• LAND
AND ENVIRONMENT
TECHNOLOGY PROVIDES VIEWS OF LIFE IN REMOTE HABITATS NIWA Aotearoa-New Zealand’s marine area covers 167,650 square kilometres presenting a staggering distribution of climates, from subtropical to subantarctic waters, to understand and manage.
B
ut it’s likely we know more about the surface of Mars than we do about the seafloor of our marine environment.
To fill that void, Dr Leigh Tait, a marine ecologist at NIWA,
is investigating better use of satellites, drones and remote operated vehicles (ROVs) to improve our understanding of life under the ocean. The research is part of the Surveillance Tools and Technologies Project led by Dr Tait who is based in Christchurch. His work with ROVs is specifically for biosecurity purposes and is funded by NIWA’s Marine Biosecurity Programme while his research with satellites and drones is funded by other NIWA programmes.
NIWA researchers Hamish Sutton and Leigh Tait are setting up a drone with a 6-band multispectral camera and a Sony a5100 mirrorless camera for marine reserve mapping near Wellington. [Photo: Rebekah Parsons-King / NIWA].
SURVEYING+SPATIAL
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Issue 110 December 2022 13