Atmospheric analysis

From the rocky shores of Wellington’s South Coast to the icy waters of Antarctica, NIWA scientists are combining drone technology with advanced computer skills to map, measure and analyse the natural environment as never before. Campbell Gardiner explains.

With the winter snowpack starting to build, who’s keeping an eye out on conditions in the mountains?

Sam Fraser-Baxter catches up with a Fiji-born weather technician with a newfound love for the cold

For a small group of unassuming buildings nestled amongst the wide-open spaces of the Maniototo, the Lauder Atmospheric Research Station punches well above its weight.

Flood flows on the Buller River this month were the largest of any river in Aotearoa New Zealand in almost 100 years, NIWA measurements show.

Studying the mesopelagic in the Ross sea

The Murchison mountains SIN station is located at 1140 m elevation in Fiordland National Park. Because of the low elevation, snow often comes and goes throughout the winter season. Snow records start in 2012.

Castle Mount electronic weather station is at 2000 m elevation on an exposed site above the Milford Track. Records here begin in 2012. Strong winds limit snow accumulation during the winter.

The Mount Larkins electronic weather station is located east of the main divide near Glenorchy and Lake Wakatipu at 1900m elevation.

Mueller Hut electronic weather station is at 1818m elevation and located in Mount Cook/Aoraki National Park. This site also measures solic precipitation and solar radiation. This is the deepest (~3m) of all the snow and ice network sites and records at this site start from 2010.

The Mount Philistine site is located at 1655m elevation on the Main Divide near Arthurs Pass and Rolleston Glacier. It is a high precipitation area and snow records here start in 2010.

Mahanga electronic weather station (EWS) is on Mount Mahanga in Tasman. It is at 1940 m elevation near the Nelson Lakes. It's our most northerly South Island site and our snow records here date back to 2009.