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Latest news

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.

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.

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

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

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

Find out more about this research.

AWATEA - Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy conference

18 April 2013 to 19 April 2013

NIWA is sponsoring AWATEA's 2013 conference 'Blue energy in the pacific: Powering Innovation'.

For more information see the AWATEA website

NIWA’s Tangaroa sets sail to study how Antarctica affects ocean currents

30 January 2013

A team of 22 Australian, New Zealand and French scientists will depart Wellington next week, onboard NIWA's RV Tangaroa, for a 42-day voyage to the Mertz Polynya region of Antarctica.

Modelling

NIWA answers a wide range of scientific questions using ocean modelling. These models can be linked to well established weather forecasting models to predict ocean temperature, sea level and the dispersal of pollution.

Geosciences 2012

25 November 2012 to 28 November 2012

NIWA is sponsoring the Geosciences Society annual conference being held in Hamilton on the 25th to 28th November.

The conference will showcase the broad range of geological and geophysical research that is being undertaken in New Zealand and abroad.

Marine extremes and everything in between

1 July 2012 to 5 July 2012

Marine extremes and everything inbetween is a joint conference between the Australian Marine Sciences Association and the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (AMSA-NZMSS).

NIWA is sponsorsing prizes for the best student oral and poster presentations at the conference .

For more information about go to the AMSA-NZMSS website

CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth)

Ocean water properties such as temperature are measured directly, while conductivity is used to tell us the salinity. It also captures water samples at different depths for a variety of chemical and biological measurements made either on the vessel or back in the laboratory.

AWATEA - Aotearoa Wave and Tidal Energy Association

19 April 2012 to 20 April 2012

NIWA is sponsoring the AWATEA conference 'Blue Energy: From International Vision to Reality'.

Coasts Update 04, January 2012

Welcome to this special edition of Coasts Update, highlighting the Shallow Survey 2012.

Association of Women in the Sciences

28 July 2011 to 29 July 2011

NIWA is sponsoring the Association of Women in the Sciences (AWIS) conference being held in Auckland.

For more information about the conference see AWIS conference website

Shallow Survey 2012

30 August 2011 to 31 August 2011

Abstracts submission for the 6th internation Shallow Water survey conference are due on Wednesday 30th August. This conference will explore the latest developments in shallow water surveying.

Follow this link for more information and to submit abstracts.

Upgraded research vessel

12 December 2010

The return of the upgraded RV Tangaroa represents a huge advancement for New Zealand science and exploration

NIWA today welcomed home RV Tangaroa, New Zealand’s only deepwater research vessel, after a $20 million dollar upgrade to enhance its ocean science and survey capabilities.

Scientists probe beneath Antarctic ice shelves

22 November 2010

NIWA looks below Antarctic ice shelves to investigate the polar ocean system with a new high-tech probe.

Bay of Islands Coastal Survey complete

The Bay of Islands coast is under increasing pressure from human activities, both land-based and marine. As part of the government’s Ocean Survey 20/20 programme, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) commissioned NIWA to carry out a comprehensive survey of the region’s seafloor habitats and biodiversity.

Extreme Weather 2011

9 February 2011 to 11 February 2011

The conference will be held in Wellington, NZ and include six special sessions each with a keynote address:
Extreme weather in the Australasian region – from floods to droughts
Impact and meteorology of the main climate drivers (ENSO, SAM, Monsoon)
Using high resolution models to understand local meteorology
Oceanography of the Australasian region
Climate change in the Australasian region
Impacts of natural catastrophes in the Australasian region
However papers on any topic related to the Atmospheric Sciences (including composition) and Oceanography of the Australasian region will be co

New Zealand’s deep-sea research boosted by new partnership

4 February 2010

Two New Zealand research organisations will work closely with one of the world’s leading ocean research and engineering organisations to accelerate research and exploration in a wide range of oceanographic topics in the southwest Pacific region.

Spectacular oceanic bloom identified

9 November 2009

Scientists at NIWA have identified the source of the giant plankton bloom featuring in spectacular NASA satellite images.

Developing tools for sustainable aquaculture

New Zealand’s green credentials are a key selling point for aquaculture products in an increasingly discerning world market. With the aquaculture industry poised to expand, we need robust tools to manage potential environmental impacts, including those of new finfish species. NIWA’s sustainable aquaculture programme addresses this need.