Last week I was involved in a NASA Spaceward Bound meeting in Te Takinga Marae in Rotorua. The purpose of the meeting was to promote interest in Planetary Geology and Astrobiology, and it was attended by about 50 scientists, educators, undergraduates and school students from New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Romania, the UK and Kazakhstan. […]
NASA comes to Rotorua Read More »
GNS Science and Waikato University are investigating one thousand of the geothermal hot springs in New Zealand’s North Island. The goal of this ambitious 1000 Springs Research Project is to understand and compare the microbiology of these springs along with their physical and chemical make-up. That adds up to a lot of sampling trips, processing
1000 Geothermal Springs Read More »
This week I have been with Cornel de Ronde and a group of ocean floor researchers applying more of their methods to expand the large amount of research of Lake Rotomahana done over recent years. This is the lake that used to be decorated by the famous Pink and White Terraces. It was excavated by
The Hot Bed of Rotomahana Read More »
Here is our video describing this years Rotomahana explorations – a hidden world come into view!
Seeing beneath the water and mud of Lake Rotomahana Read More »
Following last weeks’ multibeam sonar survey, the bed of Lake Rotomahana has now been mapped to a resolution of half a metre, bringing to light a mass of detail hitherto unknown to scientists. The first photo shows last year’s map which was made with the assistance of WHOI (Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution). The resolution of
Rotomahana’s lake floor prompts many questions Read More »
The Seismic Survey of Lake Rotomahana is proceeding well this week. Whilst it is being led by GNS Science, the University of Waikato and NIWA are providing technical assistance with some of the equipment being used. The first photo shows the survey boat being loaded with the the cable that contains the hydrophones. These pick
Lake Rotomahana Seismic Read More »
“If you want to have an insight into a society, just look at the water in the streams and rivers” Uwe Morgenstern, GNS Science’s specialist in groundwater and ice dating, runs a laboratory that is the most accurate water dating facility in the world. His methods are so precise, that they are four times more
Groundwater dating around Lake Rotorua Read More »
I am in Rotorua this week visiting a number of the schools to tell the children about the Rotomahana Project. It is wonderful to witness the excitement and engagement of the kids, and the enthusiasm of the teachers helping them to learn about the unique history and geology of the local area. I have been
Rotorua Schools’ Tour Read More »