Research

Changes to the local environment and over harvesting have damaged shellfish populations in many estuaries. These projects examine the most effective way to restore these habitats and allow healthy populations of shellfish to return.

NIWA worked with the community on the island of Totoya, in the Yasayasa Moala Island group in south-east Fiji to assess their energy security and energy related socio-economic opportunities.

The giant kōkopu is a native whitebait species considered rare and vulnerable. NIWA is working with Mahurangi Technical Institute and environmental consultancy Boffa Miskell to test the feasibility of reintroducing giant kōkopu to Nukumea Stream, north of Auckland.

Seagrass beds form an important undersea habitat for small fish, seahorses and shellfish in New Zealand.

This unique project is the first systematic attempt to quantify and map environmental values of New Zealand's coastal marine ecosystem.

NIWA has developed an Urban Stormwater Contaminant (USC) model to enable urban planners to predict sedimentation and heavy metal accumulation in estuaries and identify problem areas in order to target mitigation measures.

Our oceans are expected to become more acidic as carbon dioxide concentrations rise. This will likely have impacts on the plankton, which play a major role in ocean ecosystems and processes.

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.