The world’s oceans regulate our climate, but they are entering uncharted territory, with record surface warming and changes to Antarctica’s deep meltwater which drives global currents.
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National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, is a Crown Research Institute established in 1992. It operates as a stand-alone company with its own Board of Directors and Executive.
NIWA’S purpose is to enhance the economic value and sustainable management of New Zealand’s aquatic resources and environments, to provide understanding of climate and the atmosphere and increase resilience to weather and climate hazards to improve safety and wellbeing of New Zealanders.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 25 articles
Building offshore wind farms is complex and expensive. But with plenty of wind coming in from the sea, New Zealand could harness the renewable resource as it aims to decarbonise the energy sector.
Rocks deposited by vanishing glaciers in the Southern Alps thousands of years ago hold climate clues about the past, painting a bleak picture about the long-term survival of alpine ice in New Zealand.
The current estimate is that Earth would warm by 1.5℃ to 4.5℃ if emissions were to double on pre-industrial levels. The range has remained stubbornly wide, despite improved climate modelling.
Imagine if every meal you ate included food previously chewed by someone else. That’s what’s happening to the air we breathe in shared indoor spaces.
Researchers have surveyed an Antarctic under-ice river for the first time directly, and their observations support the idea that such sub-glacial rivers form estuaries as they flow into the ocean.
The ocean has been buffering us from the impacts of climate change, but it is reaching the limit of this capacity. Integrating ocean and climate policy will be crucial.
Ocean waves are a massive source of energy, but it’s challenging to design power generators for the harsh environment. Allowing marine organisms to grow on engineered structures could help.
Given climate change predictions of more extreme floods in New Zealand, it’s time to change management practices to work with a river, allowing it room to move and its channels to adjust.
L’océan Austral constitue le principal réservoir de chaleur et de carbone de notre planète. Il abrite des formes de vie extraordinaires, des invertébrés microscopiques aux gigantesques baleines.
Lautan Selatan (Antarktika) merupakan penyimpanan utama panas dan karbon di Bumi, serta rumah bagi kehidupan laut yang menakjubkan seperti penguin, alga, dan paus.
El Océano Austral (Antártico) es el principal almacén de calor y carbono de nuestro planeta, y es hogar de extraordinarias formas de vida, desde pequeñas algas y criaturas sin espinas hasta pingüinos, focas y ballenas.
The Southern (Antarctic) Ocean is our planet’s primary storage of heat and carbon, and it’s home to extraordinary life forms, from tiny algae and spineless creatures to penguins, seals and whales.
Tropical cyclones account for almost four in five natural disasters across Pacific Island nations. But a new forecasting tool now gives up to four months warning for the upcoming cyclone season.
Latest research explores how a warming ocean circulates underneath Antarctica’s floating ice shelves and how this contributes to future sea level rise.
Auckland’s extreme drought and the rapid retreat of glaciers in the Southern Alps both highlight how important long-term observations are for water management policy and planning.
Parts of Antarctica’s largest ice shelf are melting ten times faster than the rest of the shelf, and solar heated waters below the ice are to blame.
Marine heatwaves may become the new normal for the Tasman Sea and the ocean around New Zealand, and oceanographers are developing models to better predict their intensity.
Forty years of continuous end-of-summer snowline monitoring of New Zealand’s glaciers brings the issue of human-induced climate change into tight focus.
An international team has melted a hole through Antarctica’s largest ice shelf to explore the hidden ocean below, and the shelf’s vulnerability to climate change.
Authors
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Principal Scientist & Programme Leader of Southern Hemisphere Climates and Environments, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Meteorologist/forecaster, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Marine Physicist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Atmospheric Scientist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Research Scientist Trace Gases, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Principal Air Quality Scientist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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River Geomorphologist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Principal Scientist -- Atmosphere and Climate, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Microbial Ecologist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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Glaciologist, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
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National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
