National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA (Taihoro Nukurangi), 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 (Central Otago). 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. "NIWA's mission is to conduct leading environmental science to enable the sustainable management of natural resources for New Zealand and the planet." NIWA was formed as a stand-alone organisation in 1992 as part of a government initiative to restructure the New Zealand science sector. Its foundation staff came mainly from the former Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and the Meteorological Service. 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. 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 (e.