Research

Contamination of shellfish by faecal microbes is a health hazard to the consumer and so is of particular concern to the commercial producer.

NIWA is conducting a five–year study to map changes in the distribution of plankton species in surface waters between New Zealand and the Ross Sea.

This project was undertaken for Auckland Regional Council to identify significant sources of contaminants in the central Waitemata and southeastern Manukau Harbours.

Understanding the complexity of tidal resources in New Zealand’s coastal waters and examining how extracting tidal energy would influence and be influenced by this variability.

This project will demonstrate the commercial feasibility of producing bio-oil by the conversion of algae biomass that has been grown in wastewater treatment facilities. In particular we aim to maximise algae production in High Rate Algal Ponds (HRAP) by adding carbon dioxide, and demonstrate energy efficient conversion of algal biomass to bio-oil.

A primary aim of the Sultanate of Oman Ministry of Fisheries Wealth is to ensure that fisheries are developed and managed for the advantage of the people of Oman in a manner that is sustainable and maintains biodiversity.

Satellite images can be used to measure phytoplankton biomass in the ocean around New Zealand in order to understand ocean ecosystems, fish populations and greenhouse gas absorbtion.

Estuaries are highly valuable systems that provide enormous economic and cultural benefits to all kinds of people. However, expanding human populations and urban development around estuaries is increasing contaminant loads, with metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) accumulating in sediments.

Ngā Waihotanga Iho, the estuarine monitoring toolkit for Iwi, has been developed to provide tangata whenua with tools to measure environmental changes in their estuaries. While Ngā Waihotanga Iho is based on sound science principles, it is also underpinned by tangata whenua values.

Using a collaborative case study approach, the aim of this project is to assist tangata whenua to bring together different, yet complementary knowledge systems - distinct Māori knowledge and conventional fisheries and ecosystem information.

Farmers rely on irrigation, but water is a limited resource and little is know about how to manage it best. NIWA has developed a hydrology and soil science model to show how much to water, and when, to get the best results.

New Zealand's rivers and streams, and the diverse fish that live in them, are worth protecting. But the question of which species prefer to live where was unanswered until NIWA completed this major survey.