March 2018, What it will take to fix Kaipara Harbour
A new study by a consortium of researchers led by Streamlined Environmental Ltd has shown that the bulk of the sediment depositing each year in Kaipara Harbour is … Read More

Sharing is caring, but not particularly so, when you must share your favourite bathing spot with bugs that make you sick! Freshwater bodies are susceptible to contamination and can serve as a vehicle for transmission of microbial pathogens. The … Read More

January 2018, Malcolm Green accredited as RMA decision maker
Dr Malcolm Green has recently completed MfE’s Making Good Decisions Programme, and is now accredited as an RMA decision maker.
Under the Resource Management Act, persons must be … Read More

It’s summer, everyone is at the beach, let’s have some fun.

Either I was asleep when I was being taught this in school or my senility is progressing much faster than I thought, but the following that I recently read in a book* came as a complete (and delightful) surprise to … Read More

November 2017, Streamlined scientist member of team awarded 5-year MBIE funding
Dr Mike Stewart (Environmental Chemist) is a key researcher in a 5-year project on “Managing the risk of emerging organic contaminants” (EOCs) recently announced by the MBIE.
The … Read More

November 2017, Contaminant load limits and the concept of the “critical point”
Malcolm Green presented a talk on contaminant load limits and the “critical point” at the New Zealand Freshwater Sciences Society 2017 Annual Conference held in Hamilton…. Read More

November 2016, Waves in Estuaries Presentation
Malcolm Green gave a public talk on “Waves in Estuaries” at the offices of MetOcean Solutions, Raglan, on Friday November 11.
The rise and fall of the tide is the most obvious physical feature … Read More

Maths aside, we cannot ever truly know anything. Science does not prove things – it disproves things. This keeps us all in jobs, of course, arguing about what we think we know and don’t know. (Maths is different – mathematicians can prove things to be true. I don’t know whether … Read More

September 2016 Waves and Sediment Flocculation
In the shallow, largely intertidal estuaries that are typical of New Zealand, wind-lashed, whitecapped waves are important. For instance, they scour intertidal flats of mud that is eroded from the land and … Read More

Measuring “total” contaminant concentrations doesn’t always tell us about the portion that is actually able to be taken up by an organism (bioavailable). It is this bioavailable portion that is potentially toxic. Contaminant concentrations in aquatic organisms such as shellfish have been widely used as a direct measure of the … Read More

Putting PRINCE2 into Practice
Dr Ngaire Phillips recently gained certification as a PRINCE2 Practitioner. PRINCE2 (an acronym for PRojects IN Controlled Environments) is a world-class international project management method. It is widely used internationally and is increasingly being adopted by government and private organisations throughout … Read More

I think you’d all agree that protecting our valuable natural resources while enabling social and economic growth is challenging. The recently recommended limit for nitrate in water of 0.8 mg/L proposed for the Tukituki River is … Read More

Shortly after I posted my last blog about the health significance of nitrate in drinking water, the Guardian website ran a piece by Alex Bellos, author of the recently-published book Alex Through the Looking Glass: How Life Reflects Numbers … Read More

Macroinvertebrates, or stream bugs, have been the focus of much debate amongst New Zealand’s freshwater science fraternity in recent times. To address declining water quality, the New Zealand government has proposed a National Objectives Framework (NOF), which includes a set of national bottom line values … Read More

Every day, we make decisions that affect our health and well-being. Most of these decisions are based on some understanding of science, whether we realize it or not. Should I have that extra piece of cake (biology, chemistry)? Do I have enough time to cross the road before that car … Read More

Reports of nitrate pollution of groundwater, with concentrations above the safe “New Zealand drinking water standard”, or World Health Organisation Guidelines, have been prominent in the media recently. This is particularly the case in Canterbury, where the Medical … Read More