National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research science platforms

NIWA receives $42.7million per year SSIF investment for research in 3 Science Platforms — Marine Environment, Freshwater Environment, and Climate and Weather Hazards.  A science platform is a combination of people, facilities, information and knowledge that provides a particular, ongoing science and innovation capability for New Zealand.

Marine Environment Platform

Description:  Deep understanding of coastal and oceanic environments, fisheries, seafloor resources and aquaculture, e.g., stock assessments, biodiversity and biosecurity. 

The Platform contributes to important benefits or impacts for New Zealand:

• Enhanced stewardship of New Zealand’s marine estate, so there are increased economic returns from marine resources, and marine ecosystem integrity and biodiversity are maintained. 
• New Zealand maximises sustainable, long-term economic benefit from its fisheries and associated ecosystems through a science-based management system accepted as international best practice. 
• New Zealand aquaculture will be a financially and environmentally sustainable billion-dollar export-focused industry, through the production of established and emerging high-value species that meet market demand for products with verifiable quality and sustainability attributes. 

These benefits are delivered through a suite of research programmes that will:

1. Characterise the marine geological and oceanic energy resources in New Zealand, the Ross Sea region and the Southern Ocean and the physical processes and environmental factors that affect those resources. 
2. Deliver fundamental knowledge about the diversity and distribution of the marine biota in New Zealand’s territorial waters, EEZ and Southern Ocean, over a variety of space and time scales. 
3. Define the spatial and temporal variation in New Zealand’s ocean current flows, primary and secondary production, and determine how biogeochemical and physical oceanographic processes influence biotic variability. 
4. Determine the structure of marine ecosystems, the interactions amongst their components that affect ecosystem stability, and develop ecosystem models. 
5. Determine the characteristics and vulnerability of marine communities, habitats and ecosystems by linking knowledge of how marine ecosystems work to how they are affected by human activity, and address limits to capacity, interactions between multiple stressors, the dynamics of cumulative effects and the underlying controlling factors of ecological recovery. 
6. Identify and evaluate biosecurity threats to marine ecosystems from non-indigenous species, and develop management tools and approaches.
7. Develop reliable and efficient techniques for the commercial-scale production of established and emerging high-value aquaculture species. 
8. Develop and apply stock monitoring and assessment methodologies for New Zealand’s fisheries to enable monitoring and prediction of changes in fish population biology, fish stock biomass, and size and age composition. 
9. Develop and apply standardised methodologies to monitor and assess international fisheries outside the New Zealand EEZ and determine the environmental effects of fishing. 
10. Determine the impact of fisheries on the aquatic environment and contribute to broader ecosystem-based management approaches. 

Critical to the delivery of the science in this Platform are the RV Tangaroa, the technologies deployed from the vessel, NIWA’s High Performance Computing Facility, and a Nationally Significant Database and Collection—the NIWA Invertebrate Collection and its associated database Specify (which is supported through SSIF Infrastructure). 

Freshwater Environment Platform

Description:  Deep understanding of freshwater environments and the effect of human use and other factors on their quality and quantity, e.g., setting nutrient limits, predicting water availability, biodiversity.

The Platform contributes to important benefits or impacts for New Zealand:

• Increased economic benefit has been derived from use of our water resources with no loss of environmental values.
• Implementation of new water policy and rehabilitation techniques has led to a measurable improvement in the quality and ecosystem health of the nation’s freshwaters. 
• Management agencies are able to apply effectively a greater range of options to treat high-risk pathways for, and eradicate or control new and existing, freshwater pests. 
• Reduced catchment-derived sediment and nutrient inputs to estuaries will have resulted in expanded seagrass, shellfish and juvenile fish habitats. 

These benefits are delivered through a suite of research programmes that focus on:

1. Water resources: understanding and predicting the hydrological cycle (how much water, where and when). 
2. Sustainable water allocation: understanding and predicting effects of human use and modification of rivers and groundwater systems for sustainable allocation. 
3. Causes and effects of water quality degradation: understanding and predicting the sources of contaminants, technologies to clean up the sources, and consequences of water quality degradation for aquatic ecosystems and human uses of water.
4. Catchments to estuaries: understanding and predicting the functional connections between catchments and estuaries.
5. Freshwater biosecurity: identifying and evaluating threats from non-indigenous species, minimising risks of their establishment and developing mitigation tools. 
6. Aquatic rehabilitation and protection: developing techniques for biodiversity enhancement, rehabilitation and protection of freshwater values under future economic growth scenarios.

There is a strong focus on engagement with, and delivery to Māori as a key stakeholder, and on providing comprehensive input to the regional implementation of the National Policy Statement—Freshwater management (NPS-FM) and other national policy tools, and advice on environmental limits and environmental bottom lines.  Critical to the delivery of the science in this Platform are two Nationally Significant Databases and Collections—the Water Resources Archive and Freshwater Fish Database, which are supported through SSIF Infrastructure.  

Weather and Climate Hazards Platform

Description:  Understanding large scale weather and climate systems through numerical prediction techniques, monitoring and advanced measurement, e.g., predicting extreme weather events and impacts, climate adaption and mitigation.

The Platform contributes to important benefits or impacts for New Zealand:

• New Zealand communities will be more resilient to weather-driven hazards, proactively planning, losses and speeding recovery, now and in an environment that is being modified by both climate change and land-use changes.
• New Zealand manages long-term climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and related pollutants, and responds effectively to the opportunities and impacts of current and future climate.

These benefits are delivered through a suite of research programmes that will:

1. Monitor and understand atmospheric constituents and their impact (e.g., climate change).
2. Determine the role of oceans in climate variability and change.
3. Determine the role of the atmosphere and cryosphere in climate variability and change.
4. Develop improved predictions of climate and climate extremes on all timescales.
5. Determine present and future vulnerability, impacts and adaptation options to climate variability and change in New Zealand, the South-West Pacific, Southern Ocean and Antarctica.
6. Develop predictive models of weather-related hazards and incorporate them into an operational multi-hazard forecasting system.
7. Evaluate the risk, impacts and potential losses due to weather-related hazards.

An overarching strategic focus is on the delivery of an environmental forecasting capacity.  Critical to the success of science in this Platform are NIWA’s High Performance Computing Facility, satellite links, atmospheric measurement technologies, stable isotope mass-spectrometers, the RV Tangaroa and technologies deployed from the vessel, the internationally recognised atmospheric measurement stations at Baring Head, Lauder and Arrival Heights (Antarctica), and a Nationally Significant Database and Collection — the Climate Database (which is supported through SSIF Infrastructure). 

For further information on NIWA’s SSIF investment, contact Alan Grey, Alan.Grey@niwa.co.nz

Marine environment platform ($16.9 million per year)

Developing deep understanding of coastal and oceanic environments, fisheries, seafloor resources and aquaculture, for example, stock assessments, biodiversity and biosecurity.

The Platform contributes to important benefits or impacts for New Zealand:

• Enhanced stewardship of New Zealand’s marine estate, so there are increased economic returns from marine resources, and marine ecosystem integrity and biodiversity are maintained (SSIF Funding of approximately $9.9 million).
• New Zealand maximises sustainable, long-term economic benefit from its fisheries and associated ecosystems through a science-based management system accepted as international best practice (SSIF Funding of approximately $1.7 million).
• New Zealand aquaculture will be a financially and environmentally sustainable billion-dollar export-focused industry, through the production of established and emerging high-value species that meet market demand for products with verifiable quality and sustainability attributes (SSIF Funding of approximately $5.3 million).

These benefits are delivered through 12 SSIF research programmes that will:

1. Characterise the marine geological and oceanic energy resources in New Zealand, the Ross Sea region and the Southern Ocean and the physical processes and environmental factors that affect those resources. SSIF Funding of approximately $2.1 million.
2. Deliver fundamental knowledge about the diversity and distribution of the marine biota in New Zealand’s territorial waters, EEZ and Southern Ocean, over a variety of space and time scales. SSIF Funding of approximately $2.5 million.
3. Define the spatial and temporal variation in New Zealand’s ocean current flows, primary and secondary production, and determine how biogeochemical and physical oceanographic processes influence biotic variability. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.5 million.
4. Determine the structure of marine ecosystems, the interactions amongst their components that affect ecosystem stability, and develop ecosystem models. SSIF Funding of approximately $1 million.
5. Determine the characteristics and vulnerability of marine communities, habitats and ecosystems by linking knowledge of how marine ecosystems work to how they are affected by human activity, and address limits to capacity, interactions between multiple stressors, the dynamics of cumulative effects and the underlying controlling factors of ecological recovery. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.6 million.
6. Identify and evaluate biosecurity threats to marine ecosystems from non-indigenous species, and develop management tools and approaches. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.2 million.
7. Develop reliable and efficient techniques for the commercial-scale production of established and emerging high-value aquaculture species. SSIF Funding of approximately $3.8 million.
8. Develop the underpinning science, monitoring tools and farm management systems that quantify and minimise both the environmental effects and regulatory compliance costs of aquaculture while optimising production and minimising the risks to aquaculture from environmental stressors. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.5 million.
9. Develop and apply stock monitoring and assessment methodologies for New Zealand’s fisheries to enable monitoring and prediction of changes in fish population biology, fish stock biomass, and size and age composition. SSIF Funding of approximately $0.75 million.
10. Develop and apply standardised methodologies to monitor and assess international fisheries outside the New Zealand EEZ and determine the environmental effects of fishing. SSIF Funding of approximately $0.08 million.
11. Determine the impact of fisheries on the aquatic environment and contribute to broader ecosystem-based management approaches. SSIF Funding of approximately $0.7 million.
12. Develop approaches to enhance fisheries value and improve market access. SSIF Funding of approximately $0.18 million.

Critical to the delivery of the science in this Platform are the RV Tangaroa, the technologies deployed from the vessel, NIWA’s High Performance Computing Facility, and a Nationally Significant Database and Collection—the NIWA Invertebrate Collection and its associated database Specify (which is supported through SSIF Infrastructure).

Freshwater environment platform ($11.5 million per year)

Developing deep understanding of freshwater environments and the effect of human use and other factors on their quality and quantity, for example, setting nutrient limits, predicting water availability, biodiversity.

The Platform contributes to important benefits or impacts for New Zealand:

• Increased economic benefit has been derived from use of our water resources with no loss of environmental values, in line with the government’s Business Growth Agenda (SSIF Funding of approximately $1.4 million).
• Implementation of new water policy and rehabilitation techniques has led to a measurable improvement in the quality and ecosystem health of the nation’s freshwaters (SSIF Funding of approximately $6.7 million).
• Management agencies are able to apply effectively a greater range of options to treat high-risk pathways for, and eradicate or control new and existing, freshwater pests (SSIF Funding of approximately $0.9 million).
• Reduced catchment-derived sediment and nutrient inputs to estuaries will have resulted in expanded seagrass, shellfish and juvenile fish habitats (SSIF Funding of approximately $2.5 million).

These benefits are delivered through 6 SSIF research programmes:

1. Water resources: understanding and predicting the hydrological cycle (how much water, where and when). SSIF Funding of approximately $1.4 million.
2. Sustainable water allocation: understanding and predicting effects of human use and modification of rivers and groundwater systems for sustainable allocation. SSIF Funding of approximately $2.3 million.
3. Causes and effects of water quality degradation: understanding and predicting the sources of contaminants, technologies to clean up the sources, and consequences of water quality degradation for aquatic ecosystems and human uses of water. SSIF Funding of approximately $3.3 million.
4. Catchments to estuaries: understanding and predicting the functional connections between catchments and estuaries. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.5 million.
5. Freshwater biosecurity: identifying and evaluating threats from non-indigenous species, minimising risks of their establishment and developing mitigation tools. SSIF Funding of approximately $0.9 million.
6. Aquatic rehabilitation and protection: developing techniques for biodiversity enhancement, rehabilitation and protection of freshwater values under future economic growth scenarios. SSIF Funding of approximately $2.1 million.

There is a strong focus on engagement with, and delivery to Māori as a key stakeholder, and on providing comprehensive input to the regional implementation of the National Policy Statement—Freshwater management (NPS-FM) and other national policy tools, and advice on environmental limits and environmental bottom lines. Critical to the delivery of the science in this Platform are the newly created Te Waiora, Joint Institute for Freshwater Management with the University of Waikato, and two Nationally Significant Databases and Collections—the Water Resources Archive and Freshwater Fish Database, which are supported through SSIF Infrastructure.

Weather and climate hazards platform ($14.3 million per year)

Understanding large scale weather and climate systems through numerical prediction techniques, monitoring and advanced measurement, for example, predicting extreme weather events and impacts, climate adaption and mitigation.

The Platform contributes to important benefits or impacts for New Zealand:

• New Zealand communities will be more resilient to weather-driven hazards, proactively planning, losses and speeding recovery, now and in an environment that is being modified by both climate change and land-use changes (SSIF Funding of approximately $9.4 million).
• New Zealand manages long-term climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and related pollutants, and responds effectively to the opportunities and impacts of current and future climate. (SSIF Funding of approximately $4.9 million).

These benefits are delivered through 9 SSIF research programmes that will:

1. Monitor atmospheric constituents relevant to climate change. SSIF Funding of approximately $3.3 million.
2. Determine the role of oceans in climate variability and change. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.6 million.
3. Determine the role of the atmosphere and cryosphere in climate variability and change. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.1 million.
4. Develop improved predictions of climate and climate extremes on all timescales. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.6 million.
5. Determine present and future vulnerability, impacts and adaptation options to climate variability and change in New Zealand, the South-West Pacific, Southern Ocean and Antarctica. SSIF Funding of approximately $0.5 million.
6. Monitor air pollutants and determine their impacts. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.1 million.
7. Develop predictive models of weather-related hazards and incorporate them into an operational multi-hazard forecasting system. SSIF Funding of approximately $3.9 million.
8. Evaluate the risk, impacts and potential losses due to weather-related hazards. SSIF Funding of approximately $1.2 million.

An overarching strategic focus is on the delivery of an environmental forecasting capacity. Critical to the success of science in this Platform are NIWA’s High Performance Computing Facility, satellite links, atmospheric measurement technologies, stable isotope mass-spectrometers, the RV Tangaroa and technologies deployed from the vessel, the internationally recognised atmospheric measurement stations at Baring Head, Lauder and Arrival Heights (Antarctica), and a Nationally Significant Database and Collection—the Climate Database (which is supported through SSIF Infrastructure).

Freshwater Environment Platform

NIWA receives $11.5 million per year SSIF investment for research in the Freshwater Environment Platform, which provides a deep understanding of freshwater environments and the effect of human use and other factors on their quality and quantity, e.g., setting nutrient limits, predicting water availability, biodiversity.

The Platform undertakes excellent science that is highly collaborative—over 90% of the resulting scientific publications involved collaboration with other New Zealand and/or international research organisations. A review of some research in this platform shows that it is delivering some research that is incredibly valuable to the country.

The Platform provides key national benefits across economic, environmental and social spectrums.  External review of the impacts of our research programmes found that the communications with stakeholders, extent of transfer and uptake, and contribution to high-level goals and strategies are all very strong elements of the research, with the results being used to influence decision-making positively. For example, our research has been important for the derivation of numerical threshold limits for various attributes (TP, TN, DIN, DRP, E.coli) under the national objectives framework. Defining these limits is vitally important to management of water resources in New Zealand, because they are used to identify pressures and responses and used in developing regional plans, policies, rules and consent limits, as well as for reporting and policy evaluation purposes at regional and national level. 

Marine Environment Platform

NIWA receives $16.9 million per year SSIF investment for research in the Marine Environment Platform, which provides a deep understanding of coastal and oceanic environments, fisheries, seafloor resources and aquaculture, e.g., stock assessments, biodiversity and biosecurity.

The Platform undertakes excellent science that is highly collaborative—over 90% of the resulting scientific publications involved collaboration with other New Zealand and/or international research organisations. Reviews of our science, undertaken by external experts, have shown that the science in the Platform is of high quality, delivered by researchers with strong international reputations. The platform continues to provide significant advances in science. For example, we provide a large and ongoing contribution to the international Argo programme, which generates data that are freely available in near-real time, and are extensively used by the global marine community, New Zealand researchers, and in reports for government agencies.

The Platform provides key national benefits across economic, environmental and social spectrums. External review of the impact of selected research programmes found that the communications with stakeholders, extent of transfer and uptake, and contribution to high-level goals and strategies were all very strong elements of the research, with the results being used to support effective decision-making.  For example, the platform has developed mass-balance ecosystem models of four marine food webs. These models are proving valuable for end-users, who have used them to identify groups with high trophic importance, design spatial management and investigate the potential for cascading ecosystem effects.

Climate and Weather Hazards Platform

NIWA receives $14.3 million per year SSIF investment for research in the Platform, which provides a deep understanding of large-scale weather and climate systems through numerical prediction techniques, monitoring and advanced measurement, e.g., predicting extreme weather events and impacts, climate adaption and mitigation.

The Platform undertakes excellent science that is highly collaborative—well over 90% of our scientific publications involved collaboration with other research organisations (domestic/international). Reviews of our science, undertaken by external experts, have shown that the Platform science is of high quality, and often world leading. This is emphasised by the high level of participation by science staff in international forums (e.g., WMO technical commissions and regional committees, producing the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report, Australasian Building Standards, GRUAN, and ARGO Steering Group). Key scientific products delivered by this Platform include climate projections that are state-of-the-art, widely used and internationally competitive, which have provided the basis for many publications. For example, we provided significant input to the Ministry for the Environment report “Our Atmosphere and Climate 2020”, which describes changes to New Zealand’s climate.

The Platform provides key national benefits across economic, environmental and social spectrums. External reviews of the impact of research programmes found that the communications with stakeholders, extent of transfer and uptake, and contribution to high-level goals and strategies were all very strong elements of the research, with the results being used to influence decision-making positively.  An example of research value is in the release of a monthly climate forecasting outlook and seasonal climate outlooks via media releases, postings on social media, traditional media, livestreamed videos on YouTube, and in specific projects for end-users. This information is used by a variety of industries for their operational purposes, e.g., by horticulture to plan the timing of harvest.

For further information contact Alan.Grey@niwa.co.nz.

Marine Environment Platform

NIWA receives $16.9 million per year SSIF investment for research in the Marine Environment Platform, which provides a deep understanding of coastal and oceanic environments, fisheries, seafloor resources and aquaculture, e.g., stock assessments, biodiversity and biosecurity.

The Platform undertakes excellent science that is highly collaborative — over 90% of the resulting scientific publications involved collaboration with other New Zealand and/or international research organisations. Reviews of our science, undertaken by external experts, have shown that the science in the Platform is of high quality, delivered by researchers with strong international reputations. The platform continues to provide significant advances in science. For example, we provide a large and ongoing contribution to the international Argo programme, which generates data that are freely available in near-real time, and are extensively used by the global marine community, New Zealand researchers, and in reports for government agencies.

The Platform provides key national benefits across economic, environmental and social spectrums. External review of the impact of selected research programmes found that the communications with stakeholders, extent of transfer and uptake, and contribution to high-level goals and strategies were all very strong elements of the research, with the results being used to support effective decision-making.  For example, the platform has developed mass-balance ecosystem models of four marine food webs. These models are proving valuable for end-users, who have used them to identify groups with high trophic importance, design spatial management and investigate the potential for cascading ecosystem effects.

Freshwater Environment Platform

NIWA receives $11.5 million per year SSIF investment for research in the Freshwater Environment Platform, which provides a deep understanding of freshwater environments and the effect of human use and other factors on their quality and quantity, e.g., setting nutrient limits, predicting water availability, biodiversity.

The Platform undertakes excellent science that is highly collaborative—over 90% of the resulting scientific publications involved collaboration with other New Zealand and/or international research organisations. A review of some research in this platform shows that it is delivering some research that is incredibly valuable to the country.

The Platform provides key national benefits across economic, environmental and social spectrums.  External review of the impacts of our research programmes found that the communications with stakeholders, extent of transfer and uptake, and contribution to high-level goals and strategies are all very strong elements of the research, with the results being used to influence decision-making positively. For example, our research has been important for the derivation of numerical threshold limits for various attributes (TP, TN, DIN, DRP, E.coli) under the national objectives framework. Defining these limits is vitally important to management of water resources in New Zealand, because they are used to identify pressures and responses and used in developing regional plans, policies, rules and consent limits, as well as for reporting and policy evaluation purposes at regional and national level. 

Climate and Weather Hazards Platform

NIWA receives $14.3 million per year SSIF investment for research in the Climate and Weather Hazards Platform, which provides a deep understanding of large-scale weather and climate systems through numerical prediction techniques, monitoring and advanced measurement, e.g., predicting extreme weather events and impacts, climate adaption and mitigation.

The Platform undertakes excellent science that is highly collaborative—over 90% of our scientific publications involved collaboration with other research organisations (domestic/international). Reviews of our science, undertaken by external experts, have shown that the Platform science is of high quality, and often world leading. This is emphasised by the high level of participation by science staff in international forums (e.g., WMO technical commissions and regional committees, IPCC Sixth Assessment Report Editor, Australasian Building Standards, GRUAN, and ARGO Steering Group). Key scientific products delivered by this Platform include climate projections that are state-of-the-art, widely used and internationally competitive, which have provided the basis for many publications. For example, we provided significant input to the Ministry for the Environment report “Our Atmosphere and Climate 2020”, which describes changes to New Zealand’s climate.

The Platform provides key national benefits across economic, environmental and social spectrums. External reviews of the impact of research programmes found that the communications with stakeholders, extent of transfer and uptake, and contribution to high-level goals and strategies were all very strong elements of the research, with the results being used to influence decision-making positively.  An example of research value is in the release of a monthly climate forecasting outlook and seasonal climate outlooks via media releases, postings on social media, traditional media, livestreamed videos on YouTube, and in specific projects for end-users. This information is used by a variety of industries for their operational purposes, e.g., by horticulture to plan the timing of harvest.

 For further information contact Alan.Grey@niwa.co.nz.