Oceanography

Latest news

Norse goddess reveals seabed secrets

Feature story
11 February 2021
A large, orange Scandinavian robot gives NIWA’s marine geologists an in-depth look at changes to the seafloor off Kaikōura.

A job for the buoys

Feature story
11 February 2021
New Zealanders and Pacific Island communities are on their way to having the most advanced tsunami monitoring system in the world.

NIWA heads to Antarctica for critical climate, ocean research

Media Release
8 January 2021
NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa leaves soon on a six-week voyage to Antarctica, making it one of the few full scientific expeditions to the continent since the global outbreak of COVID-19.

Underwater robot getting close-up look at Kaikōura Canyon

Media Release
8 October 2020
A six-metre long orange underwater robot is flying through the Kaikōura Canyon for the next month collecting information on how the canyon has changed since the 2016 earthquake.
 

Our work

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.

Effects of ocean acidification on plankton in New Zealand waters

Our oceans are expected to become more acidic as carbon dioxide concentrations rise. This will likely have impacts on the plankton, which play a major role in ocean ecosystems and processes.
 

Latest videos

Exploring the deepsea

Exploring the deepsea

Despite many centuries of maritime exploration, only a fraction of our planet's seafloor has been observed. NIWA Deepsea Scientist Di Tracey tells us what it feels like to probe deep beneath the waves to see what's living on the ocean floor.

Shifting Sands - Tsunami hazard off Kaikoura, NZ

Shifting Sands

Dr Joshu Mountjoy discusses NIWA's work in assessing the tsunami hazard just south of Kaikoura. 

Find out more about this research. 

 

Antarctica in photos

NIWA scientists have worked for many years in Antarctica. These photographs illustrate some of our work in this amazing and scientifically significant place. 

Norse goddess reveals seabed secrets

Feature story
11 February 2021
A large, orange Scandinavian robot gives NIWA’s marine geologists an in-depth look at changes to the seafloor off Kaikōura.

A job for the buoys

Feature story
11 February 2021
New Zealanders and Pacific Island communities are on their way to having the most advanced tsunami monitoring system in the world.

Message in a bottle: Sarah Seabrook

It is interesting to watch all of the pieces of our science story come together with each day’s water sampling and our long term experiments.

Science update 4 from Richard O’Driscoll

We are now four weeks into the Ross Sea Life in a Changing Climate (ReLiCC) 2021 voyage on RV Tangaroa and our time in the Ross Sea is rapidly coming to an end.

NIWA heads to Antarctica for critical climate, ocean research

Media Release
8 January 2021
NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa leaves soon on a six-week voyage to Antarctica, making it one of the few full scientific expeditions to the continent since the global outbreak of COVID-19.

2021 - Antarctic voyage

RV Tangaroa is undertaking a 45-day voyage to the Southern Ocean and Ross Sea in early January and returning by February 16, 2021.

Underwater robot getting close-up look at Kaikōura Canyon

Media Release
8 October 2020
A six-metre long orange underwater robot is flying through the Kaikōura Canyon for the next month collecting information on how the canyon has changed since the 2016 earthquake.

NIWA research vessel returns home after epic voyage

Media Release
5 October 2020
After 75 nights at sea all the temporary master of NIWA research vessel Kaharoa could think about today was getting off the ship and having a beer.

Nameless nodes get new look from NIWA

Media Release
29 July 2020
At the bottom of the Southern Ocean, near Cape Adare in East Antarctica, lies an undersea ridge which until this month was only known by its co-ordinates: -71.2132 latitude, 172.1649 longitude.

NIWA crew face record time at sea

Media Release
21 July 2020
Coronavirus border restrictions mean six NIWA staff face four straight months at sea in a bid to keep an international ocean research project afloat.

NIWA mapping seafloor around Whakaari/White Island

Media Release
16 July 2020
NIWA scientists are heading to the waters around Whakaari/White Island in the Bay of Plenty next week to survey changes to the seafloor.

Tangaroa heads back to sea – with social distancing

Media Release
13 May 2020
NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa will sail out of Wellington Harbour on Sunday for the first scientific voyage since the lockdown.

Ambitious NIWA-led Antarctic Ocean project gets go-ahead

Media Release
18 June 2019
Understanding how the Antarctic oceans work is vital to predicting the world’s future climate and the implications of climate change for humankind and the planet.

Voyage update 2: Cape Adare

17 January 2019. By Voyage Leader Dr Richard O'Driscoll.

Research and Monitoring

The Ross Sea Region Research and Monitoring Programme (Ross-RAMP) is a five-year research programme funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and run by NIWA to evaluate the effectiveness of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area.

Ross Sea Environment and Ecosystem Voyage 2019

From 8 Jan - 27 Feb 2019 RV Tangaroa is undertaking a six-week research voyage to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean. On board scientists, supported by 19 crew members, will be studying ocean, atmosphere and ecosystem processes with the focus on establishing monitoring programmes for the newly created Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area (MPA).

Busy season for NIWA scientists in Antarctica

Media Release
24 September 2018
The new science season at Antarctica is just a few days away from opening and NIWA researchers are busy packing containers and shipping them to the ice where they will be reunited with them in the coming months.

NZ scientists launch their part in bold project to map seafloor

Media Release
20 June 2018
New Zealand’s contribution to an ambitious international project aiming to generate a definitive map of the entire ocean floor in less than 12 years, is being launched in Wellington tomorrow.

Tide envelopes 2017

The range for high and low tides throughout the 2017 year (in alphabetical order).

Exploring the deepsea

Exploring the deepsea

Despite many centuries of maritime exploration, only a fraction of our planet's seafloor has been observed. NIWA Deepsea Scientist Di Tracey tells us what it feels like to probe deep beneath the waves to see what's living on the ocean floor.

Mitchell’s odyssey from stream to ocean

Media Release
14 September 2016
New Zealand continues to punch above its weight in global environmental issues, with three Kiwis seeking a positive change to our oceans in Washington this month.

Voyage leader's final update

Blog
11 March 2015
Now back on dry land, Voyage Leader Richard O'Driscoll reflects on the final days of RV Tangaroa's 2015 Antarctica expedition.

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All staff working on this subject

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Dr Teresa A'mar

Fisheries Modeller
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Dr Michael Allis

Coastal Engineer
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Dr Rob Bell

Principal Scientist - Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes
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Dr Cyprien Bosserelle

Hydrodynamics Modeller
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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 Andres Gutierrez Rodriguez

Marine Ecologist
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Dr Yoann Ladroit

Fisheries Acoustics Scientist
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Dr Helen Macdonald

Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) Numerical Modeller
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Dr Helen Neil

General Manager - Operations
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Dr Richard O'Driscoll

Chief Scientist - Fisheries
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Dr Alan Orpin

Marine Geologist
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Dr Christo Rautenbach

Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes 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 Craig Stevens

Principal Scientist - Marine Physics
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Dr Philip Sutton

Physical Oceanographer
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Dr Jonny Williams

Climate Scientist
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Antonia Cristi

PhD Student
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Chris Eager

Coastal Technician
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Karl Safi

Algal Ecologist
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Craig Stewart

Marine Physicist
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