NIWA

NIWA scientists have mapped the whole of Lake Wānaka in incredible detail. 🗺️ The work was done to better understand the underwater structure of the lake, and the potential for earthquakes and tsunamis after an active fault was discovered there three years ago. 🌊 “Lake Wānaka is one of the most photographed locations in the country but until now its depths have remained a mystery,” says NIWA marine geology technician Sam Davidson. “We discovered some really interesting features, including complex channel systems from the rivers that feed into it, and dramatic steep slopes that plummet to the deepest parts of the lake.” Until now, the most recent charts of Lake Wānaka were created in the 1970s. The new bathymetry data will be used to study the lake’s water quality, predict how the lake might change in future, and to study hazards from future seismic activity, including the risk of a tsunami-like event. Read the full story here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/d4MpWRJp

To help improve national greenhouse gas accounting, NIWA researchers led by atmospheric scientist Dr Peter Sperlich are developing standardised techniques to quantify methane emissions from real-world sources – farms, landfills and wastewater plants. 📊 More than half of New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. This is a much higher proportion than most other countries – globally, agricultural emissions average around 7.5% of a country’s total emissions. Methane accounts for the majority of agricultural emissions in New Zealand and comes mostly from farmed livestock, such as sheep and cattle. These animals naturally produce methane as a by-product of their digestive processes. 🐄 🐑 “My team and I are testing new technologies and methods for quantifying methane emissions from agriculture and waste. We’re using a mixture of ground-based and airborne measurements, including mounting instruments on vehicles and flying drones,” says Dr Sperlich. “We then apply a range of modelling techniques. Combined, these methods enable us to assess and demonstrate NIWA’s capabilities to quantify methane emissions at paddock scale.” Ultimately the work will also help to assess how well emission reduction efforts are working. More information here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eVuD4wuK 📸 Nava Fedaeff 

Fantastic to see the kick-off of this year’s CRISiSLab Challenge – we can’t wait to see what the students come up with! 👏🛠️

Did you see the Aurora Australis over the weekend? 🌌💖😍 📸 1 & 2: Bethells Beach, Auckland, Stuart Mackay 📸 3 & 4: Kapiti Coast, Jess Rowley 📸 5: Auckland, Nidhi Yogesh 📸 6: Hamilton, Alex Fear

People loved this post on our other channels so sharing it here too for some Friday fun! Who wore it better? Celebs at the Met Gala or these fabulous sea slugs? 🤔😍 Fashion forward sea slugs and nudibranchs rock vibrant colours and bold patterns on the underwater catwalk every day. Who needs a designer outfit when you’ve got frilly gills? 💃 Learn more about the sea slugs of New Zealand, from woolly sea hares to clown nudibranchs, in our Super Sea Slugs guide here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epwAirti

A report released today shows that parts of the seafloor in Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti are showing signs of recovery following Cyclone Gabrielle last year, while others still bear noticeable impacts from sedimentation. 🌀 On behalf of Fisheries New Zealand, NIWA conducted two vessel surveys in June and October 2023 across both regions to assess the impact of sediment on marine ecosystems. 🌊 Several tools and methods were used in the study including satellite imagery, seafloor mapping, modelling and underwater cameras. Analysis of satellite imagery suggests that the influence of Cyclone Gabrielle on water quality lasted approximately two to three months across the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne coastal marine areas. 🛰️ “We found that of the 36 locations we surveyed with an underwater camera, 11 showed signs of sediment impact. However, because there aren’t comparable pre-cyclone camera observations, we weren’t able to directly link these to the cyclone,” said NIWA benthic ecologist Dr Daniel Leduc who led the study. “We also took sediment core samples and saw evidence of cyclone impacts on seafloor animal communities off Poverty Bay, where small fauna sampled four months after the cyclone had decreased markedly compared to samples dating back to 2010. However, nine months after the cyclone, we saw that populations had recovered to pre-cyclone levels.” Read the full story here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gC7i9hgC Find the report here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gB9PCveM

Are you new here? 👀🤨 NIWA marine invertebrate systematist Rachael Peart has added another new species of amphipod to her growing list of over 100 discoveries. 📋 Rachael and University of Hamburg colleague, Anne-Nina Lörz, recently found the specimen in the NIWA Invertebrate Collection and identified it as possibly new to science. The amphipod had been collected from around 4,000m in the waters off northern New Zealand a few years prior. 🌊 After taking a closer look and comparing it to other species, Rachael and Anna confirmed their suspicion, they had discovered a new species. Rachael named it Amathillopsis lowry in recognition of her late PhD supervisor Dr Jim Lowry. “Amphipods occur in almost every environment around the world and there are over 10,000 known species, so finding new ones isn’t uncommon,” says Rachael, “but it is always exciting when we do.” 👏 See more here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eUFWWnjS 📸 Top: Male Amathillopsis lowry, Bottom: Female Amathillopsis lowry, NIWA.

📢 Chief Scientist job alert 📢   We’re looking for a Chief Scientist – Energy to join our Technology & Innovation team and lead NIWA's science strategy, applications and commercial business within the energy sector.   You will provide direction for the portfolio of science research and capability across NIWA using your knowledge and experience of renewable energy generation, distribution, storage and consumption, and will develop NIWA's commercial opportunities across the energy and related sectors. Interested? Find the details and apply here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gg-uENwa   ⏰ Applications close 20 May 📍 Wellington or Christchurch based 🗓️ Permanent, full time

In 2016, NIWA technician Rod Budd was diving under the ice in Antarctica when he spotted something unusual on the seabed. 🤿👀   It was a RNZ security card belonging to David McCaw.   “David wasn’t on the expedition with us, so I presumed he’d been down in Antarctica that season and dropped the card at some point. I made a mental note to return it to him once I got back to New Zealand,” said Rod.   When Rod managed to track David down, eight years later, he was shocked to discover David had never travelled to Antarctica. David was equally shocked to hear the card had been found. 😮   Back in 2003, his car was broken into and his briefcase, containing the security card, stolen. The briefcase was recovered from Wellington Harbour and returned to David by the police, but the card was missing. 👮   So how did it end up under the ice in Antarctica, some 4,000km from where it was lost 13 years earlier? 🤯   Could it have been carried on the ocean currents? According to NIWA physical oceanographer Dr Craig Stevens, probably not.   “I find it difficult to imagine how it could have got there of its own accord and turn up in one of the few locations around Antarctica where people regularly go. There is nothing in the ocean currents that plots a direct line from Wellington to Cape Evans.” 🤔   Several other theories are being put forward as to how the card made this remarkable journey. Did it hitch a ride on a ship somehow? Did someone take it down to Antarctica with them? Could it have caught a ride in the stomach of a whale? Was it aliens? 🤷   The answer remains a mystery. Read the full story here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g9QegUM9

NIWA doctoral student Mari Deinhart recently spoke to New Zealand Geographic about her research exploring seaweed carbon sequestration in our oceans. 🌊 The piece follows her to NIWA’s lab where she has dozens of seaweed samples under layers of mud in plastic buckets, mimicking conditions 1,000 metres below the surface of Cook Strait. 🌿 She’s trying to understand how different seaweeds break down in the water column and deep-sea benthos to identify the role they may play in deep-sea carbon sinks. The Quantifying Kelp Blue Carbon project is the first step in a larger research project that aims to create a national inventory of New Zealand’s blue carbon kelp-sequestration potential. Mari is one of many researchers looking at how carbon is stored in our oceans. Read the full story here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eUTiHjzr 📸 Lana Young