Oceans

Recording old oceans centre tag.

Latest news

Scientists on an expedition to the underexplored Bounty Trough off New Zealand have discovered around 100 new and potentially new ocean species.
An expedition to discover new species in one of the most remote parts of the deep ocean is departing from Wellington today.
NIWA are studying the ocean off Tairāwhiti and Hawke’s Bay to see how Cyclone Gabrielle has impacted the health of fisheries habitats and seabed ecosystems.
The 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption triggered the fastest underwater flow ever recorded.

Our work

Led by Ocean Census, NIWA and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, a team of scientists are spending 21 days investigating the unexplored Bounty Trough ocean system off the coast of New Zealand’s South Island.

Latest videos

Tonga eruption and tsunami shock the world

Tsunamis and shockwaves hit continents on the other side of the Pacific. The Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HT-HH) volcano was like a massive shotgun blast from the deep, generating the biggest atmospheric explosion recorded on Earth in more than 100 years. Funded by The Nippon Foundation, NIWA and SEA-KIT surveyed over 22,000km2 surrounding the volcano, including mapping 14,000km2 of previously unmapped seafloor as part of The Nippon Foundation GEBCO Seabed 2030 project. Find out more: https://niwa.co.nz/news/tonga-eruption-confirmed-as-largest-ever-recorded

Dive into the alien world of plankton in the Ross Sea

Plankton are the base of the oceans food web and are vital to our survival. But as our world changes will they be able to continue to play this essential role? Join us as we follow a group of NIWA scientists investigating various aspects of this question in the ocean around Antarctica.

Antarctic science onboard NIWA’s RV Tangaroa

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. Voyage leader and principal fisheries scientist Dr Richard O’Driscoll outlines the team’s busy research schedule examining biodiversity and ocean dynamics in the world’s largest marine protected area.

Check out more stories from the 2021 Antarctic voyage

The instruments at work - In the volcano's wake

Our team onboard RV Tangaroa are equipped with all the tech and tools they need to explore the undersea changes caused by the devastating volcanic eruption in Tonga earlier this year. They’ve been using a range of nifty scientific instruments to sample all matters of the ocean from the seafloor through to the water column. The line-up includes the: - DTIS (deep-towed imaging system) - Multicorer - CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) - Glider Find out what each of them do in our video. The NIWA-Nippon Foundation Tonga Eruption Seabed Mapping Project (TESMaP) is funded by The Nippon Foundation and also supported by The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed2030 Project which aims to map the world’s ocean floor by 2030. Learn more on our website: https://niwa.co.nz/our-science/voyages/2022-tonga-post-eruption

Fisheries scientists use an autonomous vessel

A six metre-long autonomous trimaran fitted out with a battery-powered NIWA echosounder is being used at sea as part of an innovative research collaboration with specialist New Zealand drone company X-Craft Enterprises. The aim is to collect good quality fisheries acoustic data by combining autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) and echosounding technology. Fisheries scientist Richard O’Driscoll is very hopeful this type of technology will help complement the work being done on the larger research ships, as NIWA is trying to improve the way it collects information on fisheries by using alternative survey platforms.

The main advantages of using this type of autonomous vessel to do research are:

(1) It is quiet, minimising fish avoidance;

(2) It is cost-effective, potentially allowing acoustic surveys to be carried out more frequently;

(3) It can cover areas not covered by large research or fishing vessels (e.g nearshore and in lakes).

In its current configuration, the ASV being used by NIWA can collect good quality acoustic data in depths of at least 50 metres and at speeds of over five knots. The electrically-powered vessel can be programmed to follow a specific track, is very quiet, and is equipped with anti-collision technology. The echosounder, attached to the bow of X-Craft's sleek autonomous vessel records internally and is configured to start and stop whenever it gets power.

Although fisheries researchers are now able to combine technologies like these to collect more data at a lower cost, the autonomous vessels will never fully replace larger research ships. Physical sampling to identify what species of fish you are looking at is difficult, for instance. Potential applications for the current technology include NIWA inshore and freshwater fisheries surveys. The next phase of the project is to install and trial a deepwater acoustic system on the ASV, capable of collecting acoustic  data to depths of 1000 m in open ocean environments.

Richard O'Driscoll, Programme leader - NIWA fisheries

Richard specialises in research aimed at improving estimates of fish abundance using acoustics, trawling, and complementary technologies. Since attaining his PhD from University of Otago in 1997, he has had extensive sea-going and practical fisheries experience both in New Zealand and overseas, including the Antarctic. Richard is the immediate past chair (2017-2019) of the ICES Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics Science and Technology. He has worked at NIWA since 2000 and is currently a programme leader for NIWA's National Centre for the Fisheries Assessment and Monitoring programme.

Critter of the deep - episode 2: Antarctic Octopus

This is a really cute little octopus (Pareledone genus) from cold Antarctic waters, and we have records of them living from 62-2804 m deep.

Octopods have three hearts and contractile veins that pump hemolymph (like blood), which is highly enriched with the blue oxygen transport protein hemocyanin (so they are blue-blooded).

One Pareledone species, P. charcoti, has the highest concentration of hemocyanin in its blood – at least 40 percent more compared to the other species, and ranks amongst the highest levels reported for any octopod.

There are five described species in the genus Pareledone and several undescribed species in this group. It is the most commonly found octopus genus in Antarctica.

The crew of NIWA research vessel Kaharoa spent 75 nights at sea.
Scientists are conducting snapper research off North Island’s west coast.
A six-metre long orange underwater robot is flying through the Kaikōura Canyon for the next month collecting information on how the canyon has changed since the 2016 earthquake.
After 75 nights at sea all the temporary master of NIWA research vessel Kaharoa could think about today was getting off the ship and having a beer.
A network of state-of-the-art tsunami buoys is being deployed from New Zealand up into the Pacific to keep communities safer.
Welcome to the September edition of Making Waves. As always, our commitment is to deliver quality science for the benefit of New Zealand.
NIWA scientists have completed the first national assessment of people and buildings at risk in New Zealand’s tsunami evacuation zones.
NIWA researchers are heading out from Tasman early next week to survey an area thought to be home to important juvenile fish nurseries.
After a decade-long effort, NIWA’s latest Biodiversity Memoir has just rolled off the presses. Written by marine biologist Kareen Schnabel, the 350-page treatise presents everything we currently know about the different kinds of squat lobster living in New Zealand’s waters.
At the bottom of the Southern Ocean, near Cape Adare in East Antarctica, lies an undersea ridge which until this month was only known by its co-ordinates: -71.2132 latitude, 172.1649 longitude.
Albatrosses may be masters of the skies, but they are surprisingly vulnerable on the water. Campbell Gardiner talks to two scientists working to keep these magnificent seabirds airborne.
Five specialist NIWA divers were left ‘gasping’ during their recent plunge under the ice near Scott Base.
New ways to address environmental sustainability challenges.
Coronavirus border restrictions mean six NIWA staff face four straight months at sea in a bid to keep an international ocean research project afloat.
NIWA scientists are heading to the waters around Whakaari/White Island in the Bay of Plenty next week to survey changes to the seafloor.
Corals can live hundreds to thousands of years. What do we really know about them?
A tool for estimating ecosystem health and vulnerability: predicting the effects of multiple stressors is not as simple as adding up single effects.
New measurements from the ocean under the centre of the Ross Ice Shelf have significantly improved our understanding of the complex processes that drive melting in Antarctica.
What does science tell us about New Zealand eels?

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All staff working on this subject

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Principal Scientist - Marine Geology
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Marine Ecologist - Quantitative Modeller
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Marine Biogeochemistry Technician
Freshwater Fish Ecologist
Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
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Regional Ocean Modelling System (ROMS) Numerical Modeller
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Marine Sedimentologist
Principal Scientist - Carbon Chemistry and Modelling
General Manager - Operations
Principal Scientist - Marine Geology
Principal Scientist - Marine Geology
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Marine Invertebrate Systematist
Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes Scientist
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Marine Physics Modeller
Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Chief Scientist - Coasts and Estuaries
Principal Scientist - Marine Physics
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Physical Oceanographer
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