Oceans

Recording old oceans centre tag.

Latest news

Seabirds spend nearly 40% of their time on high seas, study finds

4 March 2021

A global effort by seabird researchers, including those from NIWA, has resulted in the first assessment of where the world’s most threatened seabirds spend their time.

Queen of the critters

Feature story

11 February 2021

Sadie Mills has come a long way from scaring the inhabitants of Scottish rock pools. Sarah Fraser explains.

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.

Our work

We need information on the food web structures of our marine ecosystems in order to manage the effects on the ecosystem of fishing, aquaculture and mining, as well as understanding the potential impacts of climate variability and change on our oceans.

New Zealand Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NZOA-ON)

Ocean acidification conditions around the New Zealand coast are being measured to establish baseline conditions and to quantify future change.

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

Antarctic science onboard NIWA’s RV Tangaroa

Examining biodiversity and ocean dynamics in the world’s largest marine protected area

Researchers are working their way through a wealth of new Antarctic marine data after RV Tangaroa successfully completed its five week scientific voyage to the Ross Sea.

NIWA's Sarah Searson and Jennie Mowatt

If you want to get accurate scientific readings from the icy depths of the Ross Sea, who do you turn to?

Ocean acidification - What does it mean for Shellfish?

This video has been produced to highlight ocean acidification as a potential issue affecting the NZ shellfish aquaculture industry

Echo, Echo: Scanning the Seafloor on R.V. Tangaroa

NIWA ocean geologist Dr Joshu Mountjoy explains how the R.V. Tangaroa's multibeam system is used for bathymetric (seabed) mapping, and some of the benefits which come out of this mapping.

Examining biodiversity and ocean dynamics in the world’s largest marine protected area

Researchers are working their way through a wealth of new Antarctic marine data after RV Tangaroa successfully completed its five week scientific voyage to the Ross Sea.

NIWA's Sarah Searson and Jennie Mowatt

If you want to get accurate scientific readings from the icy depths of the Ross Sea, who do you turn to?

Vessels

Images of NIWA’s three main research vessels in action – RV Tangaroa, RV Kaharoa and RV Ikatere.

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.

Ocean to Atmosphere

This interactive graphic shows how NIWA's work extends from the top of the atmosphere to the bottom of the ocean.

Seabirds spend nearly 40% of their time on high seas, study finds

Media Release

4 March 2021

A global effort by seabird researchers, including those from NIWA, has resulted in the first assessment of where the world’s most threatened seabirds spend their time.

Voyage update 5 from Evan Solly, Ice Pilot

Departed all the wonderful coastal scenery and moved east out into the Ross sea polynya

Voyage update 4 from Evan Solly, Ice Pilot

The clear sky and exceptional visibility made our approach to Woods Bay very memorable with Mount Melbourne dead ahead and Mount Murchison on our starboard beam.

Voyage update 3 from Evan Solly, Ice Pilot

Numerous sightings of minke whales today while target identification mid-water trawls were being made on krill and fish layers beneath Tangaroa.

Science update 5 from Richard O’Driscoll

Day 34 of the Ross Sea Life in a Changing Climate (ReLiCC) 2021 voyage on RV Tangaroa. We are back in New Zealand waters and due to arrive in Wellington on the morning of Monday 15 Feb.

Queen of the critters

Feature story

11 February 2021

Sadie Mills has come a long way from scaring the inhabitants of Scottish rock pools. Sarah Fraser explains.

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: Glen Walker, bosun

Glen Walker is the bosun aboard NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa currently exploring the waters around Antarctica. His reading list is exclusively sea disaster stories.

Message in a bottle: Stuart Mackay, Digital Producer

Antarctica is an incredibly pristine place; we are here to do good science and leave no trace. So, you can imagine my horror as I watched my camera start to float away from the boat.

Message in a bottle: Alexander Hayward, marine biogeochemist

Sitting in the library of the R.V. Tangaroa, I’m contemplating the (almost) three weeks spent at sea. From the nauseating swell of the ferocious fifties to the mornings when I’ve woken to beautiful vistas of Antarctic mountains.

Oceanic shark numbers decline amid research gaps

Media Release

3 February 2021

A lack of information about New Zealand oceanic shark populations is making it difficult to assess how well they are doing, says a NIWA researcher.

Science update 3 from Richard O’Driscoll

Day 20 and we are now more than halfway through the Ross Sea Life in a Changing Climate (ReLiCC) 2021 voyage on RV Tangaroa.

Voyage update 2 from Evan Solly, Ice Pilot

Tue 19th: At 00:00 this morning we came across an extremely large tabular iceberg. It was easily picked up on the ship’s radar but due to the foggy conditions was only visible at a range of 1.7 miles.

Science update 2 from Richard O’Driscoll

Day 13 of the Ross Sea Life in a Changing Climate (ReLiCC) 2021 voyage on RV Tangaroa finds us close to Cape Adare on the tip of the Antarctic continent. We’ve had a busy and icy week.

Scientist spots shark sperm storage strategy

Feature story

6 January 2021

A NIWA researcher has found the first evidence that female deep sea sharks store sperm as a strategy to preserve the species and possibly avoid aggressive mating encounters.

Watch out for jellyfish blooms

Feature story

28 December 2020

Jellyfish blooms are likely to be a common sight this summer with rising ocean temperatures one of the main causes of substantial population growths.

Scientists on the trail of elusive sperm whales

Feature story

21 December 2020

When scientists head south to Antarctica on board NIWA research vessel Tangaroa next month, they’ll be keeping a close eye out for an animal that is particularly good at staying out of sight.

Storm-tide red-alert days 2021

Storm-tide red alerts are the highest high tide (also known as king tides) dates that Emergency Managers and Coastal Hazard Managers should write in their diaries and keep an eye on adverse weather (low barometric pressure, onshore winds), river levels and sea conditions (waves and swell).