NIWA

Oceans

Recording old oceans centre tag.

Latest news

Coastal flooding likely to be main driver for adaptation

12 October 2021

New NIWA-led research shows increasing flood risk is going to be what leads people to make changes to adapt to sea-level rise.

Fabulous Fiordland showcased in new e-Guide

Media Release

5 October 2021

With cascading waterfalls and native bush tumbling down mountainous terrain, Fiordland is one of the most eye-catching parts of the country. But peer beneath the waves and you'll see that Fiordland's marine invertebrate and seaweed communities are every bit as remarkable and awe-inspiring.

Scientists, iwi investigate bringing back rock oyster industry

Media Release

28 September 2021

A project is under way to determine whether Aotearoa New Zealand’s long defunct rock oyster industry can be revived.

Study discovers microplastics in New Zealand’s seabed

Media Release

16 July 2021

A pilot study carried out by NIWA and the University of Auckland has found microplastics in samples collected from the seafloor in the Marlborough Sounds.

Our work

Sea2Cloud – how marine aerosols influence the atmosphere and climate

Clouds over the ocean, and how they trap or emit radiation from the sun, are partly influenced by the biology, biogeochemistry and physics of the surface ocean below.

Marine food webs

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.

Latest videos

Plankton in the Ross Sea

Plankton are the base of the oceans food web and are vital to our survival. But as our world changes will they be able to continue to play this essential role? Join us as we follow a group of NIWA scientists investigating various aspects of this question in the ocean around Antarctica.

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

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.

Extremely rare albino shark discovered in Auckland

Media Release

22 April 2020

A deep dive into the collection of an Auckland War Memorial Museum has revealed an extremely rare albino shark.

From land to sea – tracing our trash

NIWA and the Sustainable Coastlines charitable organisation are collaborating to develop ‘source-to-sea’ methods to trace the movement of litter from stormwater systems, through rivers, to coastlines.

Small sea-level rises to drive more intense flooding, say scientists

Media Release

14 April 2020

A little can mean a lot – especially when it comes to the relationship between sea level rise and coastal flooding.

Giant squid and glow-in-the-dark sharks surprise scientists

Media Release

17 February 2020

A giant squid and several glow-in-the-dark sharks were surprise finds for NIWA scientists last month on the Chatham Rise during a voyage to survey hoki, New Zealand’s most valuable commercial fish species.

Climate change and the oceans

Helping you understand the science of climate change. The things we can do to combat climate change, individually, and alongside our whānau, school and community, can and will make a difference.

Scientist pieces together details of underwater landslides

Media Release

28 November 2019

New information about landslides that occur on the seafloor off New Zealand’s east coast will help scientists better understand why and where they happen, and the types of threats they pose.

Planning an ocean observation network

Media Release

3 October 2019

New Zealand’s changing ocean environment has prompted the call to develop a system that will keep closer tabs on information from scientific monitoring buoys so the data they produce can be shared as widely as possible.

Methane seep research bubbling along

Media Release

10 September 2019

A chance discovery off the Gisborne coast five years ago is prompting a NIWA scientist to find out more about the link between a field of methane seeps bubbling out of the sea floor and submarine landslides.

Stitching together a new view of the seafloor

Combining multibeam bathymetry, specialist GIS software and high-resolution camera footage, NIWA has produced startlingly vivid three-dimensional photo-mosaics of undersea habitats.

Tangaroa open day attracts hundreds of visitors

NIWA’s research vessel RV Tangaroa opened its gangway, decks and doors to an excited public in Dunedin last month.

Ambitious NIWA-led Antarctic Ocean project gets go-ahead

NIWA is to lead a new six-year project aimed at improving understanding of how the Antarctic oceans work.

Dive deep into NIWA ocean science

21 July 2019 to 9 February 2020

Dive deep into NIWA’s world of ocean science and discovery at Otago Museum’s Beautiful Science Gallery.

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.

Sea Surface Temperature Update - 13 February 2019

Following the Tasman Sea marine heatwave event of 2017-18, this report will help users understand the latest conditions in the ocean and their expected changes over the upcoming weeks.

Voyage Update 9: Protistan diversity

During the voyage, we collected planktonic protist cells for which DNA will be sequenced for taxonomic identification, but also to understand their physiology through the daily diurnal vertical migration (diel) cycle.

Seabed mapping in Marlborough uncovers 10 shipwrecks

31 August 2018

The most detailed seafloor mapping of a coastal region off New Zealand has been completed in Marlborough.

Scientists mark 10th anniversary of ocean acidification research

Media Release

9 October 2017

A decade of scientific research into how ocean acidification is affecting New Zealand waters has led to far greater understanding of the vulnerability of our marine ecosystems, according to a newly published review.

Investigating ocean acidification

Feature story

21 January 2016

The world’s oceans are acidifying as a result of the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by humanity.

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.

BLOG: Sir Peter Blake Trust Ambassador Blake Hornblow - Enounters with Antarctica's animals

Blog

26 February 2015

It has been another amazing week here on the Tangaroa. On Saturday we saw Antarctica which was an absolutely breath-taking experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!

Enabling management of offshore mining

Interest in offshore petroleum and minerals exploration is growing rapidly as investors identify the potential economic returns from New Zealand’s rich marine resources. The challenge for management agencies and scientists is to facilitate development of this natural wealth while ensuring environmental sustainability is not compromised.

Explaining the blue whale research onboard the Tangaroa

Blog

22 February 2015

Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division explain the blue whale research they are leading onboard the New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage 2015.

Travelling with the blues

Blog

16 February 2015

NIWA voyage leader Dr Richard O’Driscoll updates the Tangaroa’s encounter with the planet’s largest living beings – the Antarctic blue whales – and discovers what’s on their menu.

Balleny Islands humpback research success

Media Release

9 February 2015

The first objective of the New Zealand- Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage was successfully achieved with the completion of the research at the Balleny Islands.