Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 9 January 2019

A weekly update describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing these soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: The eel earbone detective

As a young child growing up on an Irish farm, one of Eimear Egan’s chores was to regularly clean out the well from where her family drew its drinking water. In the well lived a large eel that, no matter how many times it was shifted, just kept coming back.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 19 December 2018

Across the North Island, soil moisture levels either decreased slightly or remained the same during the past week. Across the South Island, soil moisture remained near normal or above normal in the central and eastern part of the island during the past week while areas in the west have near normal or below normal soil moisture.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 12 December 2018

The driest soils across the North Island compared to normal for this time of the year are found in an area stretching from coastal Manawatu-Whanganui northeast to Taupo. The driest soils across the South Island compared to normal for this time of the year are found in far southern Westland District. A small hotspot has emerged in Nelson in the past week.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 29 November 2018

All previous hotspots in the North Island dissipated this past week due to the heavy rainfall. Substantial rainfall in the past week caused the small hotspot in northwestern Marlborough to dissipate, and no other hotspots are currently in place in the South Island.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 7 November 2018

The largest hotspot in the North Island continues to be found in Napier and southern Hastings District. A new, very small hotspot has also emerged this week near Cape Reinga. No hotspots are currently in place in the South Island.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 31 October 2018

With the recent rain, the soil moisture has generally improved across the North Island since last week. However, the soils are still drier than normal for the time of year in eastern Northland, western Auckland, western Waikato, western Taranaki, as well as Hawke’s Bay, central and southern Manawatu-Wanganui and Wairarapa. The most anomalously dry soils are found in the north of the South Island, especially in interior Marlborough where the soil moisture is well below average for this time of year.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: NIWA’s Hotspot Watch for 24 October 2018

Soils are drier than normal for the time of year in the majority of the North Island, excluding the eastern Gisborne region where the soil moisture is near average. Parts of Queenstown-Lakes District in Otago, the Grey and Buller Districts in the West Coast, northeastern Marlborough, and the Waimate District in southern Canterbury experience well below average rainfall for this time of year, while the rest of the South Island had near normal rainfall.

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Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research – Press Release/Statement:

Headline: Emperor penguin foraging behaviour revealed

On the Antarctic continental shelf, the dives were shorter and shallower, while further out to sea the penguins dove deeper and for longer periods of time. “This is probably related to diet. On the shelf, the shorter dives suggest they are foraging for krill, while in the deeper ocean it is likely to be fish.”

On average, penguins dove 90.2m but did occasionally dive as deep as 450m. More than 96,000 dives were recorded and most tags remaining attached for at least six months.