Estuaries

We offer a range of ecological monitoring tools.

The main purpose of Ngā Waihotanga Iho is to provide tools for the public to measure environmental changes that occur in estuaries over time. These changes may occur due to natural processes and/or human activities.

This project aims to increase our knowledge of aquatic ecosystems and their restoration, and apply this to degraded streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries.

Mangrove systems on oceanic atolls may lose the race to keep pace with sea-level rise.

NIWA is active in a broad range of eDNA topics and can provide expert advice on applications and expected outcomes.

A group of international scientists are visiting some of New Zealand’s most significant coastal wetlands as part of a five-year research project to help the country adapt and prepare for sea-level rise.

Aotearoa-New Zealand’s marine area covers 167,650 square kilometres presenting a staggering distribution of climates, from subtropical to subantarctic waters, to understand and manage.

Specialised monitoring equipment has been installed in Bay of Plenty estuaries to understand whether our coastal wetlands can survive the threat of inevitable sea-level rise.

Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater mixes with seawater. Many estuaries in Aotearoa New Zealand have been impacted by pollutants and contaminants entering via freshwater.

A combination of artificial intelligence and scientific ingenuity looks set to be the next step forward in protecting Aotearoa New Zealand’s lakes and rivers from invasive aquatic weeds.

Environmental monitoring technician Patrick Butler has spent hours travelling between the upper and lower reaches of Canterbury’s Waimakariri and Hurunui Rivers. His mission – river water quality sampling.

Sam Fraser-Baxter heads out with a NIWA research team keeping a close eye on these vulnerable transition zones.