Recording old oceans centre tag.
Land-use change and sedimentation
Simulations showing the spread of fine sediment in Whaingaroa Harbour over 5 hours, after heavy rain.
Sedimentation of estuaries and inshore environments is a serious environmental issue in some areas around New Zealand’s coastline.
Mahia’s nuisance sediment
Eroding cliffs – a possible sediment source on Mahia Peninsula. (Photo: Sheryl Miller, NIWA)
Mahia Peninsula, at the northern end of Hawke’s Bay, is renowned for its beautiful beaches and spectacular surf. But sedimentation is a big problem on some parts of the coast. The water is clouded by fine mud, and nearshore marine habitats such as rocky reefs are blanketed in sediment.
Identifying emerging contaminants of concern
Household waste at the landfill: one source of emerging contaminants of concern.
Of mud, mangroves, and radioisotopes
Mangroves advancing in the Firth of Thames. (Photo: Andrew Swales, NIWA)
Many of New Zealand’s estuaries are becoming muddier, as sediment washes into them from rivers and stormwater drains and accumulates, rather than being dispersed by tides. Mangrove swamps are a feature of some of our muddy estuaries, and the Firth of Thames is a good example of a place where mangroves and mud are steadily accumulating.
Death of a thousand cuts - ecosystem disturbance
Intertidal flats of Mahurangi Harbour. (Photo: Jane Halliday, NIWA)
‘The problem that resource managers face in trying to protect coastal environments is that damage is like death of a thousand cuts – it is often the result of many different small disturbances, the effects of which accumulate over time.’ So says NIWA scientist Simon Thrush, who is leading a long-term project on ecological disturbance modelling at NIWA.
Most environmental threats come in the form of some sort of disturbance to natural ecosystems.
