NIWA

Oceans

Recording old oceans centre tag.

Latest news

New ocean species discovered in Bounty Trough

12 March 2024

Scientists on an expedition to the underexplored Bounty Trough off New Zealand have discovered around 100 new and potentially new ocean species.

Expedition to uncover secrets of New Zealand's unexplored Bounty Trough

Media Release

8 February 2024

An expedition to discover new species in one of the most remote parts of the deep ocean is departing from Wellington today.

NIWA unravelling impacts on marine life after Cyclone Gabrielle

Media Release

3 October 2023

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.

Tonga eruption caused fastest ever underwater flow

Media Release

7 September 2023

The 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption triggered the fastest underwater flow ever recorded.

Our work

Ocean Census – Bounty Trough research voyage

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

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

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. 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

Snapper: Egg

Adult snapper typically spawn their eggs in areas of highly productive waters, adjacent to estuaries and harbours. The Hauraki Gulf (a large embayment) is an important area for snapper spawning.

Download the seabed!

6 June 2017

Highly detailed maps of New Zealand’s seabed are now freely available on NIWA’s website.

Scientists explore deepest parts of the Kermadec Trench

Media Release

6 June 2017

Scientists exploring the Kermadec Trench believe they have retrieved the deepest ever sediment sample from the bottom of the ocean using a wire-deployed corer.

Living in the ocean waves: kelp life histories

PDF of this article (293 KB)

A Cook Strait kelp forest with Lessonia variegata and Ecklonia radiata. (Photo: S. Shiaparelli. University of Genova)

Heteromorphic life cycle of true kelps. (Graphic: Erika Mackay)

Close up of Lessonia shows the chocolate-brown sorus (arrow) on the surface of the blade. (Photo: S. Shiaparelli. University of Genova)

Wendy Nelson and Anne-Maree Schwarz report on the sex lives of large brown algae.
Around the coasts of New Zealand, forests of brown seaweeds fringe the rocky shores and reefs.

Summer Series 1: Hammerhead - the shark with a hammer for a head

6 June 2017

The shark with the hammer-shaped head (Sphyrna zygaena) is a big eater and is potentially dangerous to humans. It has been found in New Zealand coastal waters, in up to 110 metres of water, and on the continental shelf. It is more commonly seen around the North Island.

Seabed mapping in Marlborough uncovers 10 shipwrecks

6 June 2017

The most detailed seafloor mapping of a coastal region off New Zealand has been completed in Marlborough.

Ocean gliders

Using a novel observational platform – ocean gliders—this research will observe and understand subsurface variations in temperature, salinity, oxygen and biological factors in water shallower than 200 metres – what we consider to be the shelf seas.

El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO)

Strong El Niño conditions continued during January 2016.

The search for yellow octopus

9 February 2016

One of the ocean’s most elusive critters is about to meet its match as NIWA scientists voyage south hoping to film them in action – and bring a few samples home.

New Zealand Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NZOA-ON)

Ocean acidification conditions around the New Zealand coast are being measured to establish baseline conditions and to quantify future change.

Tide envelopes year 2014

Critter of the Week: The colonial sea squirt Leptoclinides marmoreus Brewin, 1956

This week’s critter is the colonial ascidian, or more commonly known as seasquirt, Leptoclinides marmoreus Brewin, 1956.

BLOG: Sir Peter Blake Trust Ambassador Blake Hornblow - Enounters with Antarctica's animals

Blog

26 February 2015

It has been another amazing week here on the Tangaroa. On Saturday we saw Antarctica which was an absolutely breath-taking experience that I’ll remember for the rest of my life!

Enabling management of offshore mining

Interest in offshore petroleum and minerals exploration is growing rapidly as investors identify the potential economic returns from New Zealand’s rich marine resources. The challenge for management agencies and scientists is to facilitate development of this natural wealth while ensuring environmental sustainability is not compromised.

Explaining the blue whale research onboard the Tangaroa

Blog

22 February 2015

Scientists from the Australian Antarctic Division explain the blue whale research they are leading onboard the New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage 2015.

Travelling with the blues

Blog

16 February 2015

NIWA voyage leader Dr Richard O’Driscoll updates the Tangaroa’s encounter with the planet’s largest living beings – the Antarctic blue whales – and discovers what’s on their menu.

Balleny Islands humpback research success

Media Release

9 February 2015

The first objective of the New Zealand- Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage was successfully achieved with the completion of the research at the Balleny Islands.

2015 - Antarctic Ecosystems

The six-week New Zealand-Antarctic Ecosystem Voyage saw RV Tangaroa travel through the Southern Ocean to the Ross Sea to conduct a range of scientific fieldwork. The voyage was a collaboration between Antarctica New Zealand, NIWA and the Australian Antarctic Division.