Oceans

Recording old oceans centre tag.

Latest news

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.

Scientists conducting snapper research off North Island’s west coast

Media Release
6 October 2020
People along the Kapiti and Wanganui coast may spot NIWA’s research vessel Kaharoa operating close to shore in the next few weeks as scientists carry out a survey of snapper, tarakihi, red gurnard and John Dory.

Tsunami evacuation zones home to 1 in 10 New Zealanders

Media Release
19 August 2020
NIWA scientists have completed the first national assessment of people and buildings at risk in New Zealand’s tsunami evacuation zones.

Researchers on hunt for fish nurseries

Media Release
7 August 2020
NIWA researchers are heading out from Tasman early next week to survey an area thought to be home to important juvenile fish nurseries.
 

Our work

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.

White sharks

Where and when do white sharks occur in New Zealand waters, and how can fisheries bycatch be reduced?
 

Latest videos

Ocean Acidification

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

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.

Seabed Frontier: A Brief History of Bathymetry

Seabed Frontier: A Brief History of Bathymetry

NIWA marine geologist John Mitchell gives a brief history of bathymetric (seabed) charting, and how it's been carried out over the last few hundred years. (01:18) 

Big Fish, Calm Sea - White Shark Tagging off Stewart Island

Big Fish, Calm Sea - White Shark Tagging off Stewart Island

Tagging White Sharks off Stewart Island, NZ Scientists from DOC, NIWA, and the University of Auckland are building a unique picture of New Zealand's great white shark population.

 

TAN1116 voyage log - hagfish!

Click on the photos for larger versions and to find out more about them. 

TAN1116 voyage log - midwater trawl

Click on the photos for larger versions and to find out more about them. 

TAN1116 voyage log - the multicorer

[Please click on the photos to enlarge them, and see more information about them] Minute organisms make up the highest biomass on our planet, with myriad microscopic organisms in

TAN1116 voyage log - specimens

Click on the photos for larger versions and to find out more about them. 

TAN1116 voyage log - Noctiluca bloom

Click on the photos for larger versions and to find out more about them. 

TAN1116 voyage log - life on board

Click on the photos for larger versions and to find out more about them. 

TAN1116 voyage log - toadfish

Click on the photos for larger versions and to find out more about them. 

Our Far South

A number of people aboard the Our Far South voyage have been sending us beautiful photos of their experience.  In this gallery, we showcase some of our favourites. Oldest photos are shown first. Unless otherwise stated, all photos are credited to Our Far South.

NIWA Charts

NIWA produces a wide range of charts, including bathymetry, sediment, and circulation charts.

RV Polaris - Ocean Acidification

For the last 14 years, in collaboration with the University of Otago's Chemistry Department, Dr Kim Currie has run a time series tracking ocean acidification.

New map reveals New Zealand’s seafloor in stunning detail

23 November 2012

NIWA's new Undersea New Zealand map provides a unique insight into the shape of the seafloor in one of the world's most extensive marine jurisdictions.

Scientists discover freshwater flows affect polar oceanic microbes

31 October 2012

An international team of scientists has been studying bacteria that live in Arctic and Antarctica waters.

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.

Coastal and oceanic dispersal modelling

Understanding how material released into the ocean spreads is very important in the case of oil spills, sediment transport and the release of invasive species. 

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

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.

Seabed Frontier: A Brief History of Bathymetry

Seabed Frontier: A Brief History of Bathymetry

NIWA marine geologist John Mitchell gives a brief history of bathymetric (seabed) charting, and how it's been carried out over the last few hundred years. (01:18) 

Looking to the past for a complete record of earthquakes in Poverty Bay

6 June 2012

Scientists have been working on ways to find out about earthquakes that occurred before oral and written records
began in New Zealand.

Background

How does NIWA map the seafloor?

Multibeam echo sounders emit a fan of sound beams to the seafloor to scan a wide swath of the seabed in great detail. Compared with conventional echo sounders – which direct a single beam of sound to the seabed directly below a ship – multibeams show more detail and greatly reduce ship survey time and cost.

How it works

The hull-mounted multibeam transceiver sends out a beam of sound waves (see diagram below) which are reflected off the seafloor, back to a receiver on the ship.

Vital areas of New Zealand’s seafloor to be revealed in detail for the first time

6 May 2012

New Zealand's largest research vessel Tangaroa sets off today to map, in high resolution detail, the southern Hikurangi Margin - a vital area of seabed off the east coast of New Zealand.

The voyage is part of the Ocean Survey 20/20 project, a 15-year Government project, established in 2004, to survey and explore New Zealand's oceans, to better manage and sustainably develop their resources.

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.
Big Fish, Calm Sea - White Shark Tagging off Stewart Island

Big Fish, Calm Sea - White Shark Tagging off Stewart Island

Tagging White Sharks off Stewart Island, NZ Scientists from DOC, NIWA, and the University of Auckland are building a unique picture of New Zealand's great white shark population.

NIWA sets sail to study vulnerable deep-sea communities

Media Release
15 April 2012

NIWA's research vessel Tangaroa will set sail this week to explore the biodiversity of deep-sea habitats in the outer Bay of Plenty and southern Kermadec Ridge, starting 80 kilometres off Tauranga.

Pages

 

All staff working on this subject

Dr Tara Anderson

Marine Ecologist
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Dr Philip Barnes

Principal Scientist - Marine Geology
Email Dr Philip Barnes
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Dr Jaret Bilewitch

Molecular Biologist
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Dr Stacy Deppeler

Marine Biogeochemistry Technician
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Dr Pablo Escobar-Flores

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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 Rachel Hale

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 Katie Maier

Marine Sedimentologist
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Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher

Atmosphere-Ocean Scientist
Email Dr Sara Mikaloff-Fletcher

Dr Helen Neil

General Manager - Operations
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Dr Richard O'Driscoll

Principal Scientist - Fisheries
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Dr Alan Orpin

Marine Geologist
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Dr Rachael Peart

Marine Invertebrate Systematist
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Dr Graham Rickard

Marine Physics Modeller
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Dr Natalie Robinson

Marine Physicist
Email Dr Natalie Robinson

Dr Ashley Rowden

Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Email Dr Ashley Rowden

Dr Kareen Schnabel

Marine Biologist
Email Dr Kareen Schnabel

Dr Craig Stevens

Principal Scientist - Marine Physics
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Dr Philip Sutton

Physical Oceanographer
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Dr Leigh Tait

Marine Biologist (Biosecurity)
Email Dr Leigh Tait

Dr Ian Tuck

Principal Scientist - Fisheries
Email Dr Ian Tuck

Eimear Egan

Freshwater Fish Ecologist
Email Eimear Egan

Arne Pallentin

Principal Technician - Marine Geology
Email Arne Pallentin

Karl Safi

Algal Ecologist
Email Karl Safi
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