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This week, the government announced the creation of the Kermadec ocean sanctuary, which covers 620,000 square kilometres and bans mining, prospecting and fishing. Audio, Gallery

Mt Taranaki is one of New Zealand's most distinctive volcanoes, with a history of euptions and the potential to erupt again in the future. Audio

Geologists are using a cannon, a trebuchet and silly putty wrapped in condoms to investigate volcanic ballistics and better understand volcanic eruptions Video, Audio

Peat uncovered during major roadworks on the Kapiti Coast is shedding light on early Maori occupation, while the discovery of pumice might be the sign of an old tsunami Audio

University of Auckland volcanologist Jan Lindsay discusses the DEVORA project and its aim to assess volcanic hazard and risk for Auckland's metropolitan area. Audio

Back in 2005, a team of marine biologists and geologists use a submersible to dive deep down to explore submarine volcanoes in the Kermadec Arc. Audio

Michelle Dickinson is Nanogirl, a superhero teaching kids that science is fun, and she has won the 2014 Prime Minister's Science Media Communication Prize Audio

The eruption detection system on Mount Ruapehu is designed to quickly warn people on the Whakapapa ski field to move to high ground out of the path of dangerous lahars Audio

After nearly 20 years of use the volcanic hazard alert system for New Zealand has been revised to make it simpler and more informative Audio

The Volcanic Risk Solutions group at Massey University have built an eruption simulator so they can study destructive pyroclastic flows in detail Audio

Volcanologists have been drilling deep into Rangitoto Island's lava to piece together its eruption history Audio

Rangitoto's volcanic history now shows it erupted intermittently over 1000 years Audio

En route to the Kermadec Islands, the HMNZS Canterbury encountered a large raft of pumice, but which volcano did it come from? Audio

Volcanologists at the University of Canterbury recreate processes that happen inside an active volcano Audio

A forest buried in volcanic ash tells a story about Auckland's volcanic history Audio

2011 science and natural history books

Four previously unrecognised volcanic craters and a forgotten crater in South Auckland have added to Auckland's volcanic tally Audio

Volcanologist Gill Jolly explains how data from a volcano monitoring network help forecast volcanic activity Audio

The Waimangu Valley near Rotorua is one of a number of volcanic monitoring sites in the Taupo Volcanic Zone Audio

The Kermadec Arc sits along the boundary of the Australian and Pacific Plates, and runs from Ruapehu to Tonga Audio

Waikato University's Craig Cary studies soil microbes living in warm thermal soils near the summit of Antarctica's Mount Erebus Audio

The 1996 eruption of Mt Ruapehu had effects in Auckland and Hamilton, cities previously thought too far away to be impacted Audio

Massey University scientists are looking at lahars and the physical characteristics of explosive volcanic eruptions Audio

Shane Cronin has been studying lahars and with Mark Bebbington has been analysing historic volcanic eruptions Audio

Volcanologists Jan Lindsay and Graham Leonard explain a research project that aims to determine volcanic risk in Auckland. Audio