Science Media Centre

ONLINE MEDIA BRIEFING – FRI 22 MAR The ‘big dry’ continues, with the entire North Island officially declared a drought zone and ongoing water restrictions in many regions. How bad is this drought, and how long is it likely to last? What are the ongoing impacts on soil moisture and river flows, and how much [...]

Today‘s New Zealand Herald editorial examines the issue of science and scepticism in the wake of the recent NIWA climate record trial in the New Zealand High Court. An excerpt (read in full here): Editorial: Judge’s ruling in climate case refreshing Scathing judgment backing Niwa represents damning of sceptics’ crusade. A year ago, James Hansen, [...]

The High court has has ruled in favour of NIWA, rejecting a legal challenge of the Crown Research Institute’s national temperature record. In 2010 the  New Zealand Climate Science Education Trust applied to the high court for a judicial review of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA)’s actions in publishing its national [...]

In the Dominion Post ex-NWIA climate scientist Prof Jim Salinger writes about the climate record he helped to create – which is now the subject of a High Court case. An excerpt (read in full here): Wellington’s climate shows warming trend Climate scientists want to monitor how climate is changing and global warming progressing. How [...]

The possibility of restructuring at NIWA’s Lauder research site has lead to international concern that atmospheric measuring capabilities will be lost to the global research community. The proposed staff cuts at NIWA’s Central Otago Lauder Research Station were made public last week, but have been highlighted today in a news article detailing the reaction from international [...]

A leading New Zealand oceanographer is one of a team of international scientists warning that so many threats are converging on the world’s oceans, a global, integrated approach is urgently needed. The marine researchers, which includes NIWA biological oceanographer, Dr Julie Hall, have warned that the cost of damage to the world’s oceans from climate change [...]

American scientists have completed years of  research flights from the Arctic to the Antarctic — via Christchurch — to produce a detailed portrait of greenhouse gases and particles in the atmosphere. The project, known as HIPPO, is generating  the first detailed mapping of the global distribution of gases and particles that affect Earth’s climate. “Tracking [...]

Two of  NIWA’s principal  scientists have launched a “primer” for their proposal to create a New Zealand Climate Change Atlas to help scientists and policymakers probe the major ramifications of a changing climate for both coastal and offshore waters around New Zealand. Researchers Philip Boyd, an  adjunct professor of ocean biogeochemistry at Otago University and [...]

Contamination from waste and litter dumping, deep-sea mining and fishing, and climate change are among the threats outlined in a new report released by experts calling for greater attention to be paid to major human impacts on the deep sea. More than 20 scientists — including two from New Zealand — are making public a [...]

Crown Research Institute NIWA is reporting that many parts of NZ experienced their hottest summer on record this year. The highest temperature was recorded in Timaru: 41.3 degrees Celsius. An excerpt: (read in full here) “Temperatures hit record or near-record highs in many areas in the North Island, as well as the north of the [...]