News

Read about the important science being undertaken at NIWA, and how it affects New Zealanders

  • Citizen science: Monitoring the Maitai

    Feature story
    The first Wednesday of the month finds Philippa Eberlein and her Friends of the Maitai colleagues collecting samples from the Maitai River in Nelson.
  • Beating drought

    Feature story
    How a regional climate history helped save a farm and cure depression
  • NZ snowline shrinks

    Feature story
    New Zealand’s glaciers have all retreated and lost volume since NIWA started surveying them in 1977.
  • Light shines on UV radiation research

    Media release
    Sun worshippers may feel the burn next week as scientists and health professionals from around the world meet in Wellington to discuss the latest research on the effects of UV radiation.
  • New brains sought to get rid of marine pests

    Media release
    Scientists have launched a worldwide crowdsourcing competition aimed at finding novel ideas to tackle invasive marine pests, with a cash prize of $US10,000 on offer.
  • NIWA ship returns from Antarctica with ‘pieces of a puzzle’

    Media release
    The absence of sea ice near Antarctica over the past six weeks has astonished scientists undertaking research aboard NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa.
    Tangaroa Marine Environment and Ecosystem Voyage 2018
  • Kaikōura earthquake generated huge submarine sediment shift

    Media release
    The 2016 Kaikōura Earthquake has shown that more than 100 million dumptrucks of mud and sand flow through the Kaikōura Canyon every 140 years, scientists say.
  • Scientists measure glaciers after record-beating summer

    Media release
    Climate scientists and glaciologists are taking to the skies this week to find out how New Zealand’s glaciers are faring following this summer’s record-breaking warmth.
  • NIWA expertise contributes to healthy hoki fishery

    Media release
    When NIWA fisheries scientist Richard O’Driscoll went to sea earlier this year, he and his team measured so many fish that laid end to end, they would have stretched for 31km.
  • Swamp kauri providing a window to the past for scientists

    Media release
    Ancient swamp kauri is being used by NIWA scientists to reveal the secrets of past climates.
  • Five more days from the official hottest summer on record

    Media release
    Despite a sub-tropical storm and two ex-tropical cyclones, this summer is about to become the hottest in history.
  • Scientists send snapper to boot camp

    Media release
    At a laboratory just outside Whangarei, scientists are putting very young snapper through comprehensive physical testing - including a full medical check-up involving smell, hearing, vision, and even anxiety testing.