Rotorua

NASA comes to Rotorua

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 »

1000 Geothermal Springs

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 »

Rotomahana’s lake floor prompts many questions

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 »

Lake Rotomahana Seismic

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 »

Groundwater dating around Lake Rotorua

“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 »