Scientists across NIWA use specialist tools manufactured across the world to perform their research and environmental consultancy. Here are some of the advanced instruments that help keep NIWA on top in its field.
Radio and acoustic tracking of fish (or any animal) allows the movement and activity of animals to be recorded over the life of the transmitter (battery size dependent).
NIWA's Lauder facility has two Bruker FTIR spectrometers. These instruments remotely measure trace gases in the atmosphere. Lauder is also responsible for the operation of a third Bruker FTIR at Arrival Heights, Antarctica.
DTIS is a camera system designed and built by NIWA staff, which is used to take pictures and video of deep sea biodiversity and seafloor habitats at depths of up to 6km.
The Hitachi TM3000 Benchtop Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is easy to use compared to traditional SEMs and allows for observation of uncoated specimens in low vacuum mode.
NIWA operates two mobile air quality monitoring trailers containing equipment capable of measuring a range of key air contaminants and meteorological parameters to enable quick and easy investigations of local air quality issues across New Zealand.
Modern marine geoscience requires accurate and detailed subsurface information for the mapping of geologic structures and sedimentary sequences beneath the continental margin. In order to acquire this information NIWA purchased a Multi Channel Seismic system (MCS) in December 1996, consisting of a 24 channel streamer, seismic source and acquisition hardware.
Hull-mounted on the RV Tangaroa, the EM302 multibeam echosounder maps the seafloor using a fan of 288 acoustic beams, producing up to 864 soundings per ping in dual swath mode, providing 100% coverage of the seabed.
Hazardous and murky conditions in our ports and marinas can make it challenging for divers to carry out important biosecurity inspections for introduced pest species. NIWA scientists are pioneering the use of underwater remote operated vehicle (ROV) technology to improve surveillance checks.
NIWA uses Trimble RTK GPS surveying equipment to undertake precise topographic and bathymetric surveys. These surveys are used to measure beach stability, river bed erosion and deposition, and to make digital terrain models of rivers for 2-dimensional hydrodynamic modelling.