Our Far South

Science Centres: Coasts and Oceans

 

Our Far South: Beyond Stewart Island is a month-long voyage around Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands, organised by economist and investor Gareth Morgan.

It aims to raise New Zealanders' awareness of the issues that face the region south of Stewart Island: the Southern Ocean, the sub-Antarctic islands, and Antarctica.  New Zealand has a significant stake in this vast region, which faces significant challenges, specifically in the fields of climate change, decreasing biodiversity, commercial interests and the present and future of the area's natural resources. 

With 50 people, and on board the the Spirit of Enderby, Our Far South brings together a group of experts on the region, including NIWA scientists, and was open to any New Zealanders, the proviso being that all aboard would contribute to the project in some way.

The primary themes which will be explored are: Protecting biodiversity, climate change, overfishing, mineral exploration, tourism and territorial aspirations.

Rob Murdoch, our General Manager of Research, is one of the experts on board, and will be sending us blog posts from the voyage. He is also giving a number of talks around the issues above and the videos accompanying his talks will added below. Follow these links for updates from the voyage. 

Our Far South - Final thoughts

Well, we arrived back from our month-long trip last week, glad to be home but also full of very moving memories from the amazing places we've seen, and the awe-inspiring wildlife living in them. Each of the voyage's members took something different out of the voyage, and we'll be sharing some of these learnings at a national school roadshow over the next few months.

Antarctic Climate Change

NIWA climate scientist Dr James Renwick explains what changes are occurring in the Antarctic in response to climate change and what's likely to happen in the future.

Southern Blue Whiting Fishery

NIWA fisheries scientist Dr Stuart Hanchet describes the history and management of the southern blue whiting fishery, centred around New Zealand's subantarctic islands.

Antarctic Coastal Marine Life in a Changing Climate

NIWA marine ecologist Dr Vonda Cummings discusses the likely effects of climate change on marine invertebrates living on the seafloor of the Ross Sea coast.

Climate Change and Deepsea Life

Dr Dave Bowden outlines concerns over the impacts of climate change on deepsea life in Antarctic waters.

Sea Ice and Climate Change

Dr Mike Williams, physical oceanographer at NIWA, explains the importance of Antarctic sea ice in the Earth's ocean and climate systems and how they may be affected by climate change.

Our Far South: March 4th 2012

We awoke early (6.15am) to low cloud and rain, with a 20-30 knot southerly wind. Many of us elected to go on a trip to Northwest Bay.

Our Far South: March 3rd 2012

The ship made record speed yesterday with speeds in excess of 13 knots! A light southerly breeze, calms seas and bout a 2-3 m swell.

Our Far South: March 2nd 2012

We continue to steam north and expect to be at Campbell Island at 6.30am.

Our Far South: March 1st 2012

The last few days have been occupied with lectures and discussions as we steam north towards Campbell Island across the mighty Southern Ocean. It is remarkably calm and the ship is barely moving up and down – long may it last!

Our Far South: February 28th 2012

The ship rolled most of the night as we headed north-east to get around the ice belt across the outer Ross Sea. Many of us struggled to get sleep last night.

Exploring Antarctic Deepsea Life

Most of the Southern Ocean outside of the narrow Antarctic continental shelf is more than 3000 m deep. This poses a real challenge for scientists studying the assemblages of animals living on the seabed.

Ocean acidification

The oceans are an important sink for atmospheric CO2, but as they take up increasing amounts of CO2 they are becoming more acidic.

The Decline of Subantarctic Wildlife

Populations of rockhopper penguins, elephant seals, and grey-headed albatrosses in the subantarctic have declined quite markedly in recent decades.

Antarctic Marine Food Webs

NIWA biological oceanographer Dr Matt Pinkerton discusses the complexities of Antarctic marine food webs, the uniqueness of many of Antarctica's marine animals and the extreme adaptations they display.

Our Far South: Feb 27th 2012

We awoke at 8am to be advised that the tides and wind had pushed enough ice into the Cape Adare region to prevent us from being able to go ashore there. As a result a decision was made to head south again to the Possession Islands to see if it was possible to go ashore on one of the islands.

Our Far South: Feb 26th 2012

This morning we woke to a dull cloudy day, calm seas and no ice. In the morning Anton gave a lecture on whaling, which was followed by a vigorous debate by all on what New Zealand's stance and future approach should be to commercial whaling, and in particular the 'scientific' whaling by Japan.

Our Far South: Feb 25th 2012

We were woken at 3.30am this morning to venture up to the bridge to see the Ross Ice Shelf. It was a truly magnificent sight – an ice cliff some 30-40 metres high and extending from Ross Island to the east some 800 miles.

Our Far South: Feb 23rd 2012

We awoke early to a slightly cloudy but calm cold day. Temperatures are now constantly sub-zero. During breakfast the ship had cruised through thin ice and was now anchored off McMurdo Base.

Next Stop Antarctica

See video

Our Far South is an expedition that aims to raise New Zealanders' awareness of the area south of Stewart Island. Gareth Morgan, Te Radar, scientists and 50 everyday Kiwis are onboard to learn and then share their experience. This is the first video produced by them, showing some of the highlights of the trip so far.

Our Far South so far - a video

The Our Far South crew have prepared a wonderful short video, showing some of the highlights of the Our Far South voyage thus far.

Our Far South: February 22nd 2012

We awoke to a sky beginning to clear and Franklin Island in the distance: much of Franklin Island is covered by a cap of ice.

Ecosystem Effects and Mitigation of the Toothfish Fishery

NIWA fisheries scientist Dr Stuart Hanchet describes the guiding principles that CCAMLR (the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Life) applies to the Antarctic toothfish fishery.

Management of the Toothfish Fishery

NIWA fisheries scientist Dr Stuart Hanchet explains what makes the Antarctic toothfish fishery one of the best managed fisheries in the world.

The Antarctic Toothfish Fishery

Antarctic toothfish are fished using longlines in southern Antarctic waters. NIWA fisheries scientist Alistair Dunn describes the history of the fishery and how it has been monitored.

Our Far South: Feb 21st 2012

Another day at sea. Last night the winds rose to about 45 knots and a 3-4 metre swell developed. The ship pitched quite a lot, with waves breaking over the bow and spray pounding the bridge windows. This was enough to send a number of the people on board to their bunks!

Our Far South: Feb 20th 2012

We awoke to find the ship weaving its way through icebergs, eventually to break out into the clear waters of the Ross Sea at about mid-day. The seas look cold and uninviting. As with the previous days, many of the icebergs are enormous, and the ones on the horizon almost look like space ships.

Our Far South: Feb 19th 2012

This morning at around 5.05am the first icebergs were sighted by people on board, and the numbers have slowly increased throughout the day as we head further south.

Our Far South: Feb 18th 2012

We are now into our second day heading south towards the ice, and about half way across the Southern Ocean.

Iron Fertilisation

Iron dissolved in the ocean is an important trace nutrient for phytoplankton – the microscopic plants that support marine food webs.

Southern Ocean Productivity

Phytoplankton – microscopic plants that drift in the sunlit waters of the world's oceans – are the engine that drives all of Antarctica's marine food webs.

Productivity of the Southern Ocean & Antarctica

The Southern Ocean and Antarctica have high levels of primary productivity for three months of the year, based on the growth of phytoplankton. These microscopic plants are highly adapted to this unique environment and survive despite the lack of iron – a key nutrient – in these waters. 

Phytoplankton and Climate Change

NIWA biological oceanographer Dr Philip Boyd explains how the Southern Ocean plays a key role in controlling the world's climate, by drawing large amounts of CO2 from Earth's atmosphere into the ocean depths.

Antarctic Coastal Marine Life

Dr Vonda Cummings, benthic ecologist at NIWA, explains the special characteristics of seafloor communities living in Antarctica's coastal waters and the importance of understanding what makes them tick.

Seabird Diversity in the Southern Ocean

The New Zealand archipelago, particularly its subantarctic islands, is a global seabird hotspot. It's home to 25 per cent of the world's breeding seabird populations and a very diverse array of penguin, albatross, petrel and shearwater species.

Antarctic Seabed Biodiversity

It's a common myth that the oceans surrounding Antarctica hold the most diverse array of animals on earth, but they are home to a collection of species found nowhere else.

Subantarctic Oceanography

NIWA physical oceanographer Dr Mike Williams talks about the world's largest current – the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) – and its influence on the 'oceanography' (ocean characteristics) south of New Zealand.

Our Far South: Feb 17th 2012

Today is our first full day at sea and we've been blessed with good weather: calm seas, clear skies, and even a few hours of sunshine.

Interactions between the ocean, atmosphere and climate

Rob Murdoch is gving a few talks during the Our Far South voyage, and his talks will include a number of videos which help to contextualise his presentations.

Antarctic Sea Ice

The sea ice that forms around Antarctica in winter effectively doubles the size of the continent, and its extent has increased over recent years.

Antarctic & Southern Ocean Climate

NIWA climate scientist Dr James Renwick explains what's unique about the Antarctic/Southern Ocean climate system, the forces that influence it, and how it's changing.

The Iron Hypothesis

NIWA biological oceanographer Dr Philip Boyd explains the iron hypothesis: what it is, its history, and some recent experiments in the Southern Ocean.

Southern Ocean Gas Exchange

The Earth's oceans – particularly the Southern Ocean – play an important role in absorbing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other trace gases from the atmosphere.

Our Far South: Feb 16th 2012

We arrived and anchored at Macquarie Island at about 1am this morning. The night was clear and we were greeted by an amazing show of the 'southern lights'. Shimmering a green-red colour, the Aurora australis entertained us for the next half hour or so.

Our Far South: Feb 15th 2012

Today we got to sleep in until 8.15am after a good night's sleep.

The seas are remarkably calm and the sky is blue! There is only a light wind and the ship feels like it is hardly moving. As a result we are making great headway to Macquarie and expect to arrive late tonight/early morning. Not a lot of wildlife here – very few seabirds about.

Our Far South: Feb 13th 2012

It is now day three of the voyage, and most people on board are slowly finding their 'sea-legs'. I've been lucky and have not felt sea sick!

Our Far South voyage sets sail

Fifty intrepid travellers set off from Bluff tomorrow, onboard the Spirit of Enderby, a Russian ice-strengthened ship, destined for Antarctica and the sub-Antarctica. Organised by Dr Gareth Morgan, the Our Far South voyage aims to raise New Zealanders' awareness of this unique area.