SAR4SaR - The folding, floating search and rescue device
New Zealand’s marine search and rescue region stretches from Antarctica to north of Samoa. If someone goes missing without any means of communication, that’s a lot of ocean to search. Now researchers and the New Zealand Defence Force have teamed up to develop and test a low-tech, no-battery device that can be picked up by radar – including that beamed down by satellites orbiting Earth. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:01:30 At Mission Bay Beach Dr Tom Dowling demonstrates the device03:40 In the University of Auckland’s Space Institute lab the team explain the device design, and how it works.10:00 Dr Tom Dowling talks about the radar reflector trials in Campbell Island and Omaha beach13:00 Dr David Galligan, director of Defence Science and Technology on why DST is interested in the device19:00 The satellites are the second side of the equation. Dr Tom Dowling explains how that works.20:50 Back at Mission Bay Beach Dr Tom Dowling explains how the radar reflector would be an additional part of a kit on a boat and how it would work to narrow down the search area…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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What makes Ruapehu tick, and boom
It’s been 30 years since a dramatic series of eruptions at Mount Ruapehu. In that time, there have been great advances in monitoring and modelling volcanoes – but we still can’t look inside a volcano to see exactly what’s going on. Claire Concannon heads to Wairakei, near Taupō, to meet researchers working on the next best thing: recreating Ruapehu’s eruptions in the lab. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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When the fame fades
Two years ago, the Australasian crested grebe, the pūteketeke, took out the title of New Zealand’s Bird of the Century. But when the Paris billboard got swapped out, and 'Lord of the Wings' ads no longer peppered Wellington's bus stops, who stuck around? Claire Concannon meets two dedicated grebe supporters battling different challenges at two Central Otago lakes. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:00:06 – John Oliver’s pūteketeke campaign01:15 – Richard Bowman at Lake Hayes16:45 – Markus Hermanns at Lake WānakaLearn more:Read more about the pūteketeke and the people helping them in this RNZ story, What happened when the pūteketeke's fame faded?In 2016 Alison Ballance visited Lake Wānaka to speak to John Darby about the grebes.It’s not news that New Zealand’s freshwater lakes and wetlands are generally in trouble, but there are many groups around the motu trying to improve their patch – whether that’s the Taiari river catchment, lakes in Auckland that are home to the kākahi, or a wetland area in the Waikato battling an unusual pest problem.This year’s Bird of the Year is the karearea, learn about the New Zealand falcon in this 2018 episode.Guests:Richard Bowman, Friends of Lake HayesMarkus Hermanns, The Lake Wānaka Grebe ProjectGo to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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Putting AI to use in Aotearoa
From the public service sector to businesses to individuals, AI’s uptake across New Zealand has been rapid. And it’s not just large language models. Claire Concannon meets researchers who are harnessing different kinds of artificial intelligence to boost aquaculture, prepare for a measles outbreak and assist in urban conservation. But alongside the benefits sit potential harms. How can we try to minimise them in our AI future? Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more.In this episode:01:00 – Introduction to Dr Andrew Lensen and about AI06:00 – Professor Bing Xue and applied AI for aquaculture09:15 – Dr Fiona Callaghan models measle outbreak scenarios13:30 – Dr Andrew Lensen and the kākā project18:30 – Social and ethical issues of AI…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
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The Lough Hyne sponge mystery
This week, an underwater mystery connecting New Zealand and Ireland - the puzzle of the disappearing sponges of Lough Hyne. In the late 1990s/early 2000s James Bell was doing PhD research on the sponge communities that coated the underwater cliffs of this small sea inlet in West Cork. When he returned 15 years later, they had vanished. Why did they disappear, are they starting to recover, and can they be helped to return? Now a Professor at Victoria University of Wellington, these are the key questions that James, and PhD candidates from his lab, have been working to answer. Sign up to the Our Changing World monthly newsletter for episode backstories, science analysis and more. See more photos on the webpage for this story. In this episode:00:00 – Divers return, introduction to Lough Hyne and its scientific history.02:50 – James Bell on his early research at Lough Hyne and the surprising disappearance of sponge communities.05:15 – Gabi Wood and Kea Witting get ready to dive at Whirlpool Cliffs.06:30 – James Bell explains the unique tidal regime of Lough Hyne that means it has many diverse habitats.09:00 – Gabi Wood is collecting water samples to study sponge feeding and nutrient levels.11:00 – What caused the sponges to disappear.14:00 – Kea Witting is investigating sponge community recovery.21:00 – Experiments to help the sponges return…Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details
Dr Claire Concannon follows scientists into the bush, over rivers, back to their labs and many places in-between to cover the most fascinating research being done in Aotearoa New Zealand.
New Zealand