Marcus Wilson • Nov 21, 2018 •
So, yesterday we had our Science Communication students looking at social media and blogging in particular. Alison Campbell and I talked through what makes a good science blog, and the students got to explore sciblogs.co.nz and look for themselves*. In the coming week, the students need to put up a blog entry themselves. (I’m afraid these will be private … Read More
Waiology • Feb 04, 2013 •
By Daniel Collins The simple answer is, of course, water. But that says little about the natural history of wetlands, or what physical conditions are necessary to maintain, restore or even engineer them. For that, we need to take a closer look at wetland hydrology. Wetlands are tracts of land that are water-logged at least seasonally. They may be spongy … Read More
Waiology • Jun 08, 2012 •
By Daniel Collins The snowstorm that covered much of the South Island with a white veil on Wednesday cut power to over a thousand homes and closed many schools and businesses. But in the midst of the disruption was a rare opportunity to do some important science: to measure the amount and density of the snow that fell at … Read More
Waiology • Jun 06, 2012 •
By Daniel Collins and Ross Woods Measurements of snowfall at low elevations around New Zealand are few and far between, and yet the data would be really helpful in understanding how snowfall occurs and quantifying snow-related risks. After all, the large majority of New Zealand’s population and infrastructure reside closer to the coast than the mountains. And so we’d like … Read More
Waiology • Mar 06, 2012 •
By Daniel Collins Seen during a presentation by water resources expert Professor Robert Glennon last month. This says a lot about the costs of complacent water resources planning in a variable climate. The principle here is much like the Latin adage: Si vis pacem, para bellum — if you wish for peace, prepare for war. Read More
Waiology • Oct 25, 2011 •
Guest post by Dr Tim Kerr (post-doctoral fellow funded by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and hosted by NIWA) Back in June, Daniel described New Zealand’s rain as coming mainly from the plains mountains. In the South Island, that generally means the Southern Alps. One of science’s tasks is to refine our understanding of where, why and … Read More
Waiology • Oct 06, 2011 •
By Daniel Collins Today, Statistics NZ released a new assessment on the water accounts of the country. Back in June I distilled the previous 2005 assessment for you, and now here’s the update. The average amount of precipitation that falls on New Zealand each year, now based on data from 1995-2010, is 610,000 x 106 m3 — just … Read More
Waiology • Aug 22, 2011 •
By Daniel Collins With the sun shining and last week’s snow all but gone in Christchurch, it’s hard to imagine that the city almost ground to a halt. But not the hydrologists. While Ross was collecting snow in a saucepan, two other NIWA colleagues – Chris Appleby and Jeremy Rutherford – were out in the field doing more rigorous … Read More
Waiology • Aug 16, 2011 •
By Ross Woods Snow falling at Viaduct Harbour in Auckland on Monday 15 August 2011? Amazing, but true. We had some unusual snow in Christchurch a couple of weeks ago, but this time the wild white weather is spread very widely over New Zealand. Two weeks ago, lots of people got out there making some excellent measurements, which I … Read More
Waiology • Jun 17, 2011 •
By Daniel Collins Despite what they say on Broadway, the rain in Spain does not stay mainly in the plain. Most of New Zealand’s rain doesn’t fall in the plains either, but in the mountains, particularly the Southern Alps. This is why the West Coast is so wet. The plains are in fact quite dry in comparison. In an … Read More