NIWA

Apr 15, 2024 | niwa.co.nz | Sally Watson

Ship anchors may cause extensive and long-lasting damage to the seafloor, according to new NIWA research. NIWA anchored their research vessel in Wellington Harbour and observed in real-time how its anchor changed the surrounding environment. Dr Sally Watson is a marine geophysicist at NIWA who led the study. She says they saw broomstick-like scarring on the seabed. “Our preliminary findings showed marks on the seabed typical of an anchor being moved around due to wind and currents.

Mar 5, 2024 | niwa.co.nz | Andrew M. Lorrey

A culmination of over 45 years of research has painted a grave picture for the state of our iconic glaciers. NIWA’s Dr Andrew Lorrey says that hotter temperatures are to blame.  “We’ve had a flurry of harsh summers and repeated marine heatwaves that have caused warm air temperatures to cook our glaciers. As part of our annual snowline survey, we’ve documented ice cover for the Southern Alps since the late 1970s by taking aerial photographs of the snowline position at the end of summer.

Oct 17, 2023 | niwa.co.nz | Ian Longley

A new study from NIWA has mapped outdoor air quality for Invercargill and Alexandra in more detail than ever before. Researchers found that outdoor air in the most polluted locations contained three times as much particulate matter – from smoke and other pollutants – as the air in the least polluted areas.  Dr Ian Longley is NIWA’s principal scientist for air quality. He says this is largely due to where the wind blows.

Oct 2, 2023 | niwa.co.nz | Daniel LeDuc

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. Cyclones can cause huge changes to the ocean environment through the influx of silt from the land via rivers, increased ocean mixing, and re-suspension of sediments from the seafloor. Project leader Dr Daniel Leduc says the cyclone caused considerable damage to land and property, but effects on the ocean are harder to gauge.

Sep 7, 2023 | niwa.co.nz | Kevin MacKay

Kevin Mackay is a NIWA marine geologist and voyage leader of TESMaP. He says that this is just another record ticked off the list for this astonishing event. “The seafloor flows were one of the big unknowns from this eruption – with it being an underwater volcano, it’s something you rarely get to study just after the fact.