National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA, is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintains nationally and, in some cases, internationally important environmental monitoring networks, databases, and collections.
, NIWA had 697 staff spread across 14 sites in New Zealand and one in Perth, Australia. Its head office is in Auckland, with regional offices in Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch, Nelson, and Lauder. It also has small field teams, focused mostly on hydrology, stationed in Bream Bay, Lake Tekapo, Rotorua, Napier, Whanganui, Greymouth, Alexandra, and Dunedin. NIWA maintains a fleet of about 30 vessels for freshwater, marine, and atmospheric research.
On 1 July 2025 NIWA became Earth Science New Zealand in a merger with GNS Science, and is considered as a Public Research Organisation.
History
NIWA was formed as a stand-alone organisation in 1992 as part of a government initiative to restructure the New Zealand science sector. It was previously part of the Meteorological Service of the Ministry of Transport but was separated into a Crown entity focusing on long-term weather patterns and climate change.Its foundation staff came mainly from the former Department of Scientific and Industrial Research and the Meteorological Service of the Ministry of Transport. One of the DSIR divisions absorbed was the N.Z. Oceanographic Institute. The Fisheries Research Division of the former Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries joined NIWA in 1995.
NIWA is currently structured as a limited liability company under the Crown Research Institutes Act 1992
Most of NIWA's revenue is from contestable research funding and commercial consultancy work., NIWA had a revenue of $123.8 million and assets of $103.6 million.
On 26 September 2024, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Judith Collins, announced that NIWA would be acquiring the MetService.
On 14 May 2025, the Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Shane Reti, confirmed that NIWA would be integrated into a new Public Research Organisation called the New Zealand Institute for Earth Science.
Mission statement
"NIWA's mission is to conduct leading environmental science to enable the sustainable management of natural resources for New Zealand and the planet."Research
Research programmes
NIWA focuses on atmospheric, marine, and freshwater research – extending from the deep ocean to the upper atmosphere – in New Zealand, the Pacific, Southern Ocean, and Antarctica.NIWA's research spans diverse fields:
- aquaculture
- aquatic biodiversity
- aquatic biosecurity
- atmospheric science
- climate change
- coastal ecology
- renewable energy
- fisheries
- hydrology
- marine geology
- mātauranga Māori
- natural hazards
- oceanography
- sedimentology
Within New Zealand, NIWA has close working relationships with many Māori entities through its Māori environmental research group, . NIWA set up the Te Kūwaha – Māori Environmental Research group to develop ways of sharing knowledge with Māori communities and empowering Māori business with the latest science. This is a critical part of science in Aotearoa New Zealand as institutes have been criticised for poor representation for Māori and Pasifika researchers. The team have had notable success with a taonga species guide and Māori specific climate impact research.
People
Past and present staff include:- Helen Bostock – oceanographer
- Helen ES Clark – zoologist
- Dennis Gordon – zoologist
- Janet Grieve – zoologist
- Barb Hayden – marine biologist
- Clive Howard-Williams – freshwater biologist
- Andrew Leachman – master mariner
- Dave Lowe – atmospheric scientist
- Brett Mullan – climate scientist
- Wendy Nelson – phycologist
- James Renwick – climate scientist
- Natalie Robinson – polar oceanographer
- Jim Salinger – climate scientist
- Simon Thrush – marine ecologist
- Dianne Tracey – deep-sea marine biologist
- David Wratt – climate scientist
Awards
Research facilities
NIWA's research facilities include:- A gas laboratory which uses gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to assess the composition of gases and their isotopes in samples of air and water, and isotope analysis of solid material.
- An ecotoxicology laboratory for assessing the effects of contaminants – such as heavy metals, pesticides, and wastes – on aquatic organisms.
- Aquaculture research facilities at Bream Bay in Northland and at Mahanga Bay, Wellington.
- An upper atmosphere research laboratory located at Lauder, Central Otago, New Zealand.
- Additionally, NIWA also operates a suite of atmospheric in situ and remote sensing instruments at Arrival Heights, Ross Island, Antarctica.
Lauder Atmospheric Research Laboratory
Location
is located 33 km north-east of Alexandra, in the South Island of New Zealand. It also hosts a telescope part of the BOOTES network. This location was chosen for the laboratory due to the area's low horizons, clear skies, dry atmosphere, and southern latitude location.Research history
A research laboratory was originally established at Lauder in 1961 with the purpose of observing the aurora.In the mid-70s Lauder was a ground tracking station for the satellite ensemble "International Satellites for Ionospheric Studies". By the late 1970s research had shifted focus to the stratosphere. This shift was driven by the fear of ozone depletion due to manufactured gases, and by the fact that the ozone hole had been discovered. Lauder had begun measuring UV radiation, ozone, and other gases associated with ozone depletion. From the 1990s Lauder has also monitored the effects of ozone depletion on solar UV irradiance.
Recently, research at Lauder has focused on interactions between climate change and ozone depletion and Lauder now measures most gases that contribute to climate change. Computer models to predict future atmospheric changes have also been developed at Lauder, and the atmospheric measurements taken at Lauder are used in climate models around the world.
Measurements
Measurements of the atmosphere at Lauder can be carried out in situ, and through remote sensing. In situ measurements are mostly done at ground-level; however balloons are launched weekly and carry out in situ measurements through the atmosphere to altitudes of approximately 30 km. Data from these balloons enables atmospheric profiles of temperature, pressure, water vapour, and ozone to be produced. One method of remote sensing measurements at Lauder uses a LIDAR system to generate ozone profiles to 100 km in altitude. Another LIDAR measures aerosols in the atmosphere to 50 km in altitude. Other remote sensing at Lauder uses UV/Vis grating and FTIR spectrometers to measure trace gases in the atmosphere. Measurements at Lauder are also used to calibrate satellites such as OCO-2 and GOSAT.Importance
The Lauder Atmospheric Research Laboratory is well known throughout the international world of atmospheric research through its participation in the international Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change, BSRN, TCCON, and GCOS Reference Upper Air Network.Lauder has many ongoing long-term measurements, including the longest time-series of nitrogen dioxide in the world.
The Laboratory is located in a data-sparse region of the globe. The oceans of the southern hemisphere and the Antarctic region play an important role in the global climate system and so measurements taken at Lauder are valuable to the global scientific community.
Solar radiation measurements at Lauder are used in studies on the effects of UV radiation on human health and in the solar energy and building industries