Our Changing World

John Church, an expert on sea level rise and one of the scientists who could lose his job at CSIRO, discusses how ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are contributing to sea level rise now and in… Read more Audio

Phytoplankton, which accounts for half of the planet's total biological productivity, leave a clear fossil footprint, which allows palaeontologists to trace past environmental change and extinction… Read more Audio

Marine scientists are calling on the public to help them get a better idea of the distribution of large brown seaweeds along the coast of New Zealand. Read more Audio

The University of Auckland is joining one of the most ambitious astronomy projects ever to scour the southern skies for extrasolar planets – while testing theories about the origins of the universe… Read more Audio

The kaka, or forest parrot, has had its IQ tested for the first time - and in some experiments young naive birds were better problem solvers than older birds that were stuck in their ways. Read more Video, Audio

The ocean is becoming more acidic, and this change is most pronounced in coastal seas. Marine scientists have received $4.9 million to work out what is going on and how this affects marine life along… Read more Audio

Virus hunter and botanist Paul Guy has been called in to help threatened native cress plants that are being infected by three different brassica viruses. Read more Audio

NIWA marine ecologist Kim Goetz is setting up acoustic monitoring stations in Cook Strait to eavesdrop on whales and dolphins as they migrate through New Zealand waters. Read more Audio

Last week, NASA finally successfully launched a super pressure balloon from Wanaka Airport, following several attempts that had been thwarted by foul weather. Read more Video, Audio

Veronika Meduna joins BRANZ physicist Manfred Plagmann as he equips a home with sensors that track how heat and moisture move through the rooms. Read more Audio

Craig Rodger explains how large solar storms can overwhelm the protective shield of the earth's magnetic field and disrupt national power grids. Read more Video, Audio

University of Waikato professor of environmental planning Iain White argues that our 'same again' response to flooding is hindering our ability to plan more effectively. Read more Audio