Oceans

The seafloor of the Ross Sea region is covered in ice for much of the year, but many benthic sea creatures live and thrive there.

An interactive guide to the starfish of the Ross Sea

The main output of this voyage is providing data and fundamental base maps for future regional prospectivity surveys, tectonic plate reconstructions, and general understanding of the architecture of the Kermadec backarc.

We have reached the end of our sampling program up in the Kermadecs and we’re on our way home

For the last couple of days we have been sampling near L’Esperance Rock.

Here is an insight into what Auckland University’s whale research team is up to in The Kermadecs.

Over the last few days the “dive team” have been recording corals, fishes, urchins and other invertebrates from the shallow waters (0-30m) surrounding Raoul Island to complement the biodiversity records from the deeper ocean collected by the other scientists onboard.

A critically endangered turtle today began a two-day journey back to its home in Rangitāhua, the Kermadecs.

An interactive guide to the large brown seaweeds of New Zealand.

Our latest 131 page NIWA Biodiversity Memoir is an initiative of the US/NZ Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) Marine and Ocean Theme.

New Zealand is lucky to have its own sea lion. They were nearly driven to extinction more than 150 years ago by the first human settlers and then by commercial sealing—a story shared with nearly all seals.