Research

Estuaries in New Zealand are experiencing sedimentation at higher rates than before humans arrived here: this represents a loss both for land and estuary productivity. We need to better understand what has been happening so that we can predict the future and fight these losses.

A significant threat to the biosecurity of New Zealand's freshwater habitats comes from plants that have been intentionally introduced.

River plumes form one of the primary connectors between river-estuary systems and the coastal ocean.

The Ocean Survey 20/20 (OS 20/20) programme aims to provide NZ with better knowledge of its ocean territory.

A Ministry for Primary Industries-funded study has shown that grass carp, in enclosures, can be used as an effective means of controlling invasive plant species in our waterways.

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. 

How do marine micro-organisms influence the earth's atmosphere and climate?

NIWA is involved in research and consultation' aimed at improving the health of our freshwater systems.

This research project focusses on modelling atmospheric chemistry and climate from the surface to the top of the stratosphere, using sophisticated chemistry-climate models.

In September 2010 and February 2011, two devastating earthquakes (M7.1 and M6.3 respectively) hit the Canterbury region

A project funded by West Coast Regional Council has increased our knowledge of the role of phosphorus in determining water quality in Lake Brunner.

The main aim of the surveys is to estimate the abundance of hoki and other commercially important species (such as hake and ling), but during the 20 consecutive surveys NIWA scientists have also been able to study other aspects of deepwater biodiversity on the Chatham Rise, including fish distribution, abundance, and ecology.