Oceans

New Zealand’s coast is sculpted by ocean waves. Some wave conditions bring joy to surfers and beachgoers, but, at other times, waves can cause major hazards at sea or along the shore.

NIWA has transformed 1.5 million square kilometres of data into the most accurate and detailed map yet of the land underneath the sea around New Zealand.

An interactive guide to the sponges of New Zealand.

RV Tangaroa is New Zealand’s only ice strengthened and dynamically positioned deep-water research vessel.

NIWA scientists have made the rare discovery of a days-old ghost shark during a recent survey off the east coast of the South Island.

A basket star was the first reported animal trawled up from the deep sea back in the early 1800s so they have a spot in the history books of deep ocean exploration.

An unavoidable delay in a research ship’s voyage to Antarctica resulted in some surprising and important findings about the behaviour of emperor penguins.

We are currently steaming out towards our survey area, the Louisville Seamount Chain, which is about 1500 km from Wellington.

The world’s oceans are acidifying as a result of the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by humanity.

Casal2 is an advanced software package developed by NIWA for modelling the population dynamics of marine species.