Atmosphere

World class research contributing to our understanding of greenhouse gases, ozone depletion, and urban air pollution.

MethaneSAT

Detecting and quantifying methane emissions by satellite. The core mission of this unique satellite is to support reductions in methane emissions around the world, primarily by reducing leaks from oil and gas production. NIWA's Dr Sara Mikaloff Fletcher is leading a science programme to develop capability to map agricultural emissions and determine the best places for the satellite to look for methane emissions around the world.

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    What is ocean acidification?

    Education Resource
    Ocean acidification is the name given to the lowering of pH of the oceans as a result of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
    Greenhouse and trace gases
    Climate change
    Coasts

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    Smart Rain Intensity Gauge - NIWA SRIG

    Coasts
    Oceans
    Data loggers

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    What do 'carbon neutral' and 'carbon footprint' mean?

    A carbon neutral activity is one that has a carbon footprint of zero.

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    What are greenhouse gases?

    Greenhouse gases are atmospheric gases that intercept long-wave (mainly infrared) radiation emitted from the Earth's surface.

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    What are ppm and ppb?

    PPM and PPB are units used in atmospheric chemistry to describe the concentration of gases.

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    NOAA Satellite data

    Like the GMS satellite, the NOAA Series of polar orbiting satellites (operated by NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) are a component of the World Weather Watch meteorological satellite network.
    Atmosphere

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    How can carbon emissions be weighed?

    The mass of carbon emissions can easily be calculated.

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    UVI at Lauder

    Real-time UV Index displays

    NIWA has developed a real time UV display in consultation with the Cancer Society and Sunsmart.
    UV and ozone

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    Atmosphere data

    Data from our research which we make publicly available.

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    All-sky - Lauder

    All-Sky images

    The all-sky image shows a hemispheric view of the sky at Lauder.

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    Atmospheric ozone, ultraviolet radiation, and stratospheric change

    Research Project
    CFCs have damaged the ozone layer and led to higher UV levels and increased health risks. Our role is to understand the causes and effects of ozone depletion, to inform the public of the risk.
    Antarctica
    UV and ozone
    Greenhouse and trace gases

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    Trace gas datasets

    Service
    NIWA makes a range of trace gas data freely available on our FTP site.
    Greenhouse and trace gases