Bioshields Could Help Slow Tsunami Flow
GNS Science - Latest News [Page 1]
Lead researcher and GNS Tsunami Scientist Jean Roger said the study findings are expected to help local governments, planners, environmental agencies and infrastructure managers make informed decisions about natural environment management and natural ... More >>
GNS-Led Voyage To Hunga Volcano Returns With New Insights Into 2022 Eruption
Monday, 24 June 2024, 10:53 am | GNS Science
Scientists are now much closer to understanding what triggered the most violent volcanic eruption in more than a hundred years thanks to the return of a successful month-long expedition to Hunga volcano (Tonga) led by GNS Science. More >>
Ancient Polar Sea Reptile Is The Oldest Ever Found In The Southern Hemisphere
Tuesday, 18 June 2024, 9:37 am | GNS Science
An Early Triassic Nothosaur fossil vertebra, from about 246 million years ago, discovered in New Zealand has upended long-standing hypotheses on how, when and from where nothosaurs and other early sea-going reptiles dispersed around the globe. More >>
New Guidance Encourages Planners Not To Let Landslide Risk Reduction Opportunities Slip By
Monday, 29 January 2024, 11:42 am | GNS Science
Today GNS Science has released new land-use planning guidance to manage and reduce the risks of landslides. The Landslide Planning Guidance: Reducing Landslide Risk through Land-Use Planning strongly encourages landslide risk to be considered early ... More >>
GNS Science Is Expecting Many Thousands Of Landslides Because Of Cyclone Gabrielle
Wednesday, 15 February 2023, 1:37 pm | GNS Science
Landslides are a national hazard, responsible for taking lives and costing New Zealand around $300M a year. GNS Science provides some advice to New Zealanders about how they can stay safe during extreme weather events, and how they can help. ... More >>
Revised Earthquake Hazard Model Helps Aotearoa New Zealand Increase Resilience
Tuesday, 4 October 2022, 6:25 am | GNS Science
Aotearoa New Zealand's updated National Seismic Hazard Model estimates the likelihood of future earthquake shaking hazard to have increased throughout most of the country, ranging from almost no change to more than doubling in some areas. On average, results ... More >>
New Zealand Partnership Increases Geothermal Presence In Japan
Thursday, 21 April 2022, 3:48 pm | GNS Science
GNS Science and Geo40 have today announced a geothermal coalition which will see them establish a physical presence in Tokyo. The move to open an office in Japan demonstrates the strength of New Zealand's expertise in the geothermal space, and ... More >>
DART Network Proves Invaluable In Assessing Tsunami Threat Following The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Eruption
Tuesday, 18 January 2022, 5:34 pm | GNS Science
Aotearoa New Zealand's network of DART buoys proved vital over the weekend as tsunami experts raced to analyse the tsunami threat to our coastlines following a large, explosive eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga. DART (Deep-ocean ... More >>
GNS Science Conduct Trench Work On Rauoterangi Fault
Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 12:01 pm | GNS Science
GNS Science has conducted a geotechnical study on the Rauoterangi Fault in Feilding in the hope to carbon date the fault line and analyse the risk it poses. The study has been fully funded by the Earthquake Commission Kōmihana Rūwhenua (EQC), with ... More >>
Ground-breaking Climate Change Collaboration Awarded PM's Science Prize
Tuesday, 30 June 2020, 4:42 pm | GNS Science
Dr Richard Levy and Dr Nancy Bertler at the Ice Core Facility, GNS Science GNS Science is proud to be part of the Melting Ice & Rising Seas Team that has been awarded the Prime Minister's Science Prize. The project is a ground-breaking ... More >>
Revised Hazard Posters For Mt Ruapehu 2020
Friday, 12 June 2020, 11:52 am | GNS Science
Ruapehu is an incredible winter playground, and as mountain users prepare for the 2020 season a revised set of hazard posters will help them know how to keep themselves safe on the volcano. The key message remains the same: Ruapehu is an active ... More >>
Government's Support For Science Sector Crucial For NZ's Recovery – GNS Science
Wednesday, 3 June 2020, 2:23 pm | GNS Science
Science and innovation will play a crucial role in New Zealand's recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and GNS Science welcomes today's announcement of additional support for the sector. Research, Science and Innovation Minister Dr Megan Woods ... More >>
International Recognition For GNS Science's Research Output
Tuesday, 5 May 2020, 2:48 pm | GNS Science
Cutting edge research and high-impact partnerships have cemented GNS Science's position as a thought leader in earth and environmental sciences, recognised in the annual Nature Index . In the 2020 Index , published this month, GNS Science is ranked ... More >>
GNS Science Continues To Monitor NZ's Geological Hazards During COVID-19 Crisis
Monday, 23 March 2020, 12:27 pm | GNS Science
New Zealand's four geohazard perils – earthquake, volcano, landslide and tsunami – are still being continuously monitored despite the COVID-19 pandemic, GNS Science says. GNS Science is taking a precautionary approach to protect the health of its ... More >>
Moving Mountains On The Ocean Floor May Hold Key To East Coast Earthquakes
Wednesday, 4 March 2020, 1:14 pm | GNS Science
Earthquakes and slow slip events may be influenced by mountains on the ocean floor, or 'seamounts', according to new research co-authored by GNS Science. A paper published today in Nature Geoscience magazine found that seamounts can have ... More >>
Shallow magma driving volcanic activity at Whakaari
Friday, 13 December 2019, 1:37 pm | GNS Science
Volcano monitoring data from Whakaari/White Island indicates a shallow body of magma is present and eruption risk continues, GNS Science experts say. Since Monday's tragic events there has been no further eruptive activity at Whakaari/White Island. ... More >>
GNS Science maps show risk levels at White Island still high
Thursday, 12 December 2019, 5:02 pm | GNS Science
Risk assessment maps released by GNS Science (dated 02 and 12 December 2019) show the crater floor of Whakaari/White Island is still a high-risk area, with a further eruption looking increasingly likely. The maps were released at a National Emergency ... More >>
Risk of Whakaari/White Island eruption remains high
Thursday, 12 December 2019, 11:17 am | GNS Science
The risk of further eruptions at Whakaari/White Island is unchanged and remains high, GNS Science experts say. More >>
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Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Tekapo couple honoured for planetary defence contributions
By Katie Todd of RNZ For 50 years Pam Kilmartin and Alan Gilmore have quietly worked to track asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. The couple, now in their 70s, had contributed detailed observations to international planetary defence programmes, using their vantage point in Tekapo and teamwork to swiftly gather unique data. Their work saw them jointly awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit, although Kilmartin said she was "terrified" at the thought of receiving the honour. "I don't really know how we came to get something like this. We have just been doing what we like for the last 50 years," she said. "We kind of feel a bit guilty about being honoured for what is fun for us." Kilmartin and Gilmore had discovered 41 asteroids, a comet and a nova - the latter two being "accidental" discoveries, Gilmore said. The couple established a programme tracking near-Earth asteroids, initially from Wellington's Carter Observatory and later from the University of Canterbury's Mt John Observatory in 1980. In the 1980s, evidence was mounting that an asteroid impact had caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and astronomers around the world were becoming increasingly aware of the potential threat posed by near-earth objects. Observatories around the world began tracking asteroids larger wider that 140m, within 20 times the moon's distance to Earth - that is, close enough to pose a collision risk. Kilmartin and Gilmore saw a gap in global search efforts: "the absence of any such work in the Southern Hemisphere," Gilmore said. Most of the discoveries were made by search programmes in Arizona and Hawaii, he explained. "Because we're in the Southern Hemisphere, there is a there is a parallax effect, that is, we're looking at the asteroid from a slightly different direction. That enables them to triangulate, to get a distance measurement estimate for the asteroid, and that improves the orbit calculation very quickly. So our location in New Zealand is very helpful for this work," he said. "The idea is to find these objects before they find us ... to come up with technology that could divert it a little bit." Such technology was put to the test in 2022 during NASA's DART mission, which successfully knocked a stadium-sized asteroid off-course. Stargazers in the making Kilmartin said her "vague" interest in astronomy was kindled in the small country town where she grew up, where "the stars were part of the scenery". Later, she deepened that interest at the Auckland Astronomical Society, joining a group of women learning the art of photoelectric photometry - a process to measure the brightness of stars. For Gilmore, the catalyst was seeing a shooting star while walking with his father one night in the 1950s. He was further inspired by a "neat little book on practical astronomy" that he found at the Hutt Intermediate School library that taught him how to make a telescope. By secondary school he was so adept at handling telescopes that he was invited to help test out possible sites for the University of Pennsylvania to set up a southern observation station in New Zealand. The pair met at an astronomical conference in Christchurch and married in Wellington in 1974 while working at the Carter Observatory - Kilmartin as an information officer and Gilmore as a researcher. It was then that they began working as a team, producing precise measurements that would put them on the international radar. "What really got us on the international scene was Michael Clark at Mt John Observatory discovered a small comet. He sent photographic plates of the comet to the Carter Observatory and Pam and I got more photos of it, and we measured up those plates and we produced the first precise positions of that comet globally," Gilmore said. Working in tandem The pair see their teamwork as a secret weapon, which allows them to report observations potentially faster than any other astronomy group in the world, Gilmore said. "We sort of share our skills back and forth," Kilmartin said. "Like they say, the sum is greater than its can be reporting observations internationally, literally within minutes of making them, because there's two of us operating," Gilmore said. "I'm controlling the telescope, selecting the next target and then operating the cameras that we have on the telescopes, that take many, many pictures. Pam drags those across to her laptop and runs a piece of software called Astrometrica which stacks the images so that we can find a particular asteroid. And then Astrometrica is able to measure the position of the asteroid and it produces the data in a format that we can then just simply paste into a website for the Minor Planet Centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts." Astronomy will 'enhance your life' Gilmore twice served as president of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand and edited its newsletter for 22 years, while Kilmartin was secretary for 18 years. From 1996 until their retirement in 2014, Gilmore was also Mt John Observatory's resident superintendent, managing its day-to-day operation. Gilmore had to learn to drive a tractor, while Kilmartin did "an awful lot of work shovelling snow off the paths and tracks", as well as hosting thousands of school children and visitors for tours. Now living in Tekapo with a large telescope at home, Gilmore said the couple continued to host groups. "We've tried to get involved with keeping our community involved and informed in astronomy," he said. "We send out, for instance, sets of sky charts every month, e-mailing them out to about 400 addresses. Some of them are schools and so on that circulate them to pupils." They said they were heartened by local growth in astro-tourism. Astronomy will "enhance your life," Kilmartin said, whether as a hobby or a career. More than a decade after their retirement, the pair continued making observations and sending data to the Minor Planet Centre. Gilmore said the University of Canterbury still supported them as "sort of honorary research associates", allowing them to access telescope time. "We just, for instance, worked until 1am this morning before clouds came in on one of the Mt John telescopes," he said. "Our work continues to be useful. It's not in any way cutting edge work, but it's a very handy contribution to international astronomy." Decades of plant protection honoured Closer to Earth, champion of the country's plant science sector Alison Stewart has been recognised as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The current Foundation for Arable Research chief executive said the honour was a "very pleasant surprise" and exciting recognition for her field. "Plant science doesn't normally get profiled in this way," she said. Stewart has dedicated a 40-year career to sustainable plant protection, soil biology and plant bio-technology. Her work is credited for the commercialisation of biocontrol products used by New Zealand and overseas growers. She has also pioneered sustainable farming practices to improve crop yields and quality while minimising environmental impacts. Stewart said it had been gratifying work. "When the commercial companies that I've worked with have got products out in the marketplace that are being used by growers in New Zealand to support their sustainable production practices - and those products came from research that my research team has done over the 40 years... gosh, that's really nice to see," she said. Stewart was chief science officer at Marrone Bio Innovations in the US from 2013 to 2015, and general manager Forestry Science at Scion from 2015 to 2018. She describes her career as "a collection of all the things that I love doing, wrapped up into the most amazing jobs." Stewart said the recognition was not just about her. "I see it very much as a shout out for all those plant scientists in the country who do an amazing job to look after our native flora and support the development of our plant food producers," she said. "I think of the number of postgraduate students that I have supervised over the years. Seeing all of them go out to work in New Zealand companies - and they are now becoming leaders in their own right - I get a huge amount of satisfaction knowing that I contributed a little bit."
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Guardians of the galaxy: Tekapo couple honoured
By Katie Todd of RNZ For 50 years Pam Kilmartin and Alan Gilmore have quietly worked to track asteroids that could pose a threat to Earth. The couple, now in their 70s, had contributed detailed observations to international planetary defence programmes, using their vantage point in Tekapo and teamwork to swiftly gather unique data. Their work saw them jointly awarded the New Zealand Order of Merit, although Kilmartin said she was "terrified" at the thought of receiving the honour. "I don't really know how we came to get something like this. We have just been doing what we like for the last 50 years," she said. "We kind of feel a bit guilty about being honoured for what is fun for us." Kilmartin and Gilmore had discovered 41 asteroids, a comet and a nova - the latter two being "accidental" discoveries, Gilmore said. The couple established a programme tracking near-Earth asteroids, initially from Wellington's Carter Observatory and later from the University of Canterbury's Mt John Observatory in 1980. In the 1980s, evidence was mounting that an asteroid impact had caused the extinction of the dinosaurs and astronomers around the world were becoming increasingly aware of the potential threat posed by near-earth objects. Observatories around the world began tracking asteroids larger wider that 140m, within 20 times the moon's distance to Earth - that is, close enough to pose a collision risk. Kilmartin and Gilmore saw a gap in global search efforts: "the absence of any such work in the Southern Hemisphere," Gilmore said. Most of the discoveries were made by search programmes in Arizona and Hawaii, he explained. "Because we're in the Southern Hemisphere, there is a there is a parallax effect, that is, we're looking at the asteroid from a slightly different direction. That enables them to triangulate, to get a distance measurement estimate for the asteroid, and that improves the orbit calculation very quickly. So our location in New Zealand is very helpful for this work," he said. "The idea is to find these objects before they find us ... to come up with technology that could divert it a little bit." Such technology was put to the test in 2022 during NASA's DART mission, which successfully knocked a stadium-sized asteroid off-course. Stargazers in the making Kilmartin said her "vague" interest in astronomy was kindled in the small country town where she grew up, where "the stars were part of the scenery". Later, she deepened that interest at the Auckland Astronomical Society, joining a group of women learning the art of photoelectric photometry - a process to measure the brightness of stars. For Gilmore, the catalyst was seeing a shooting star while walking with his father one night in the 1950s. He was further inspired by a "neat little book on practical astronomy" that he found at the Hutt Intermediate School library that taught him how to make a telescope. By secondary school he was so adept at handling telescopes that he was invited to help test out possible sites for the University of Pennsylvania to set up a southern observation station in New Zealand. The pair met at an astronomical conference in Christchurch and married in Wellington in 1974 while working at the Carter Observatory - Kilmartin as an information officer and Gilmore as a researcher. It was then that they began working as a team, producing precise measurements that would put them on the international radar. "What really got us on the international scene was Michael Clark at Mt John Observatory discovered a small comet. He sent photographic plates of the comet to the Carter Observatory and Pam and I got more photos of it, and we measured up those plates and we produced the first precise positions of that comet globally," Gilmore said. Working in tandem The pair see their teamwork as a secret weapon, which allows them to report observations potentially faster than any other astronomy group in the world, Gilmore said. "We sort of share our skills back and forth," Kilmartin said. "Like they say, the sum is greater than its can be reporting observations internationally, literally within minutes of making them, because there's two of us operating," Gilmore said. "I'm controlling the telescope, selecting the next target and then operating the cameras that we have on the telescopes, that take many, many pictures. Pam drags those across to her laptop and runs a piece of software called Astrometrica which stacks the images so that we can find a particular asteroid. And then Astrometrica is able to measure the position of the asteroid and it produces the data in a format that we can then just simply paste into a website for the Minor Planet Centre in Cambridge, Massachusetts." Astronomy will 'enhance your life' Gilmore twice served as president of the Royal Astronomical Society of New Zealand and edited its newsletter for 22 years, while Kilmartin was secretary for 18 years. From 1996 until their retirement in 2014, Gilmore was also Mt John Observatory's resident superintendent, managing its day-to-day operation. Gilmore had to learn to drive a tractor, while Kilmartin did "an awful lot of work shovelling snow off the paths and tracks", as well as hosting thousands of school children and visitors for tours. Now living in Tekapo with a large telescope at home, Gilmore said the couple continued to host groups. "We've tried to get involved with keeping our community involved and informed in astronomy," he said. "We send out, for instance, sets of sky charts every month, e-mailing them out to about 400 addresses. Some of them are schools and so on that circulate them to pupils." They said they were heartened by local growth in astro-tourism. Astronomy will "enhance your life," Kilmartin said, whether as a hobby or a career. More than a decade after their retirement, the pair continued making observations and sending data to the Minor Planet Centre. Gilmore said the University of Canterbury still supported them as "sort of honorary research associates", allowing them to access telescope time. "We just, for instance, worked until 1am this morning before clouds came in on one of the Mt John telescopes," he said. "Our work continues to be useful. It's not in any way cutting edge work, but it's a very handy contribution to international astronomy." Decades of plant protection honoured Closer to Earth, champion of the country's plant science sector Alison Stewart has been recognised as a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. The current Foundation for Arable Research chief executive said the honour was a "very pleasant surprise" and exciting recognition for her field. "Plant science doesn't normally get profiled in this way," she said. Stewart has dedicated a 40-year career to sustainable plant protection, soil biology and plant bio-technology. Her work is credited for the commercialisation of biocontrol products used by New Zealand and overseas growers. She has also pioneered sustainable farming practices to improve crop yields and quality while minimising environmental impacts. Stewart said it had been gratifying work. "When the commercial companies that I've worked with have got products out in the marketplace that are being used by growers in New Zealand to support their sustainable production practices - and those products came from research that my research team has done over the 40 years... gosh, that's really nice to see," she said. Stewart was chief science officer at Marrone Bio Innovations in the US from 2013 to 2015, and general manager Forestry Science at Scion from 2015 to 2018. She describes her career as "a collection of all the things that I love doing, wrapped up into the most amazing jobs." Stewart said the recognition was not just about her. "I see it very much as a shout out for all those plant scientists in the country who do an amazing job to look after our native flora and support the development of our plant food producers," she said. "I think of the number of postgraduate students that I have supervised over the years. Seeing all of them go out to work in New Zealand companies - and they are now becoming leaders in their own right - I get a huge amount of satisfaction knowing that I contributed a little bit."
RNZ News
5 days ago
- RNZ News
Living next to an active volcano
Photo: Brad Scott - GNS Science Graham Leonard Photo: Jeff McEwan, Capture Studios Taranaki Mounga is one of New Zealand's about a dozen active volcanos - but what does that actually mean for locals? Volcanologist and GNS principal scientist Graham Leonard shares the latest research and preparedness advice.
