New National Centre for Coasts & Oceans in New Zealand

Sustainable development of the coasts & oceans will be the focus of a new National Centre formed by the New Zealand National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

The Centre will be launched today (24 November 2004) on board NIWA’s deepwater research vessel, Tangaroa.

“The Centre’s activities will be diverse,” says its leader, Dr Ian Wright. “We can draw on the talents of over 80 NIWA staff and technology such as ocean-satellite receiving systems, our upgraded supercomputer, and coastal monitoring networks.”

The Centre’s capabilities, and their potential uses, include: Detailed seafloor mapping to support central government’s ocean policy, to determine where to lay submarine electricity cables or gas pipelines, or to ensure safe shipping in Antarctic waters. Hydrodynamic modelling of coastal waters to test the likely effects of run-off from proposed housing development, to identify sites of sustainable offshore sand mining, or to analyse the water flow through and around proposed marine farms.

Ecological studies and habitat mapping to distinguish the natural cycles of animal abundance in estuaries from changes caused by pollution, to minimise the impact of coastal engineering, or to help iwi with coastal management plans.
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