Waves

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New maps from NIWA and the Deep South National Science Challenge show areas across Aotearoa New Zealand that could be inundated by extreme coastal flooding.
NIWA scientists will be in Hawkes Bay this week to map the seabed to measure the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle
Beachgoers could be safer thanks to a new technology with the potential to give real-time updates of rip currents.
Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.

Latest videos

Shifting Sands - Tsunami hazard off Kaikoura, NZ

Dr Joshu Mountjoy discusses NIWA's work in assessing the tsunami hazard just south of Kaikoura. 

Find out more about this research. 

Cam-Era is a network of computer-controlled cameras that monitor the New Zealand environment for research and resource management. These are also useful for surfers and swimmers.
New maps from NIWA and the Deep South National Science Challenge show areas across Aotearoa New Zealand that could be inundated by extreme coastal flooding.
NIWA scientists will be in Hawkes Bay this week to map the seabed to measure the effects of Cyclone Gabrielle
Storm-tide red alerts are the highest high tide (also known as king tides) dates that Emergency Managers and Coastal Hazard Managers should write in their diaries and keep an eye on adverse weather (low barometric pressure, onshore winds), river levels and sea conditions (waves and swell). This page shows the 2023 dates of the highest high-tide "red alert" dates, and the lowest high-tide dates.
Beachgoers could be safer thanks to a new technology with the potential to give real-time updates of rip currents.
Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.
NIWA and Surf Life Saving New Zealand are working together to develop a state-of-the-art, rip current identification tool underpinned by artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies.
Marsden-funded research investigating how erupting volcanoes can cause deadly and damaging tsunamis.
Innovative experiments are giving natural hazard researchers and PhD students a close look at how erupting volcanoes can cause deadly and damaging tsunamis.
We combine capabilities in weather, storm surge and tide forecasting with tide gauge observations to predict sea levels for specific locations under forecast weather conditions.
Researchers have recovered a scientific buoy from the Kāpiti Marine Reserve that went missing in late March.
A network of state-of-the-art tsunami buoys is being deployed from New Zealand up into the Pacific to keep communities safer.
NIWA scientists have completed the first national assessment of people and buildings at risk in New Zealand’s tsunami evacuation zones.
High waves pounding Wellington’s south coast today are being caused by a deep area of low pressure passing the Chatham Islands, according to NIWA forecaster Ben Noll.
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.
A buoy with the ability to “phone home” has been deployed in Wellington Harbour today to monitor currents, waves and water quality in the harbour.
Coastal hazards, driven by more extreme coastal physical processes (including coinciding factors), can cause damage, disruption and even casualties in estuaries, river mouths, open coasts and coastal/shelf waters.
The high-water red-alert calendar forecasts days when the tide + mean sea-level anomaly will be unusually high.
Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning great wave in harbour
Coming from the Japanese word 'harbour wave', tsunami are a series of waves – with wave lengths up to hundreds of kilometres between crests - caused by undersea seismic disturbances.

New Zealand’s coast is sculpted by ocean waves. Some wave conditions bring joy to surfers and beachgoers, but, at other times, waves can cause major hazards at sea or along the shore.

The waters around New Zealand have some of the highest waves in the world, being exposed to swell coming up from the Southern Ocean, as well as storms in the Tasman Sea and Pacific Ocean.
Tide forecasts, Sea-level network, Tidal model of New Zealand’s EEZ and Red-alert days for coastal flooding
A glossary of terms relating to coastal science.
New Zealand has low-lying coastal areas that are vulnerable to inundation (flooding) by the sea, especially during storms.

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All staff working on this subject

Principal Scientist - Marine Geology
Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes Scientist
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