NIWA
124 posts | 81 images
NIWA is a Crown owned research and consultancy company, with a global reputation as experts in water and atmospheric research.
NIWA is using machine learning to forecast flood inundation in a fraction of the time required to run physical models.
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Scientists have found a new ghost shark that lives exclusively in the deep waters of Australia and New Zealand.
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AUCKLAND — A Year 13 from Saint Kentigern College scooped top prizes at the 2023 NIWA South and East Auckland Science Fair for her project "Crab-a-dabra!".
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WELLINGTON — Researchers have discovered 26 species of roundworms that are completely new to science.
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AUCKLAND CITY — January was Auckland’s wettest month since records began, according to meteorologists.
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A joint Chinese - New Zealand research expedition to the Kermadec Trench at Ranghitāhua (Kermadec Islands region) has revealed fascinating new insights into life in the deepest part of New Zealand waters.
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PICTON — High-resolution mapping has produced the first ever global estimates of coastal habitat damage caused by anchoring.
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ALEXANDRA — A Central Otago scientific research station with a globally revered reputation is marking its 60th anniversary.
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New Zealand’s seven Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) have created the National Environmental Data Centre (NEDC) website to make the environmental information held by CRIs more accessible to all New Zealanders.
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The annual end-of-summer snowline survey of more than 50 South Island glaciers has revealed continued loss of snow and ice.
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WHANGAREI — This week’s torrential rains have set a new national rainfall record.
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Rare blue whales have been spotted by NIWA scientists on a research expedition in the South Taranaki Bight.
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Temperature A cool October for the south and west of the South Island, as well as Ruapehu to Hamilton, including inland Bay of Plenty.
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Scientists from around the world that work on lakes are pooling data and expertise, to better understand global changes in lake temperature.
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Potential climate change trends over the next 90 years will be identified and examined in a new, multi-million dollar research project which aims to ‘climate proof’ New Zealand.
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Spring westerlies arrived during the first few days of September, and prevailed during the first half of the month. These stormy westerly quarter winds produced very wet conditions on the West Coast of the South Island, but in contrast, a rather dry month in eastern areas of both islands. From mid-month, a pattern change saw more anticyclones than usual lie over New Zealand and to the east of the country. This combination of patterns resulted in more northwest winds than normal over New Zealand for the month of September, overall.
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This Sunday, NIWA celebrates the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Montreal Protocol, which is hailed as the most successful international environmental protection treaty to date.
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NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa will set sail from Wellington on 21 August to map the seabed in the mid-to-outer Greater Hauraki Gulf, including the coast off Coromandel.
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Rainfall Extremely wet in Northland, Western Bay of Plenty, Waikato, Gisborne, southern Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Tasman, south Canterbury and parts of Otago. In contrast, it was unusually dry in Southland.
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Scientists are using a remote-controlled miniature speedboat to gauge New Zealand river flows.
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Next week, in New Caledonia, representatives from NIWA and French science agency GOPS will join forces to sign a significant agreement for closer scientific collaboration in the South Pacific region.
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Rainfall: Dry over the South Island as well as in Manawatu-Wanganui and the Tararua District. Above normal autumn rainfall for Northland, north Auckland, Gisborne, parts of Hawkes Bay and the south Wairarapa coast.
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Scientists have been working on ways to find out about earthquakes that occurred before oral and written records began in New Zealand.
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National Climate Summary – May 2012: Dry over the South Island; generally sunny & cool Rainfall: Extremely dry in Canterbury, and generally dry elsewhere in the South Island.
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Drier winter likely for some Neutral conditions (neither La Niña nor El Niño) presently exist in the tropical Pacific and should persist through much of winter, but there is a likelihood of El Niño developing by spring.
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New Zealand is the first country in the world to catalogue its entire known living and fossil life.
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New Zealand’s largest research vessel Tangaroa sets off today to map, in high resolution detail, the southern Hikurangi Margin - a vital area of seabed off the east coast of New Zealand.
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Neutral conditions prevail in the tropical Pacific (no La Niña or El Niño), after the end of the 2011/12 La Niña event.
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The sea is creeping up on us, with storm surge flooding starting to occur more frequently on king tides.
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SOUTHLAND — NIWA and Environment Southland have recently returned with stunning new footage of undersea sills in Dusky and Doubtful Sounds, brimming with sea life, corals and sponges. The footage was taken from a remote-operated vehicle (ROV), and is being used to assess 20 areas within Fiordland currently designated as anchoring sites for tourist cruise ships.
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Scientists have just completed a successful trip to Stewart Island, tagging 23 great white sharks.
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How far and fast can aquatic insects travel upstream? Do the adults have to fly, or can the larvae crawl? A NIWA scientist is using obstacle courses to test the ability of fly larvae for upstream travel - a kind of flyathalon.
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AUCKLAND — Overfishing and sedimentation have reduced the number of natural beds of green-lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus), in soft sediment habitats, from many regions around New Zealand.
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Summer (December 2011- February 2012) was characterised by more highs than usual near the Chatham Islands, and more lows than normal over the north Tasman Sea.
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Flying above the New Zealand coastline on cloudless days, you can sometimes see plumes of material-laden river water, much of it containing sediment from land runoff.
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A mature La Niña event in the tropical Pacific should be gone by Easter, according to the NIWA National Climate Centre. This means that local sea temperatures around our coast, and low pressure activity over the Tasman Sea, are likely to most influence our autumn climate.
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An innovative biogas system, developed at NIWA Hamilton, has been embraced by the Australian pork industry.
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New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and New Zealand MetService have issued a tropical cyclone outlook on behalf of collaborating organisations from the southwest Pacific, including Australia, the USA, the Pacific Island National Meteorological Services, French Polynesia, and New Caledonia.
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Fifty intrepid travellers set off from Bluff tomorrow, onboard the Spirit of Enderby, a Russian ice-strengthened ship, destined for Antarctica and the sub-Antarctica.
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Next week, NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa will set sail for the Chatham Rise, for an international study of how microscopic organisms in the surface waters may affect the creation of clouds.
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The year 2011 will be remembered as one of extremes.
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Wild kai such as eel (tuna), lamprey (kanakana) and whitebait are a significant cultural, recreational and economic resource for Māori in South Canterbury.
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A historic agreement, aimed at improving country-to-country collaboration on marine research, observations and data management between New Zealand and Australia, has been signed in Canberra this morning.
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Rainfall: Extremely dry in Northland, Firth of Thames, Eastern Waikato, Coromandel, Western Bay of Plenty, and Taupo. Wet around Palmerston North, and very wet over much of South Island, especially Otago, South Canterbury, and the Lakes District.
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NIWA scientists will use geochemistry of precisely-dated kauri tree rings to examine New Zealand's climate during the last millennium.
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New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) and New Zealand MetService have issued a tropical cyclone outlook on behalf of collaborating organisations from the southwest Pacific, including Australia, the USA, the Pacific Island National Meteorological Services, French Polynesia, and New Caledonia.
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Rainfall: Less than half of normal in Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, the West Coast, and Mackenzie country. Generally dry elsewhere, except for Auckland, central Otago and coastal Southland.
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A recent OECD report describes New Zealand’s water quality as ‘good’ relative to most OECD countries but says that it is deteriorating.
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Happy Feet, the emperor penguin that’s captured the hearts of New Zealanders and others around the world, has been released back into the Southern Ocean, off NIWA’s largest research vessel, Tangaroa.
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Rough weather has delayed Happy Feet’s release back into the Southern Ocean today, off NIWA’s research vessel, Tangaroa.
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Happy Feet is thriving onboard NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa, despite the rough sea conditions.
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Precipitation: Polar outbreak mid-month produced heavy snow across eastern and alpine areas of the South Island, as well as Wellington.
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The NIWA National Climate Centre's spring outlook for New Zealand, for September – November as a whole, indicates that temperatures are likely to be above average in the North Island as well as for the northern South Island, and near average or above average in other regions.
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WELLINGTON CITY — Happy Feet, the emperor penguin that’s captured the hearts of New Zealanders and others around the world, is finally homeward bound, onboard NIWA’s largest research vessel, Tangaroa.
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WELLINGTON — Winners announced! The 2011 NIWA Wellington Regional Science and Technology Fair has again been a resounding success, with nearly 600 intermediate and secondary school students taking part.
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ROTORUA — Gathering and eating wild kai, like koura (crayfish), watercress, tuna (eel), and more recently trout, has long been a part of tikanga (custom) for Te Arawa people.
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WELLINGTON — New Zealander of the Year this year is scientist Sir Paul Callaghan, and perhaps this is what has inspired the many young entrants in this year’s Wellington Science Fair.
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New Zealanders love their wood burners and keeping warm in winter, but wood burners and how they are being used are the major contributors to winter urban air pollution.
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The tropical Pacific are now in the neutral range (neither La Niña nor El Niño), and is expected to remain neutral over at least the next season, according to the NIWA National Climate Centre.
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NIWA’s research vessel Tangaroa has just completed a very successful voyage of habitats of significance for marine organisms and biodiversity.
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AUCKLAND — NIWA scientists are investigating traffic-related air pollution and ultra-fine particles at Auckland schools, inside and outside classrooms, to help understand the long-term health effects on children.
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OTAGO — New Zealand climate scientists have detected the coldest day ever recorded in New Zealand, while looking at old New Zealand temperature records being entered into the National Climate database.
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STEWART ISLAND — Scientists completed a successful three-week field tagging trip in April 2011, where they tagged a record 27 great white sharks around the Titi (Muttonbird) Islands off the northeast coast of Stewart Island.
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NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research) Chairman Chris Mace says New Zealand urgently needs a National Oceans Strategy, to sustainably manage and use its extensive marine resources to boost the economy.
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Temperatures: The 3rd-warmest June on record. Well above average temperatures in the north and west of both Islands. Near average temperatures in the east and south of the South Island.
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SEASONAL CLIMATE OUTLOOK: July – September 2011 Mild conditions likely to continue through late winter The recent La Niña event has dissipated, and conditions in the tropical Pacific are expected to remain near neutral over the coming season, according to the NIWA National Climate Centre.
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New Zealand was affected by more northerly winds than usual during autumn, squeezed between low pressures over the Tasman Sea and anticyclones ('highs') lying east of the country. These northerly winds contributed to the very warm and wet autumn experienced over most of the North Island, and the north of the South Island.
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It was the warmest May on record, using NIWA's seven-station temperature series which began in 1909. The average temperature for May was 12.9°C (2.2°C above the 1971–2000 May average).
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The strong La Niña event which has dominated the tropical Pacific for several months has faded out, according to the NIWA National Climate Centre.
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Ground-breaking research by NIWA and The University of Auckland, investigating the annual movements of New Zealand seabirds migrating within the Pacific Ocean, has revealed that populations are genetically distinct, and have been for centuries as a result of their differing migration behavior.
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New Zealand is bang in the middle of the biggest and wildest waters on the planet: the Southern Ocean.
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BLUFF — The oyster season runs until the end of August this year and so far the news is all good for oyster fishers and oyster lovers.
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NIWA’s latest voyage of discovery will examine the expansive continental shelf around New Zealand looking for our biodiversity hotspots.
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SOUTHLAND — New research on the effectiveness of the herbicide endothall shows favourable results in the battle to rid lakes and rivers of New Zealand's most invasive aquatic weeds, including hydrilla, hornwort and lagarosiphon (an oxygen weed).
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NATIONAL CLIMATE CENTRE Monday 2 May 2011 conditions in eastern areas of both islands. Rainfall: Treble normal April rainfall in Hawkes Bay. Well above normal rainfall in Auckland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, inland Gisborne, Wairarapa, Wellington, Kapiti Coast, Manawatu, south Taranaki, Kaikoura coast, and south Canterbury.
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A mild early winter shaping up for many regions; La Niña bowing out.
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OTAGO — NIWA's research station at Lauder in Central Otago specialises in measuring Ozone, UV levels and greenhouse gases, and is home to a team of research scientists and world class instruments.
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SOUTHLAND — NIWA marine scientists will use baited-underwater-video (BUV) to assess blue cod stocks in Fiordland this week.
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New research about how the configuration of beaches and climate cycles affect rip currents will help improve the accuracy of forecasts of when and where dangerous rips occur on New Zealand beaches, potentially saving lives.
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During late March and April, NIWA fisheries scientists will be tagging hundreds of juvenile tarakihi in Tasman and Golden Bays, in an effort to learn more about their nursery habits and habitat.
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New data from NIWA shows waves generated by last Friday’s magnitude 9.0 Japan earthquake reached all coasts of New Zealand, as predicted, and even registered on a sea-level gauge at Scott Base, in Antarctica.
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Preliminary results from the first comprehensive survey of the Cook Strait Canyon seabed have begun to reveal tantalising scientific secrets about New Zealand’s largest underwater canyon.
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NATIONAL CLIMATE CENTRE Wednesday 2 March 2011.
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QUEENSTOWN — More than 30 international experts in climate science will meet in Queenstown this week to discuss implementing a new a state-of-the-art global network to improve the quality of measurements of upper air climate variables.
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PICTON — Targeted geological sampling and imaging by NIWA scientists next week will help understand active seabed processes in one of New Zealand’s largest seafloor features.
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Warmer than normal conditions likely to continue into autumn.
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A strong La Niña in the tropical Pacific is expected to persist into early autumn 2011, says the NIWA National Climate Centre. La Niña conditions are likely to ease during the autumn.
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NIWA today released a report reviewing its seven station temperature series, which adds to its analysis of New Zealand’s temperature trends over the past 100 years.The report was independently peer reviewed by Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology to ensure the ideas, methods, and conclusions stood up in terms of scientific accuracy, logic, and consistency.
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New climate modelling shows seasonal snow levels at New Zealand ski areas will be reduced by the effects of climate change in the coming years, but the good news is the loss may actually be less than originally anticipated and we should be able to continue to make snow, even under a more extreme climate scenario.
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• Rainfall: Driest spring on record in parts of Northland and Auckland.
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Analysis from NIWA’s ozone research shows that the Antarctic ozone hole is smaller this year than any of the previous five years.
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NATIONAL CLIMATE CENTRE Wednesday 1 December 2010.
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A moderate to strong La Niña in the tropical Pacific is expected to persist through the summer of 2010/11, says the NIWA National Climate Centre. La Niña conditions are likely to continue through to autumn of 2011 and then to ease.
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Overall, October 2010 was extremely sunny and very dry in most regions. More anticyclones ('highs') covered New Zealand than is typical for the time of year, resulting in a rather settled climate during the month. The exceptions were an extremely cold southerly event which affected the country on the 11th and 12th, and a subsequent wet period for the east coast of the North Island between the 13th and 15th.
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A moderate to strong La Niña is well-established in the tropical Pacific, and may strengthen further through the rest of 2010, says the NIWA National Climate Centre.
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