Climate, Freshwater & Marine Science

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Play our new online game!

Alongside new education resources that help teachers and students to work through NIWA’s Climate Change Adaptation Toolbox, the game helps players identify what’s important to them, assess climate risk and resilience, and explore adaptation options.

Play My Coastal Futures now

Features

Tonga eruption and tsunami shock the world

Tsunamis and shockwaves hit continents on the other side of the Pacific. The Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HT-HH) volcano was like a massive shotgun blast from the deep, generating the biggest atmospheric explosion recorded on Earth in more than 100 years. Funded by The Nippon Foundation, NIWA and SEA-KIT surveyed over 22,000km2 surrounding the volcano, including mapping 14,000km2 of previously unmapped seafloor as part of The Nippon Foundation GEBCO Seabed 2030 project. Find out more: https://niwa.co.nz/news/tonga-eruption-confirmed-as-largest-ever-recorded

Bridging the forecasting gap

Improvements in data and climate science mean forecasters are able to predict patterns much further ahead and in far greater detail. Melissa Bray looks at what this may mean for farmers.

Making big waves in the Pacific

Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.

Preparing coastal communities for change

Our coastline is changing as sea levels rise. Lawrence Gullery looks at a five-year research programme designed to help communities with tough decisions ahead.