Oceans

A research project co-led by Blue Carbon Services and NIWA will aim to provide New Zealand’s first national estimate of natural kelp-carbon sequestration in the marine environment.

We have now visited 23 separate sites in these coastal areas, albeit some of them very close together. Every time we visit a new site, we first need to map the seafloor as we are working in unchartered coastal waters.

Traits are defined as the components of organisms that can be measured and have an effect on ecosystem functioning. Examples of traits include the behaviour, life history, morphology, and physiology characteristics

We are two weeks into the voyage and while we have yet to enter the Ross Sea we have already seen so much! We are onboard RV Tangaroa with a team of 20 scientists and 18 crew, including a ship doctor and ice pilot, heading for the Ross Sea to study ocean physics, food web dynamics, subseafloor fluid systems and benthic ecology.

A joint Chinese – New Zealand research expedition to the Kermadec Trench at Ranghitāhua (Kermadec Islands region) has revealed fascinating new insights into life in the deepest part of New Zealand waters.

As New Zealanders search for the summer sun, 38 researchers and crew will board RV Tangaroa tomorrow for a six-week science voyage deep into the waters of Antarctica.

A study investigating the level of change needed to improve the state of Hawke’s Bay’s marine environment highlights the magnitude and frequency of interventions required for the seafloor ecosystem to recover.

NIWA is active in a broad range of eDNA topics and can provide expert advice on applications and expected outcomes. We welcome inquiries into our services and can assist with experimental design.

Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.

Initial data suggests careful handling of released snapper could help fishers save thousands of fish annually.

Coastal waters around Aotearoa New Zealand became unusually warm last month, say NIWA.

Scholl Deep is the deepest known point of the Kermadec Trench, which lies to the north of New Zealand.