, Dr Olaf Morgenstern, says this is largely due to a combination of climate change and the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption.

2020 Australian wildfires reveal significant hole in our understanding of ozone

Media Release

9 August 2022

Smoke from the devastating Australian wildfires impacted the atmosphere in a way that’s never been seen before.

Seen a stunning sunrise or sunset lately? The Tongan volcano may be the cause

Media Release

15 June 2022

The Tongan volcanic eruption may be responsible for New Zealand’s unusually vibrant sunrises and sunsets, say NIWA scientists.

Tracking an eruption

Feature story

30 May 2022

Stacy Mohan looks at how the shockwaves from a remote Tongan island rippled through NIWA’s research community.

Our work

MethaneSAT: detecting and quantifying methane emissions by satellite

MethaneSAT is New Zealand’s first official government-funded satellite mission. The core mission of this unique satellite is to support reductions in methane emissions around the world.

Latest videos

By day Penny Smale is a mum to two young boys, living on a rural property in the middle of a farming district in Central Otago.
By night, she leaves home, walks the short distance to what is essentially a large outbuilding in a paddock, and fires lasers into the sky. Penny operates a Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) instrument at the Lauder research station in Central Otago. Essentially, she fires lasers into the sky and uses a telescope to measure what comes back.

Air quality update 4. Week two of level 4 restrictions

The large reductions in traffic pollution in our major cities seen during week 1 of lockdown have been maintained during week 2.

Steep improvements seen in Auckland air quality, says NIWA

Media Release

30 March 2020

NIWA scientists say air quality has dramatically improved in Auckland since the COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown was instigated.

Unprecedented carbon monoxide readings measured in Central Otago

Media Release

11 December 2019

Researchers at NIWA’s Lauder atmospheric research station in Central Otago have measured prolonged carbon monoxide concentrations well above normal levels.

Fiordland air samples revealing carbon secrets

Media Release

18 September 2019

Air samples from the native Fiordland forest are being collected by researchers as one of the first steps in an ambitious new NIWA-led project to reassess New Zealand’s carbon budget.

NIWA UV research reinforces success of Montreal Protocol

Media Release

4 September 2019

On the eve of the 30th anniversary since the Montreal Protocol came into force, new research by NIWA scientists reinforces its reputation as the world’s most successful environmental treaty.

Daily CO2 measurements from NIWA’s atmospheric monitoring station at Baring Head

CO2 levels measured at Baring Head

The graph shows carbon dioxide (CO₂) levels measured at Baring Head, NIWA’s clean air station, near Wellington. This station has been running since 1972 and is home to the longest running continuous CO₂ measurements in the Southern Hemisphere.

Our changing oceans

Feature story

13 June 2019

The on-going rise of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂) that is fuelling climate change is also driving significant changes in the waters off our coasts.

A bird's-eye view of our carbon balance

Feature story

13 June 2019

Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher is looking to turn the internationally accepted science of monitoring greenhouse gas emissions upside down—and the rest of the world is watching closely.

Students, scientists, citizens study Arrowtown’s ailing air

Media Release

7 May 2019

Arrowtown may be known for its picturesque autumn scenery, but in winter this tiny Central Otago town has a problem.

Project updates - CarbonWatch NZ

April 2021: Latest CarbonWatch results presented at EGU

Silicon power

Feature story

20 April 2018

Massive increases in computing power are allowing NIWA scientists to not only analyse more data, faster, but also to envisage completely new experiments.

Blog: Plankton blooms and clouds - what's the link? - 11 March

11 March 2018

Today we found NIWA’s Andrew Marriner hard at work in the Ocean-Atmosphere Container Lab and asked him to explain his work onboard.

Profile: Wills Dobson - small town, huge horizons

Feature story

5 October 2017

If it wasn't for a damaged shoulder, Wills Dobson wouldn't be launching weather balloons or fixing high-precision atmospheric measuring instruments.

Tiny air bubbles reveal new information about greenhouse gas emissions

Media Release

24 August 2017

Sitting at the surface of Taylor Glacier in Antarctica, are layers of ice more than 10,000 years old. And trapped inside those layers are bubbles of ancient air – like tiny time capsules - able to tell scientists a story about what the world used to be like and how humans have changed it.

Atmospheric services and data

How can we help you?

Trace gas datasets

NIWA makes a range of trace gas data freely available on our FTP site.

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.

NOAA Satellite data

Like the GMS satellite, the NOAA Series of polar orbiting satellites (operated by NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are a component of the World Weather Watch meteorological satellite network.

"Detergent of the atmosphere"

PDF of this article (381 KB)

Annual mean OH concentrations near the earth’s surface, calculated with a chemistry-transport model. (Map: J. Lelieveld, et al. (2004). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 4: 2337–2344.)

Key reactions in the photo-oxidation of trace gases. (Graphic: Katja Riedel)

Katja Riedel and Keith Lassey explain how OH, the hydroxyl radical, works to cleanse the atmosphere of harmful trace gases.
What happens to the millions of tonnes of gases that nature and human kind lob into the atmosphere every year?

Monitoring air quality with PACMAN

NIWA has developed a device for measuring and monitoring indoor air quality. It is called the Particles, Activity and Context Monitoring Autonomous Node - PACMAN for short.

Lesson 9: Ngā Tohu o te Taiao – Māori environmental indicators

This lesson will explore the use of Māori environmental indicators [tohu] to anticipate local weather and climate conditions.

Tonga volcano “afterglow” causes dazzling skies in Antarctica

Media Release

6 June 2017

Antarctica is experiencing stunning skyscapes like those recently seen in New Zealand, thanks to the afterglow effect from the Tongan volcano.

Summer is for scientific fieldwork. Three NIWA scientists are heading into the wild blue yonder, some with fancy technology and others with a coffee cup and a bag of party balloons.

Atmosphere

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April 2021: Latest CarbonWatch results presented at EGU

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