Sediments

Latest news

Underwater robot getting close-up look at Kaikōura Canyon

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.

Handwritten files provide sediment treasure chest

Media Release

2 October 2018

A NIWA scientist who spent years poring over handwritten scientific notes stored in about 50 large wooden drawers, has seen the fruits of her labour now being used in ways she never imagined.

Upgraded research vessel

12 December 2010

The return of the upgraded RV Tangaroa represents a huge advancement for New Zealand science and exploration

NIWA today welcomed home RV Tangaroa, New Zealand’s only deepwater research vessel, after a $20 million dollar upgrade to enhance its ocean science and survey capabilities.

Our work

Suspended sediment dynamics in New Zealand Rivers: Impacts of catchment characteristics on the timing of sediment delivery during runoff events

Fine sediment is the most pervasive and significant contaminant in New Zealand’s rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas.

Braided river morphodynamics and invasive exotic vegetation

Braided rivers are an arena where woody weeds and floods are in constant competition with each other. Braided rivers naturally flood frequently, repeatedly mobilising their bed sediments and shifting their multiple channels.

Predicting long-term sedimentation and heavy metal accumulation in estuaries

NIWA has developed an Urban Stormwater Contaminant (USC) model to enable urban planners to predict sedimentation and heavy metal accumulation in estuaries and identify problem areas in order to target mitigation measures.

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.

Latest videos

Recording underwater biodiversity after earthquakes

NIWA’s marine ecologist Dr Dave Bowden talks about the catastrophic changes to the seafloor in the Kaikoura Canyon following the November 2016 earthquake.

Earthquake's unseen impact

NIWA scientists on board RV Ikatere have been surveying the coastal area around Kaikoura for the first time since November's magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 2016. Their work has revealed significant changes to the sea floor...

2021 - Kaikōura Canyon

Studying the sediment samples will reveal important information about how the canyon changes the flow of sediment in the deep ocean after big events, such as the Kaikōura earthquake.

Eutrophication Explorer

A web application tool to explore monitoring data and model predictions related to stream and estuary eutrophication

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.

Suspended sediment dynamics in New Zealand Rivers: Impacts of catchment characteristics on the timing of sediment delivery during runoff events

Fine sediment is the most pervasive and significant contaminant in New Zealand’s rivers, estuaries, and coastal areas.

Braided river morphodynamics and invasive exotic vegetation

Braided rivers are an arena where woody weeds and floods are in constant competition with each other. Braided rivers naturally flood frequently, repeatedly mobilising their bed sediments and shifting their multiple channels.

Sediment fingerprinting determines sources of erosion

NIWA scientists have used two sediment ‘fingerprinting’ techniques to identify the contribution of the major sediment sources by erosion processes and land use in an Auckland catchment.

Freshwater Update 80, March 2019

Freshwater Update 80 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles that cross a broad spectrum of freshwater research. This edition has articles about the sources of plastics in our waterways, the discovery of long-lost lake plant species and a breakthrough in research about freshwater mussels/kākahi.

Slowing the mud invasion

New Zealand's estuaries were once sandy, forest-lined gems.

Reducing sedimentation

According to Dr Andrew Swales, an estuarine physical processes scientist who leads NIWA’s Catchments to Estuaries programme, New Zealand is particularly susceptible to erosion due to the country’s steep lands.

Freshwater Update 79, November 2018

Freshwater Update 79 brings you the latest information from our Freshwater & Estuaries Centre, with articles ranging from NIWA working with NASA; restoring a stream catchment in Kaikōura; looking after urban water; keeping soil and reducing sedimentation; to culling catfish.

Handwritten files provide sediment treasure chest

Media Release

2 October 2018

A NIWA scientist who spent years poring over handwritten scientific notes stored in about 50 large wooden drawers, has seen the fruits of her labour now being used in ways she never imagined.

Using new laser technology to measure bank erosion

Fine sediment is NZ’s most widespread contaminant, degrading ecosystems and impairing recreational, cultural and aesthetic values in our rivers, estuaries, and coastal seas.

Compound Specific Stable Isotope tracing of sediment sources - tools to manage a sticky problem in New Zealand’s freshwaters and estuaries

Fine sediment is New Zealand’s most widespread water contaminant, degrading ecosystems, infilling dams and reservoirs and impairing recreational, cultural and aesthetic values in our rivers, estuaries and coastal seas.

Recording underwater biodiversity after earthquakes

NIWA’s marine ecologist Dr Dave Bowden talks about the catastrophic changes to the seafloor in the Kaikoura Canyon following the November 2016 earthquake.

Earthquake's unseen impact

NIWA scientists on board RV Ikatere have been surveying the coastal area around Kaikoura for the first time since November's magnitude 7.8 earthquake in 2016. Their work has revealed significant changes to the sea floor...

Water Quality maps, July to September 2012

River Temperatures (JAS)

Winter river water temperatures were mostly in the range 0 to 16^oC

Nutrient spiralling study in the Tukituki River, Hawkes Bay

Intensive land use increases nutrient runoff to rivers, lakes and estuaries with adverse effects on ecosystems. Determining what combinations of land use and management enable the health and services of these ecosystems to be maintained or restored is a major challenge for councils.