Oceans

NIWA aims to provide the knowledge needed for the sound environmental management of our marine resources.

  • Sea2Cloud – how marine aerosols influence the atmosphere and climate

    Research Project
    Clouds over the ocean, and how they trap or emit radiation from the sun, are partly influenced by the biology, biogeochemistry and physics of the surface ocean below.
  • Lost scientific buoy recovered from Kāpiti seafloor

    News article
    Researchers have recovered a scientific buoy from the Kāpiti Marine Reserve that went missing in late March.
  • Marine reserves join ocean acidification network

    Media release
    A joint NIWA and Department of Conservation (DOC) project is extending New Zealand’s ocean acidification monitoring network to include marine reserves.
  • Research finds microplastics in fish muscle tissue

    Media release
    Some of the first research into how microplastics are affecting New Zealand fish species has revealed that microplastic fragments can find their way through the gut lining and into muscle tissue.
  • Seabirds spend nearly 40% of their time on high seas, study finds

    Media release
    A global effort by seabird researchers, including those from NIWA, has resulted in the first assessment of where the world’s most threatened seabirds spend their time.
  • Voyage update 4 from Evan Solly, Ice Pilot

    The clear sky and exceptional visibility made our approach to Woods Bay very memorable with Mount Melbourne dead ahead and Mount Murchison on our starboard beam.
  • Voyage update 3 from Evan Solly, Ice Pilot

    Numerous sightings of minke whales today while target identification mid-water trawls were being made on krill and fish layers beneath Tangaroa.
  • Eavesdropping on sperm whales in Antarctica

    The moorings team is bringing back precious data from long-term underwater listening devices which the researchers are using to search for signs that sperm whales are finally returning in numbers to the Ross Sea.
  • Examining biodiversity and ocean dynamics in the world’s largest marine protected area

    Researchers are working their way through a wealth of new Antarctic marine data after RV Tangaroa successfully completed its five week scientific voyage to the Ross Sea.
  • Science update 5 from Richard O’Driscoll

    Day 34 of the Ross Sea Life in a Changing Climate (ReLiCC) 2021 voyage on RV Tangaroa. We are back in New Zealand waters and due to arrive in Wellington on the morning of Monday 15 Feb.
  • Queen of the critters

    Feature story
    Sadie Mills has come a long way from scaring the inhabitants of Scottish rock pools. Sarah Fraser explains.
  • Norse goddess reveals seabed secrets

    Feature story
    A large, orange Scandinavian robot gives NIWA’s marine geologists an in-depth look at changes to the seafloor off Kaikōura.