oceans

In this activity, students are introduced to the concept of density. They calculate the volume of various materials to determine and then rank their densities. By...

The Earth’s continents have not always been where they are at present. If you look at a map of the world, you might notice what Alfred...

The Antarctic ecosystem is unique in that the food chains are very short and often based on the availability of krill, which is vital for all...

NIWA Scientist Mike Williams is interested in the daily positions of icebergs, like the big iceberg B15A. Mike wants to learn about ocean circulation and to...

Antarctica is the coldest, driest, windiest and highest continent on Earth. What makes the frozen continent so valuable to scientists and vulnerable to human contact? Every...

In this activity, students investigate water density by floating eggs in freshwater and saltwater. By the end of this activity, students should be able to: discuss...

Position: Professor, Principal Investigator Centre for Brain Research, The University of Auckland. Field: Marine science. Professor John Montgomery is the former Director of the of Leigh...

In this activity, students observe the processes of evaporation and precipitation by creating a model that simulates the water cycle. By the end of this activity,...

About 70% of Earth’s surface is covered by water. It is found just about everywhere and is the only naturally occurring substance on Earth existing in...

In this activity, students play a card game that models the journey of a male pea crab (a parasite of green-lipped mussels) from his mussel host...

The New Zealand pea crab (Nepinnotheres novaezelandiae) is a parasite that spends its adult life within a mussel shell. However, the larval stages of its life...

Green-lipped mussels are New Zealand’s major aquaculture species. Explore how green-lipped mussels are farmed in New Zealand, the way that the industry has developed and the...

Position: Former Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Otago. Field: Trace metals in natural waters, chemical equilibria in marine and freshwater systems. Professor Keith Hunter’s fascination...

Position: Associate Professor (Earth sciences), University of Waikato. Field: Carbon dioxide energy and water vapour fluxes from natural and managed ecosystems; hydrology, carbon exchanges and ecology...

The water cycle is driven by energy from the sun. Liquid water is evaporated and changed into a gas. In this process, energy is absorbed (endothermic)....

Keith Hunter is fascinated by the chemistry of the oceans and what we can learn. His research looks at trace metals in natural waters – minute...

David Hamilton was the former Environment Bay of Plenty Chair in Lakes Management and Restoration at the University of Waikato. In his role, David studied 12...

Earth is called the blue planet due to the abundance of water. About 70% of the surface of the Earth is covered by water, and it...

Find out about the physical and chemical properties of the ocean and explore the ocean’s role in transporting heat, water, salt and carbon around the Earth....

In this activity, students interpret graphs from a long-term study of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of New Zealand. They explore how the interval between samples...

Position: Marine chemist, NIWA. Field: Carbon cycle, atmosphere and ocean carbon dioxide exchange. When Dr Kim Currie goes to sea on the Polaris from Dunedin, she...

Position: Physical oceanographer, NIWA and Argo project. Field: Physical ocean processes. Dr Phil Sutton started off studying physics at Auckland University. When it came time to...

The temperature of the ocean determines what form the water takes. Most of the ocean is liquid water, but if it gets cold enough, it turns...

The ocean has a complex circulation system, moving water, heat, salt and nutrients around the world. Surface currents in the top 400 m are driven mainly...