Data - Page 9

A glacier is a body of slow-moving ice, at least 1 hectare in area that has persisted for two decades or longer. New Zealand has 3,144 glaciers. Most are located along the Southern Alps on the South Island, although Mount Ruapehu on the North Island supports 18 glaciers. New Zealand’s large glaciers are noteworthy for their large debris cover. The exceptions, Franz Joseph and Fox glaciers, are rare examples of glaciers that terminate in a rainforest.
Glacier volume is strongly influenced by climate factors, such as temperature and precipitation, which scientists expect to be affected by the warming climate. Glacial ice is an important water resource. Changes to ice storage and melting can affect ecological and hydropower resources downstream, as well as important cultural values and tourism.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

NIWA supplied ozone data in two forms, with different starting dates:
- measurements made using a Dobson spectrophotometer (number 72), from 1987
- data assimilated from satellite measurements recalibrated against the global Dobson network, from 1978.
NIWA takes measurements using the Dobson spectrophotometer 72 under clear-sky, direct sunlight conditions at Lauder in Otago. There are gaps in the time series due to days with cloud, rain, or too much wind. However, over the whole period, each individual calendar day of the year was measured. This allows us to calculate statistics based on the day of the year.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

A consistent band of westerly wind flows across the Southern Hemisphere and circles the South Pole. The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) describes how this band moves, either north towards the equator (negative phase) or south towards Antarctica (positive phase). A negative phase typically causes increased westerlies, unsettled weather, and storms in New Zealand. A phase can last several weeks, but changes can be rapid and unpredictable.
The SAM is one of three climate oscillations that affect our weather. The resulting changes in air pressure, sea temperature, and wind direction can last for weeks to decades, depending on the oscillation.
Trend direction was assessed using the Theil-Sen estimator and the Two One-Sided Test (TOST) for equivalence at the 95% confidence level.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

New Zealand has unique indigenous plants and animals that are our national taonga (treasures). Because most are endemic (found nowhere else in the world) New Zealand makes an important contribution to global biodiversity. Biodiversity is important for ecosystem processes, te ao Māori including mahinga kai (customary food gathering), and culture and recreation.

The conservation status of our biodiversity represents their risk of extinction. This data covers the conservation status, and most-recent change in status, of native and resident taxa for which we had sufficient information on abundance and distribution. This includes bats, birds, earthworms, lichens, plants, reptiles and frogs, snails, spiders, and insects.

We also include the number of species that have had a genuine change in conservation status between assessment periods.Where conservation status changed, this measure also looked at the NCTCS listings done in 2012 for birds (Robertson et al, 2017); 2012 for reptiles (Hitchmough et al, 2015); and 2010 for Orthoptera (Trewick et al, 2012). A change in a species’ conservation status reflects a change in its risk of extinction.

For more information on the Department of Conservation’s Threat Classification System (NZTCS) please refer to: www.doc.govt.nz/nztcs

One third of our land area is held as public conservation land and managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) to protect natural and cultural heritage, retain areas of wilderness and enable recreation opportunities. Although the use of public conservation land makes an important socio-economic contribution at the local, regional and national level, increasing human activities on our protected areas can put pressure on these environments and degrade their cultural and aesthetic value. These activities can range from recreational users on our Great Walks to commercial activities such as guiding, grazing, or building structures.

This measure reports on the capacity and number of booked bed nights in huts and campsites on nine Great Walks operating in national parks, by walk, hut/campsite and month.

Benthic macroinvertebrates are small animals without backbones (eg insects and worms). They live on and under submerged logs, rocks, and aquatic plants on the beds of rivers and streams during some part of their life cycle. Macroinvertebrates play a central role in stream ecosystems by feeding on periphyton (algae), macrophytes (aquatic plants), dead leaves and wood, or on each other. A high macroinvertebrate community index (MCI) indicates a high level of river health.

File contains trend statistics and calculation results for the period 2004-2013.

For more information please see:
Larned, S, Snelder, T, Unwin, M, McBride, G, Verburg, P, McMillan, H (2015).Analysis of Water Quality in New Zealand lakes and Rivers: data sources, data sets, assumptions, limitations, methods and results. NIWA Client Report no. CHC2015-033. Available at data.mfe.govt.nz/x/DDui3u from the Ministry for the Environment dataservice.

This dataset relates to the "River water quality: Benthic macroinvertebrates" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Land (whenua) is taonga tuku iho (cultural property, heritage) and of special importance to Māori. As the whakapūmautanga (legacy for the future), whenua provides for cultivation and storage of traditional foods and plants – for customary use and mahinga kai, and helps sustain each generation.

We report only on the available data we have, which cover a subset of Māori land used for primary production activities. We report on the number of livestock on maori-owned farms for main livestock types (eg farmed beef and dairy cattle, sheep, and deer) for the years 2006-16.

Annual rainfall trends for 30 representative sites from 1960–2016.
Rain is vital for life – it supplies the water we need to drink and to grow our food, keeps our ecosystems healthy, and supplies our electricity. New Zealand’s mountainous terrain and location in the roaring forties mean rainfall varies across the country. Changes in rainfall amount or timing can significantly affect agriculture, energy, recreation, and the environment. For example, an increase or decrease of rainfall in spring can have marked effects on crops or fish populations.
Trend direction was assessed using the Theil-Sen estimator and the Two One-Sided Test (TOST) for equivalence at the 95% confidence level.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.

Greater than 100,000 people.

Average is population weighted average of monitoring sites in cities.

Note: PM10 concentrations are given in micrograms per cubic metre of air, or µg/m3.

Source: Regional councils of Waikato, Wellington, Canterbury, Otago; Auckland Council

NIWA supplied ozone data in two forms, with different starting dates:
- measurements made using a Dobson spectrophotometer (number 72), from 1987
- data assimilated from satellite measurements recalibrated against the global Dobson network, from 1978.
NIWA takes measurements using the Dobson spectrophotometer 72 under clear-sky, direct sunlight conditions at Lauder in Otago. There are gaps in the time series due to days with cloud, rain, or too much wind. However, over the whole period, each individual calendar day of the year was measured. This allows us to calculate statistics based on the day of the year.
The trend was assessed using the Theil-Sen estimator and the Two One-Sided Test (TOST) for equivalence at the 95% confidence level.
More information on this dataset and how it relates to our environmental reporting indicators and topics can be found in the attached data quality pdf.