NIWA

Oceans

Recording old oceans centre tag.

Latest news

Tangaroa heads back to sea – with social distancing

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.

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.

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 - 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.

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

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.

Our quality management system

Our Quality Management System is our commitment to quality, productivity, consistency and customer satisfaction.

NIWA holds ISO9001:2008 certification.

About Instrument Systems

The Instrument Systems group is located at NIWA in Christchurch, New Zealand. Our 16 staff have a diverse range of technical, engineering and science skills, and we have extended capability from being part of a wider team.

Training

We provide training in the use and maintenance of our instruments, software and data collection systems.

Service contracts

We offer service contracts to minimize downtime if an instrument fails. We keep a full range of spares in our Christchurch store and can courier a spare to the contract holder on receiving a request.

Evaluation

We evaluate new products to ensure that they're 'fit for purpose' before we approve them for widespread use.

Calibration

We calibrate environmental sensors, at our Christchurch laboratory, using reference instruments that are themselves calibrated to traceable standards by an independent organization.

Support

We service and support individual instruments, systems and nationwide networks.

Installation

We install monitoring and control systems of all sizes, throughout New Zealand, in the Pacific Islands and even the Antarctic.

Supply

We supply a complete range of environmental monitoring equipment, from small components to large systems. We also supply accessories and miscellaneous items.

Manufacturing

We manufacture items such as cables and circuit boards through to subassemblies for both standard and specialized systems.

Development

We develop custom environmental monitoring and irrigation flow-control solutions.

Design

We design instruments and systems of instruments. We have full mechanical and electronic CAD capability.

Did sea-level gauges in New Zealand detect the 2010 Chile Tsunami?

Rob Bell's analysis of the tsunami signature.

Contacts

Contacts for NIWA Invertebrate Collection staff.

Services

Instrument Systems offers a number of services, including: design, development, manufacture, supply, installation, service and support, calibration, evaluation, hire, training and service contracts.

Water Level Recorder - NIWA Hydrologger

A cost-effective water level recorder. Comprises a water surface float-driven shaft encoder and internal data logger with rainfall input. Connects directly to compatible communications devices.

Wave Gauge - NIWA DOBIE

When deployed underwater, this self-contained instrument records and analyses water waves. It can trigger other instruments and send alarms via a communications link.

Monitoring the Antarctic environment

For over two decades NIWA has installed automatic monitoring systems in hostile environments, and probably none is more hostile than the Antarctic. In 2009 we were involved in a project with a difference - installing a climate station as part of a project to protect Scott's Hut, Cape Evans.

Valiant crew of NIWA’s Kaharoa set to spend Christmas in wild waters

23 December 2009

NIWA’s 28-metre research vessel Kaharoa will spend Christmas at sea. Kaharoa will be in the midst of the Indian Ocean, on an epic journey deploying over 100 ocean-profiling ‘Argo’ floats.

Icebergs South of New Zealand

18 November 2009

Australian Antarctic Division seal biologists were the first to photograph several large icebergs off the coasts of Macquarie Island. Since the beginning of November these icebergs have been pushed north by winds and ocean currents to be within 250 km of New Zealand.