Feature story

Long hot days, sand between your toes, and jellyfish – all part of the New Zealand beach summer.
Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.
Mia Blyth talks to an environmental hazard specialist who feels a very personal connection to his work.
Our coastline is changing as sea levels rise. Lawrence Gullery looks at a five-year research programme designed to help communities with tough decisions ahead.
New research suggests large-scale wildfires may be changing the chemical makeup of our atmosphere. Jessica Rowley explains.
Can native freshwater algae help restore the mauri of local waterways? Lawrence Gullery investigates.
Improvements in data and climate science mean forecasters are able to predict patterns much further ahead and in far greater detail. Melissa Bray looks at what this may mean for farmers.
NIWA Chief Executive John Morgan asks whether New Zealanders are doing enough to prepare for what lies ahead.
What does science tell us about New Zealand cockles?
From scallop beds to trawl nets, a little bit of data science can make a big difference. Melissa Bray explains.
The tiny ear bone of a fish holds a wealth of information. Gather enough and you get a snapshot of what’s happening beneath the waves. Stuart Mackay explains.
Jessica Rowley talks to three NIWA researchers trying to piece together what’s happening to the world’s largest ice shelf.
Climate change means more intense storm systems are on their way. Science can’t stop it raining, but it can help communities prepare for the worst and plan for the future.
Stacy Mohan looks at how the shockwaves from a remote Tongan island rippled through NIWA’s research community.
Mia Blyth catches up with a marine biologist hunting for ocean ghosts.
What does science tell us about New Zealand mullet?
Stories of tremendous forest fires, huge storm events, and suffocating heatwaves have dominated headlines over the past few years. We instinctively feel that our weather is getting wilder. Are we finally living through those climate change warnings we’ve heeded for decades?
A marine heatwave is happening all around New Zealand. Warmer waters are more pleasant for swimming in and can create wilder weather. But what do they mean for fishing? Let’s dive into the science behind getting a good catch.
NIWA scientists are doing what no others have done before. In a mysterious world just below the Antarctic ice, a delicate web of ice crystals forms a habitat that’s unique and largely unknown. Until now…
You can’t take a trip to the Marlborough Sounds and fail to notice the patchwork of buoys bobbing in the blue waters. Suspended under these buoys are kilometres of lines, each in turn with their own much smaller lines trailing beneath. These lines, less than a millimetre in diameter, are the anchoring byssal threads (or beards) of green-lipped mussels.
The ear bone of a snapper holds a wealth of information. However, it is not until you look at thousands of them that the picture of a population reveals itself. So where do you get 10,000 snapper ear bones from?
What does science tell us about New Zealands' migratory galaxiids?
Irrigation Insight is a joint industry programme funded by MBIE to examine, on working farms, the ease and effectiveness of using high-resolution weather forecasting, production potential, and drainage estimations for on-farm water management.
Voting has opened for the NIWA People's Choice Award - where the public get to pick their favourite image from among a selection of photos entered in the 2021 Staff Photography Competition.
Susan Pepperell looks at how high-resolution forecasting is driving sharper decision making – from deep in the back country to the finish line of the America’s Cup.

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