GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007
WWW.GNS.CRI.NZ © INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGICAL AND NUCLEAR SCIENCES LIMITED SEPTEMBER 2007 ANNUAL REPORT 2007 GNS SCIENCE BUSINESS GROUPS AND CAPABILITIES
ORIGIN OF NEW ZEALAND’S CRUST ORIGIN OF NEW ZEALAND’S CRUST GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE MAPPING & SPATIAL DATA MAPPING & SPATIAL DATA TECTONIC INFORMATION TECTONIC INFORMATION QUATERNARY PROCESSES QUATERNARY PROCESSES GEOHAZARD MONITORING NATURAL HAZARDS GEOHAZARD MONITORING NATURAL HAZARDS EARTHQUAKE PROCESSES Terry Webb EARTHQUAKE PROCESSES Terry Webb EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING VOLCANOES VOLCANOES LANDSLIDES LANDSLIDES TSUNAMIS TSUNAMIS HAZARD ASSESSMENT HAZARD ASSESSMENT FINANCE HAZARD MITIGATION FINANCE HAZARD MITIGATION Graham Clarke Graham Clarke
– MA–ORI STRATEGY MAORI STRATEGY Murray Hemi Rawiri Faulkner GEOLOGICAL TIME GEOLOGICAL TIME PALEOCLIMATE PALEOCLIMATE PALEODIVERSITY PALEODIVERSITY HYDROCARBONS HYDROCARBONS NATURAL RESOURCES CO SEQUESTRATION NATURAL RESOURCES CO2 SEQUESTRATION Michael Isaac GEO2 THERMAL Michael Isaac GEOTHERMAL ENERGY MINERALS MINERALS GROUNDWATER GROUNDWATER GEOMICROBIOLOGY GEOMICROBIOLOGY OCEAN EXPLORATION OCEAN EXPLORATION
Chief Executive Strategy Chief Executive Strategy Alexander Malahoff Desmond Darby Alexander Malahoff Desmond Darby
RAFTER RADIOCARBON RADIOCARBON DATING RAFTER STABLE ISOTOPE STABLE ISOTOPE ANALYSIS NATIONAL ISOTOPE CENTRE WATER DATING WATER DATING FNArankTIONAL Bruhn ISOTOPE CENTRE ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETRY ACCELERATOR MASS SPECTROMETRY Frank Bruhn ION BEAM ANALYSIS ION BEAM ANALYSIS NANOTECHNOLOGY NANOTECHNOLOGY NON-INVASIVE SCANNING NON-INVASIVE SCANNING
RESEARCH RESEARCH Robin Falconer Robin Falconer
HUMAN Resources HUMAN Resources Jennifer van Hunen Tony Stone
COMMERCIAL SERVICES COMMERCIAL SERVICES CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS MARKETING MARKETING BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & INFORMATION SERVICES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY & INFORMATION SERVICES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Rob Johnston GRAPHICS Rob Johnston GRAPHICS PUBLICATIONS PUBLICATIONS LIBRARY LIBRARY Designed by Scenario Communications Limited 0
Radiocarbon dating Tritium dating Isotopic tracing and material analysis Air particulate analysis Nanotechnology ION BEAM ANALYSIS Non-invasive scanning Mapping Earth structure Marine geology Paleontology Paleoclimate Climate change Hydrocarbons Gas hydrates
geological storage OF CO2 Groundwater Minerals Geothermal energy EXTREMOPHILE geobiology Forensic palynology Risk modelling Earthquake hazard studies Volcanic risk assessment Slope stability Tsunami modelling Social and economic impacts You could say we leave no stone unturned
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 02 CONTENTS
03 GNS SCIENCE AT A GLANCE
04 HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR TO 30 JUNE 2007
05 FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE
08 STRATEGIC OVERVIEW – DIRECTIONS AND CHALLENGES
0 OUR RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT – FUNDING OUR SCIENCE
2 OUR COMMERCIAL ACTIVITIES – APPLYING OUR SCIENCE
4 STUDENT SUPPORT
15 MANAGEMENT TEAM
16 HUMAN RESOURCES – people, LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK
18 GNS SCIENCE: WORKING FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL NEW ZEALANDERS
26 COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS
28 International linkages
29 REPORTING AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
30 BOARD MEMBER PROFILES
31 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
34 CRI CAPABILITY FUND REPORT
36 REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS
37 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
37 STATEMENT OF MOVEMENTS IN EQUITY
38 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION
39 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
40 NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
48 PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
50 REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL
51 STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY
52 directory
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 GNS Science at a glance 03
Our activities Our clients GNS Science is an internationally respected research • New Zealand central government agencies and consultancy company owned by the New Zealand • regional and local government government. Our purpose is to understand earth systems • overseas governments and associated technologies and to transform this • oil and gas exploration companies knowledge into economic, environmental, and social • geothermal exploration and operating companies benefits for New Zealand. • hydroelectricity operating companies • minerals exploration industry The benefits we deliver for New Zealand include: • meat, dairy, wool, timber, and horticulture processing • wealth from energy, mineral, and water resources industries • mitigation of the economic and social effects • insurance and reinsurance companies of geological hazards • engineers, developers, and infrastructure companies • development of new physics-based technologies • museums such as nano-scale devices and non-invasive • universities scanning. • other research organisations in New Zealand and overseas. These benefits arise directly from our research into processes within the Earth’s crust which involve: Our statistics • rocks, minerals, and groundwater We have: • earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides and tsunamis • 315 staff located in Lower Hutt (245), Taupo (55), • hydrocarbons and geothermal energy and Dunedin (15) • geobiology and climate history • research equipment and facilities valued at $26 million • gravitational and electromagnetic fields • annual revenue of $51 million comprising: • natural isotopes and radiation. – 43% as contracts for public-good research, Established as a Crown Research Institute with our but not for capital equipment own Board of Directors in 1992, we operate as a stand- – 16% from the Earthquake Commission alone company, with shares held by the New Zealand for monitoring geological hazards government. In our establishment year, we had total – 34% from consultancy, products, assets of $14 million and annual revenue of $25 million. and laboratory services Today these measures have more than doubled. – 7% as direct government funding to maintain Our Ma-ori name, Te Pu- Ao, means the foundation, and enhance our capabilities origin and source of the world in its entirety, from the • annual operational surpluses typically of $1-2 million, atomic through to planetary scales. used mainly for re-investing in new scientific equipment and facilities.
Our website www.gns.cri.nz
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 0 HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE YEAR TO 30 JUNE 2007
Science highlights
• led the successful ANDRILL climate-study project in Antarctica • built a $1.4 million world-class ice-core research laboratory • presented evidence at the UN for legal extension of New Zealand’s continental shelf • partnered with Land Information New Zealand to install and operate 8 tsunami gauges • won bid to provide earthquake and tsunami risk assessment advice to Vietnam • captured world-class lahar database from dam collapse at Mt Ruapehu Crater Lake • won ‘Excellence in IT Award’ for the GeoNet website, providing information to end-users • played a key role in boosting NZ’s geothermal energy development • provided underpinning science to attract petroleum exploration in the Great South Basin • completed trailblazing survey of gas hydrates off the North Island’s east coast • published 159 research papers in refereed scientific journals • prepared 318 consultancy reports
Financial highlights
• achieved record revenue of $51 million • increased revenue by 11% • earned revenue per FTE of $166,000 • realised after-tax profit of 1$ .4 million • employed total assets of $36 million • increased shareholder equity to $18.6 million • earned 7.8% return on equity • served 24 clients with value in excess of $150,000
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 FROM THE CHAIRMAN and THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE 0
This has been a good year for GNS Science, and we Our Natural Hazards Group did well, largely on the basis are now seeing the benefits of our past investment of a very good commercial result. This shows significant decisions. These benefits are evident in our and ongoing uptake of the Group’s research work. science, as well as in our financial performance. The Geological Resources Group also had a successful year. As we noted in our last Annual Report, the Group’s Science revenue capability has been affected by difficulties in recruiting specialist staff to provide research services Our science is key to satisfying many important needs to the energy industry. The international market for such for New Zealand. These include: staff is exceptionally strong. • energy, through research that supports hydrocarbon The National Isotope Centre (NIC) made significant and geothermal exploration improvements on last year’s performance. There has • climate-change and environmental policy and been strong growth in its analytical work. New research mitigation, through research in biodiversity, capabilities based on the role of soils in carbon capture, carbon-dynamics, and carbon dioxide sequestration and the newly commissioned ice-core research facility, • groundwater, through aquifer flow-modelling and provide for a promising future. quality assessment • natural hazards management, through hazard Public-good and commercial science assessment, reduction and readiness for civil defence Our mandate under the Crown Research Institutes Act and emergency management, and loss-estimation 1992 is to undertake research and to facilitate the advice to the insurance industry application of its results for the benefit of New Zealand. • mineral exploration, through research of on-shore In this year’s Annual Report we provide detailed examples and off-shore mineralisation where the public-good and commercial applications • oceans exploration, through resource assessment of our work merge seamlessly. Recognising the different and input to policy, to secure national benefit from cultures of these two domains will see us go from the exclusive economic zone strength to strength in fulfilling our role in conducting • non-invasive scanning and nanotechnology, research and in its application. This path ensures by commercialising intellectual property our work remains relevant for New Zealand’s future. • earth and isotope science capability, through underpinning research (e.g. plate tectonics, mapping, Natural Hazards geobiology, isotope chemistry, ion-beam physics) In the popular mind, a major potential natural disaster and graduate education. in New Zealand this year was the Ruapehu lahar. Financial performance With our research underpinning prudent management by the Department of Conservation, this predicted event Our after-tax profit for the year to 30 June 2007 happened dramatically, but without any loss to either was $1.4 million (2006: $1.0 million). This represents life or property. In a world context, this was a major an after-tax return on equity of 7.8% (2006: 6.1%). achievement in hazards research and mitigation and, Total revenue from research, consulting and other compared to the Tangiwai disaster of 1952, represents operations was $51.0 million (2006: $46.0 million). a major advance in our nation’s ability to cope with Expenses were $48.9 million (2006: $44.4 million). such natural events. Shareholder equity at 30 June 2007 stood at $18.6 million In contrast, well out of public sight, our hazards advice (2006: $17.5 million). The Board was pleased to declare to Meridian Energy has supported the decision, with full a dividend payment to shareholders of $350,000. engineering prudence, that the Aviemore hydro dam on Total revenue has increased by 106% since 1997. the Waitaki River does not need to be rebuilt. While our non-Crown revenue increased by 273% over We won the opportunity to provide tsunami surveillance this period (averaging 10.5% per year), our revenue from for New Zealand, involving the installation and operation Crown contracts increased by only 43% (3.7% per year). of 18 tsunami gauges around the coastline. This is in The consequence of this slow rate of increase in Crown addition to the ongoing development of the GeoNet investment in R&D is that our Crown and non-Crown earthquake surveillance system, both in the installation revenues are now equal. This is a milestone in the of new sites, and in the provision of near real-time changing structure of our client-base. shaking information for response agencies.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 0 FROM THE CHAIRMAN and THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE CONTINUED
In addition, we have developed automated methods The second outcome will be the assertion of New Zealand’s of using radar imagery to determine areas of flooding interests over an additional 1.68 million square kilometres for the information of emergency management services of sub-aquatic territory. In comparison, New Zealand’s while catastrophic events are in progress. ‘dry’ land area is 0.27 million square kilometres. In view of this success it is important that funding for Ocean We have secured NZAID support to transfer our skills in Survey 2020, which we see as an essential follow-up hazard assessment and mitigation, and disaster recovery to explore this vast new territory, is achieved. to other parts of the world such as southeast Asia and the Pacific. Tsunami hazard is a serious concern and National Isotope Centre a particularly important component of this work. The release this year of the assessment reports of Geological Resources the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has galvanised governments and populations world-wide We have continued to make significant contributions to address climate-change mitigation issues. This year to the development of geothermal energy. This carbon- we commissioned our $1.4 million ice-core analytical friendly and indigenous energy source is under-explored facility within our Joint Antarctic Research Institute and under-utilised. In this endeavour we are supported with Victoria University of Wellington. This facility will both by FRST funding and the major developers of this allow us to use our stable isotope and x-ray scanning resource in New Zealand, namely, Contact Energy and techniques to retro-monitor past climate and thereby Mighty River Power. predict the effects of climate change in the future. We work closely with industry to promote New Zealand’s The Antarctic drilling project ANDRILL recovered an prospectivity for hydrocarbons, especially in the deepwater unprecedented length of sediment core for constraining Taranaki Basin and the Great South Basin. Our Claritas™ factors that led to past ice-shelf collapses and ice-sheet seismic processing software is now ranked competitively retreats. This represents essential information for under- with products from the world’s largest players. Hydro- standing climate change. In addition, our paleontologists carbon energy will remain part of New Zealand’s energy have established a new method for determining past mix for many decades, despite concerns about its impact ocean temperatures, finding for example, that they were on climate change. We are addressing these concerns 30°C to 35°C warmer 55 million years ago. This is far in being a founding member of the Australian CO2CRC warmer than any of the present climate models are able consortium to advance the geological sequestration to account for. This type of calibration is crucial for the of carbon dioxide as a genuine option for mitigating the improvement and ultimate validation of climate models. greenhouse impacts of carbon dioxide. Upgrades to our Accelerator Mass Spectrometry system For the geothermal and hydrocarbon sectors, the key for radiocarbon dating have improved throughput, economic driver is that new discoveries and extraction reliability, and precision. This laboratory is operating in will cushion New Zealand against imported energy price a financially viable manner, a remarkable achievement increases. In addition, we have done ground-breaking since its counterparts and competitors elsewhere in the research on the vast gas-hydrate deposits (frozen methane) world receive financial subsidies. Our water-dating and off our east coast, to understand their impact on ocean quality assessment work has expanded greatly, with new biodiversity, climate change and as a potential future contracts in Marlborough, Taupo, and internationally. source of energy. This work involves eleven organisations from six countries. Other successful applications of our x-ray scanning technologies are supporting primary-produce industries. Our presentation to the United Nations Commission Our measurement of air particulates and identification on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, given orally of their sources has proceeded well in Auckland, and accompanied by 72 maps, 90 seismic sections, Hawke’s Bay, Canterbury, and overseas. We are and 2,700 pages of text delineating our continental shelf- providing evidence for the biofuels industry, through C14 area, was a first-class performance on the global stage. measurements, on the proportion and origin of biofuels The work was conducted jointly with NIWA, and was in any blend. commissioned by Land Information New Zealand. The first outcome is that New Zealand is setting a global precedent for the legal definition of a continental shelf.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 0
Overview We are pleased to report on these achievements over the past financial year. We have fulfilled our mission of pursuing scientific research, and ensuring its results are of major benefit to New Zealand. Taken together, the message we deliver to our stakeholders is that we have succeeded in our endeavours, and that we have done this with their support. We need this ongoing support to continue to deliver these benefits to New Zealand. As a successful research organisation, we are well-placed to assist government, and agencies such as MoRST and MED, with evidence that is essential for policy-makers to achieve their goals. We thank our departing Board Member, Brenda Tahi, who made a significant contribution to the business over the last six years. We extend a warm welcome to our new Board Member, John Walters. We again thank our staff for their hard work and their determination to succeed, our clients for their continued loyalty, and our shareholders for their support and commitment to science for the benefit of New Zealand.
Con Anastasiou Chairman
Dr Alexander Malahoff Chief Executive
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 0 STRATEGIC OVERVIEW – DIRECTIONS AND CHALLENGES
Our purpose
Planet Earth is a mass of 6 billion trillion tonnes. It is held together by gravity, and is heated internally by radioactive elements, and externally by solar radiation. Gravity and heat drive all of the Earth’s fundamental processes, such as the generation of the magnetic field, plate tectonics, and climate patterns. All of these processes support the creation and survival of life. They also enhance and threaten our social and economic development. Our purpose is to undertake research into these Earth processes, and to thereby discover, understand, and apply new knowledge Aoraki/Mount Cook, Upper Linda Glacier (photo courtesy of Gottlieb Braun-Elwert) for the benefit of New Zealand.
Our strategic advantages Our core goals Two strategic advantages help us to achieve our purpose. As a Crown Research Institute, we will be successful We have at GNS Science a unique set of scientific only if we achieve our core goals. These are to: capabilities, which cover the entire spectrum of earth • sustain and enhance nationally important sciences, including geology, geophysics, geochemistry, research capabilities for energy, water, minerals, and geobiology. And we have in New Zealand a unique geological hazards, environmental sustainability, location, which stems from our geological setting on geosphere-biosphere interactions, and isotope the boundary of two of the planet’s tectonic plates. and x-ray technologies This science capability is underpinned by the fundamental • enhance both our public-good science outputs disciplines of mathematics, chemistry, microbiology, and our commercial applications and physics, including the physics of isotopes, radiation, • integrate Ma-ori interests into our activities and ion beams. Our strength is our ability to integrate • be an employer of choice, recognising and these disciplines, largely through teamwork, and to support rewarding staff fairly. the wide variety of their applications. These applications The importance of our first core goal is now recognised include risk management, resource assessment, by Government through the CRI Capability Fund. environmental monitoring, nanotechnology, behavioural GNS Science supplements the monies it receives from science, and policy development. Our being in a politically the Capability Fund through its own resources. We are stable, English-speaking country gives us the added pleased that the importance of the other three goals advantage of attracting international partners who is readily appreciated by all our stakeholders. provide us with essential material support. An issue of particular focus for management is how we can maintain the vibrant research culture we presently enjoy, when foreseeable revenue increases are principally in the commercial sector. The commercial environment tends to drive us toward a consultancy culture which, if not well managed, could be at variance with the culture we need to fulfil our statutory purpose – to undertake research.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 0
Building for the future The longer term In addition to these core goals, in 2003 we initiated a Finally, we wish to continue to work with universities portfolio of “bold challenges” to extend ourselves beyond to protect the future of earth science in New Zealand, business-as-usual. We did not expect to achieve them and to ensure their students’ education is appropriate all, but those we achieve will set new paths for our future, to address the strategic earth science needs of the and will be catalysts for step-growth. country, especially in the quantitative disciplines. With greater cooperation and larger teams, we believe During 2006, we achieved the first two of the challenges. we can together produce better educational and We secured the support of the Earthquake Commission, research outcomes for New Zealand. at the level of $8 million per year, to complete the GeoNet hazards monitoring network, and we relocated to our While we celebrate each achievement among the bold new facilities at Avalon, Lower Hutt. challenges, none can be achieved if the underpinning capabilities are not robust. Our first core goal, During this last year we have made significant progress of maintaining research capabilities, therefore remains with two other challenges. We expanded our capability of paramount importance. It is the origin of our first in climate research by building a $1.4 million facility for strategic advantage. The second strategic advantage, the storage and analysis of ice cores. Ice cores record our country’s global location, simply provides us with how the world was when the climate was similar to that the opportunity. currently forecast as a consequence of climate change. The next step is to participate in setting up a multi- disciplinary research consortium to reduce uncertainties in the forecasts and impacts, and to develop mitigation and adaptation measures. We have secured funding for the Its Our Fault project to identify the potential for losses from a Wellington earthquake, the region of New Zealand exposed to the greatest hazard and vulnerability. Our earthquake science, economic risk modelling and behavioural-science skills are essential for meeting this challenge. For the other challenges, some adopted more recently, our progress is at earlier stages. We need to advance geo-energy research, for both geothermal and hydro- carbon exploration, as these energy sources will for many decades remain in the energy mix New Zealand needs. Our carbon dioxide sequestration research with Australian colleagues is an essential contribution to environmental protection. Understanding the quantity and quality of groundwater is important, not only because it accounts for 40% of extractive water-use, but also to understand how nitrates are transported into our lakes. The exploration of our off-shore exclusive economic zone and its continental shelf extension, the fourth largest in the world, will bring significant rewards for New Zealand. Our geomicrobiology team is already half- way to establishing the extremophile collection required to attract external support for commercialisation. We are continuing to commercialise our non-invasive scanning products with enhanced opportunities overseas, and our ion-beam team is developing new devices such as FED (field emission display) technology based on new nano- structures. We are filling an international role in disaster risk reduction, using our capabilities to protect people from geological hazards especially, but not exclusively, in developing countries.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 10 OUR RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT – FUNDING OUR SCIENCE
Government research investment This programme secured annual funding of $2.6 million for eight years. A measure of the importance of this Most of our research funding comes from competitive research is that rates of environmental change due to government contracts administered by the Foundation plate tectonics are much greater in New Zealand than for Research, Science and Technology (FRST). in most other countries. These contracts total $20.4 million per year and account This research programme undertakes measurements for 43% of revenue. The contracts cover 18 programmes, and calculations that enable New Zealand to minimise varying in size from $130,000 to $4.6 million per year. the risk and maximise the opportunities of sitting astride The duration of contracts ranges from two to six years, a plate boundary. Over time, gradual surface movements after which a new proposal is needed for continued of New Zealand caused by plate tectonics distort survey funding for each programme. networks, cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, We welcome the changes in the contract funding regime create geothermal fields, result in subsidence or uplift, that have been introduced this year. The main change is and make exploring for oil and gas difficult. Outputs from that funding for some of our larger research programmes, this research provide underpinning knowledge and that have been in existence for at least six years, is now understanding for all these areas. determined through negotiation rather than competitive Four areas that particularly benefit from this research bidding. We acknowledge the stability that this negotiated are land surveying, mitigation of geological hazards, approach has brought. the Building Code, and the insurance sector. We work We secured eight years of funding this year for two major closely with Land Information New Zealand to define research programmes that were assessed through this an improved geodetic datum to take account of our process. The review process is exhaustive with a panel distorting landscape. Accurate land surveying is the basis of international specialists evaluating all aspects of our of property ownership and is fundamental to a stable proposed programmes of research. economy. It is also critical for navigation, civil engineering, agriculture, horticulture, and forestry. Funding for smaller research programmes remains under the competitive bidding system, where portfolios The programme provides data, analysis, and understanding are invariably heavily over-bid and success is always for emergency managers so that the social and economic uncertain. Other changes introduced this year include impacts of geological hazards can be reduced. We also a stronger focus on outcomes in research contracts provide the insurance industry with robust information and quarterly reporting of progress to FRST. We see for economic loss models. The research continuously these changes as positive. The focus on who will use improves our active faults database and hazard models, our research and how they will benefit has prompted which are used by the Department of Building and more emphasis on value-chain development. Housing to update the Building Code. The leader of the programme is Dr Rupert Sutherland. It is pleasing to note that our interaction with key FRST personnel has increased in the past year. Meetings Improving our ability to deal with climate change of senior management from both organisations have Another major research programme that successfully been more frequent than in previous years. This change negotiated funding this year is aimed at providing has been largely initiated by FRST and, as a result, New Zealand policy agencies with scientifically robust the mutual understanding between our organisations knowledge to help reduce societal and environmental has increased significantly. risks from significant climate change. Called the Meeting the challenge of living on an active Global Change Through Time Programme, it has plate boundary received annual funding of $1.8 million for eight years. This year we finalised a contract with FRST for the funding This research will be crucial for New Zealand policy of a major research programme aimed at understanding agencies and also for climate modellers working to the impact of plate tectonics in New Zealand. Called Impacts understand global climate dynamics. To achieve this, of Global Plate Tectonics in and around New Zealand, our researchers collaborate widely to generate new it provides knowledge for mitigation strategies and knowledge about the timing, rate, size, impacts, environmental adaptation that are uniquely appropriate and drivers of major environmental events that to New Zealand’s location on an active plate boundary. impacted on the southwest Pacific region in the past. The research is also developing scientific methods that link past and present environmental change.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 11
This programme has well developed links with A feature of this joint project is a significant level of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change co-funding from the geothermal energy industry. (IPCC), which uses our outputs to develop climatic, We are confident that geothermal energy can be lifted environmental, and socio-economic models for from 7% of New Zealand’s electrical energy generation New Zealand. An outcome of this research will be to 12% in the next eight years. By 2020, it could account more accurate forecasts on the rate of climate change. for up to 20% of New Zealand’s electricity generation. Greenhouse warming is closely linked with the carbon Increased geothermal energy development will improve cycle, which will be better understood as a result of this the security of energy supply from a resource that has research. This will be crucial to post-Kyoto agreements low emission of greenhouse gases. and in applying carbon accounting rules that will come into effect after 2012. Scientific capabilities specific The new programme is expanding existing research to this programme include development of geological in three main areas. It is investigating geothermal time scales, reconstruction of ancient environments, resources that are deeper and hotter than those currently geological mapping, exploration for economic resources, tapped, it is working on methods to reduce environmental biological taxonomy, and evolutionary and biodiversity impacts, and it is addressing technical issues that are research. The leader of this programme is Dr James currently a barrier to improved efficiency and output. Crampton. Most existing developments tap into geothermal fluids
Funded collaborative project on CO2 storage of up to 320°C at depths of up to 3km. However, fluids at depths of 4km to 5km could be up to 400°C. The geology With major partners The University of Auckland and and hydrology at these depths are not well understood CRL Energy, we are conducting a study of carbon and the technology of handling high temperatures needs capture and storage. This 17-month FRST-funded further development. The research is aimed at improving programme is aimed at reducing New Zealand’s green- the understanding of these deeper environments. Research house gas emissions. It will pave the way for pilot-scale will also be aimed at reducing the impact of development, projects to capture carbon dioxide and store it in deep through better understanding of fluid injection, land geological formations. deformation, and the effects on surface ecosystems. This collaborative project takes advantage of the skills Energy alliance of the organisations involved. We provide expertise in petroleum and coal geology, reservoir architecture, With NIWA and CRL Energy, we are working on a 15-month and geological risk. CRL Energy provides expertise FRST contract to assess New Zealand’s energy needs in coal science and advanced technologies, and until 2030. The three-member consortium is evaluating The University of Auckland provides expertise in the sources of energy in New Zealand, the future numerical reservoir modelling. demands, and the infrastructure for delivering energy. The programme will quantify the uncertainties in each The programme will determine the feasibility of of these spheres. The output in 2008 will be a report subsurface storage of CO in the Waikato and Taranaki 2 to the government recommending research priorities regions. It will evaluate potential storage sites including that will help ensure New Zealand’s future energy needs coal seams, deep aquifers, depleted oil and gas are met. This is one of the growing number of large fields, and enhanced oil and gas recovery projects. collaborative projects we are involved in. The project will rank potential storage sites and ultimately lead to a proof-of-concept CO2 storage site. Changing attitudes to research Boost for geothermal energy research There is acknowledgment through the entire research and development sector that there is a significant gap Our partnership with The University of Auckland has between New Zealand and northern hemisphere countries been awarded $1.9 million per year by FRST for the in the culture of valuing science and its outputs. A barrier next six years to work on ways to increase geothermal to lifting the performance of this sector is overall funding, energy production in New Zealand. It will focus on new which is low compared to the OECD average. Research and under-developed geothermal resources, making providers are increasingly working together to increase the geothermal technology more efficient, and reducing awareness of the benefits of research and development, the environmental impact of geothermal development. and to garner increased support for the sector.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 12 Our commercial activities – APPLYING OUR SCIENCE
Our commercial work at a glance Geological hazards Revenue from commercial work, in New Zealand and Our focus in geological hazards is on reducing the overseas, is growing much faster than revenue from physical, economic, and social cost of these events for public-good research contracts. Commercial work New Zealand and international communities. We offer is crucial to sustain our operation and for growth. a wide range of expertise from designing real-time Commercial revenue in the year to 30 June 2007 monitoring networks to seismic engineering advice was $16.9 million, a 26% increase on 2006. Growth for large structures. We offer risk assessment and risk came from work in New Zealand and overseas, modelling services and undertake preparedness audits. particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. All Groups Our expertise in social science enables us to help in within our organisation contributed to the growth. reducing community vulnerability and improve public awareness of hazards. This includes advice on policy Our commercial revenue comes from three sources – and planning, education and training, and public consultancy, products, and laboratory services. warning systems. A goal in our hazards work is to help Fee-for-service consultancy is the largest component. New Zealand become more resilient to the impacts Laboratory services and product sales help an ever- of earthquakes, eruptions, tsunamis and landslides. growing number of sectors. Product sales consist mainly of database products, software and non-invasive Oil and gas exploration scanning technology for industry. Our hydrocarbons exploration consulting group is the Commercial work stimulates our research staff who largest in New Zealand. This group contributes to want to see their work used, and is also a key input the discovery and development of oil and gas fields into future research directions. A good deal of our in New Zealand and in the Pacific region. Our main focus commercial work focuses on securing energy resources is on improving the understanding of petroleum systems and in helping mitigate geological hazards. In doing so, in New Zealand’s sedimentary basins. Our reputation we make New Zealand, and other countries, safer and in this area means that we are the first port-of-call more sustainable. for companies arriving in New Zealand to undertake exploration. A goal of our work in this area is to help The role of our Business Development Group New Zealand become self-reliant in oil to avoid the risks Our Business Development Group coordinates the and costs of heavy dependence on overseas sources. commercial applications of our science. The nine Geothermal energy members of the group, who have business and marketing skills, are embedded in the science teams We strongly support increased development of to identify and develop revenue opportunities. They also New Zealand’s world-class geothermal resources as the assist in managing intellectual property, licensing only non-weather-dependent renewable energy source agreements, contracts, partnerships, and joint ventures. capable of making a significant contribution to base-load electricity generation. Geothermal also produces low Partnerships carbon dioxide emissions. While above ground technology Partnerships are central to our commercial strategy. is relatively mature, potential resources below ground are They are an effective way for us to access overseas yet to be fully explored. We offer scientific expertise at all opportunities. We form partnerships on a case-by-case stages, from exploration to development and production. basis with the main factors being the compatibility Our aim is to help New Zealand double the output of of a partner’s capabilities in research, manufacturing, electricity from geothermal energy over the next 10 years. commercialisation, marketing, and distribution.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 13
Energy efficiency diagnostic software • a NZAID-funded project in Vanuatu to advise on the development of a modern volcano-monitoring system An example of one of our products that contributes • work with multiple oil exploration companies to the energy sector is software to diagnose efficiency helping with their programmes in onshore Taranaki, problems in thermal power stations. Called EXERGY, with significant forward orders for our oil and gas the software has been purchased by power station consultancy services operators in New Zealand and overseas. As well as • work with US-based company, Global Resources, cutting carbon dioxide emissions and reducing fuel to determine oil exploration prospects in the Deepwater use, it can reduce station operating costs. It pinpoints Taranaki Basin, culminating in presentations to efficiency losses and recommends remedial actions. potential joint venture partners worldwide It also ranks problems based on estimated hourly • a doubling of commercial groundwater consultancy drain on running costs. This enables operators revenue in the past four years, including projects to prioritise changes. for many territorial authorities, as well as the Ministry EXERGY reports in real time against original plant for the Environment, private sector organisations, specifications so operators can tune a plant to run research organisations, and Ma-ori trusts. optimally. The software analyses data from the station’s instrumentation according to the laws of thermodynamics. The software has its own website: www.powerstationefficiency.com
Recent successes A significant number of our commercial activities in the past year carry potential that will lead to even greater financial and scientific returns in the future. They include: • work for Opus International to help with geotechnical investigations of the proposed Transmission Gully motorway route north of Wellington • increased involvement in New Zealand and overseas geothermal energy developments including geothermal projects in Chile, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan worth over $480,000 in revenue • a $600,000 Asian Development Assistance Fund (ADAF) project for NZAID to help reduce the impact of tsunamis in Vietnam by working with Vietnamese scientists to strengthen their capability to develop a monitoring network • an expansion of the network of distributors in Scandinavia and South America for our Isoscan LDS 200 green density timber measurement system to extend our market beyond Australasia and North America
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 14 STUDENT SUPPORT
We support many postgraduate students with scholarships and through co-supervision. In the past year we co-supervised about 65 such students. Of these, 12 held GNS Science Scholarships, details of which we provide below. We also contributed funds to the Frank Evision Memorial Scholarship and for two scholarships at Te Whare Wa-nanga o Awanuia-rangi in Whakatane.
Sarah Beanland Memorial Scholarships
Student University Degree Supervisors Topic
Rosemary Cody Victoria University PhD Dr James Crampton and Dr Tim Naish The stability of the Antarctic ice sheet over of Wellington of GNS Science and Dr Lionel Carter the past 4.5 million years of Victoria University
Elizabeth Robertson Victoria University MSc Dr Russell Robinson of GNS Science and Towards a local magnitude scale for earthquakes of Wellington Prof Euan Smith of Victoria University in New Zealand
Alex Winter-Billington Victoria University MSc Dr Andrew MacIntosh of Victoria University The hydrological system and surface motion of Wellington of the Brewster Glacier, Southern Alps, New Zealand
Other GNS Science Scholarships
Student University Degree Supervisors Topic
Jan Baur Victoria University PhD Dr Beate Leitner of GNS Science and A study of the depositional systems and of Wellington Dr Tim Stern of Victoria University tectonics of the offshore Taranaki Basin using 2D and 3D seismic data
Peta-Gaye Burnett University of MSc Dr Chris Daughney of GNS Science and Quantifying the way different environments affect Saskatchewan, Dr Derek Peak and Dr Steven Siciliano the ability of heat-loving micro-organisms to Canada of the University of Saskatchewan absorb dissolved metals in the environment
Hannah Heinrich University of Otago PhD Dr Chris Daughney of GNS Science and Investigation of the cation adsorption properties Dr Jim MacQuillam and Dr Phil Bremer of of two thermophilic bacteria Otago University
Adrian Hetzer University of Waikato PhD Dr Chris Daughney of GNS Science and Investigation of the methods by which Dr Hugh Morgan of Waikato University thremophilic bacteria sequester metal and metaloids
Ake Fagereng University of Otago PhD Dr Martin Reyners and Dr Susan Ellis of A study of subduction-related fault processes GNS Science and Prof Rick Sibson of Otago under New Zealand University
Grant Kaye University of Canterbury PhD Dr Andrew King of GNS Science and An assessment of the volcanic hazards Prof Jim Cole of Canterbury University of the Rotorua region
Simon Hills Massey University PhD Dr James Crampton of GNS Science and The genetic evolution of marine molluscs Dr Mary Morgan-Richards of Massey University
Vanessa Lueer University of Bremen, PhD Dr Chris Hollis of GNS Science and A study of marine micro-fossils (radiolarians) Germany Prof Helmut Willems of Bremen University as guides to oceanic changes off the east coast of New Zealand over the past one million years
James Scott University of Otago PhD Dr Andy Tulloch of GNS Science and A study of the geological evolution of the Prof Alan Cooper of Otago University eastern Fiordland region
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 MANAGEMENT TEAM 15
The management team from top left, clockwise: Alexander Malahoff (Chief Executive), Desmond Darby, Robin Falconer, Terry Webb, Michael Isaac, Frank Bruhn, Graham Clarke, Rob Johnston.
Alexander Malahoff His scientific speciality is the Michael Isaac Graham Clarke Chief Executive mathematical modelling of General Manager, Chief Financial Officer PhD, University of Hawaii geodetic observations of crustal Natural Resources Group CA, BCA, Victoria University DSc (Hon), Victoria University deformation. Desmond is also PhD, The University of Auckland of Wellington of Wellington a Director of New Zealand Mike is responsible for the Graham leads the Company’s Alex leads the management team Synchrotron Group Ltd. Hydrocarbons, Geothermal and finance operations ensuring and oversees the day-to-day Groundwater, Ocean Exploration, appropriate policies, procedures management of the Company. Robin Falconer and Paleontology and and practices are developed and He directs the team in strategy, General Manager, Research Environmental Change sections. maintained. His team provides the policy, investment, and science PhD, Victoria University of He is a geologist, with expertise full range of financial services to programmes. Alex is a geophysicist Wellington in coal geology, sedimentary support the Company’s operations, and, before taking up his present Robin coordinates and monitors basin analysis, and geological including financial reporting and role in July 2002, he was Professor the Company’s publicly funded mapping. advice to management and to the of Oceanography and Chair of the research programmes. Before Board to allow them to effectively Ocean Engineering Department coming to GNS Science in Frank Bruhn undertake their respective roles. at the University of Hawaii. 1995, Robin was a private General Manager, His team also takes responsibility He is also a director of the Hawaii sector geoscience consultant in National Isotope Centre for various operational aspects Undersea Research Laboratory. New Zealand and internationally. PhD, Bochum University, Germany including procurement, property, Before that he was a Program He has also held research and Frank is the Director of GNS insurance, and internal audit. Director at the Office of Naval management positions with the Science’s National Isotope Centre Research and Chief Scientist of Geological Survey of Canada. (NIC). The NIC is New Zealand’s Rob Johnston the National Ocean Survey, in the premier source of applied isotope General Manager, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Terry Webb science capability, comprising Business Development Administration in the US. General Manager, research teams and commercial and Information Services Natural Hazards Group service units in the Isoscan and BSc, Dip ORS, Dip Tchng Desmond Darby PhD, University of Canterbury Environmental Isotopes sections. Rob’s portfolio includes General Manager, Strategy Terry is responsible for leading Frank is a geochemist, specialising managing the Company’s PhD, State University of New York the Natural Hazards Group in the use of isotopes as tracers commercial operations and at Stony Brook which undertakes research in biogeochemical cycles. Frank intellectual property issues. Desmond leads the strategy and consultancy in earthquakes, is the New Zealand coordinator He also manages our extensive formation for research and volcanoes, landslides, tsunamis, for the NZ-Germany Scientific IT platforms, as well as leading consultancy across both the and geological mapping. & Technological Co-operation the library and graphics teams, government and the private He has been with GNS Science Agreement. He joined GNS and looking after publications, sectors, and advises the since 1992. A seismologist Science in 2002 after having collections, and the Company Chief Executive in these areas. by training, Terry specialises worked for the CSIRO in Australia website. Rob joined GNS Science He also manages the public in seismic and tsunami hazard and a radiocarbon dating in early 2004. He has extensive relations and outreach staff. and risk assessment. laboratory in Germany. experience in managing information He previously managed systems in New Zealand our crustal dynamics team, companies. This includes senior and led the major research positions with Tasman Forestry programme on The Effects of in Rotorua and with Public Trust. Plate Tectonics on New Zealand.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 16 HUMAN RESOURCES – PEOPLE, LEADERSHIP, TEAMWORK
Our people Staff recruitment and turnover Like many organisations, our key strength lies in our Turnover has remained stable at 8.3% (2006: 8.7%). staff. We have highly skilled science staff and support Of the 26 staff who left in the last year, nearly half did so teams working from three locations in New Zealand. for lifestyle reasons such as family, retirement, returning Our staff enjoy working at GNS Science because of overseas, or relocating within New Zealand. We recruit our supportive environment, our leading-edge science, widely to get the skills and experience we need. Of the and the opportunities we provide for professional 18 scientists appointed in the past year, nine were development. At the end of June 2007, we employed recruited from overseas. 315 permanent staff (2006: 295). Staff development Ages for permanent staff range from 17 to 68, with the Our commitment to staff in terms of training and average age being 45 years. The gender balance is professional development has continued with the 30% female and 70% male. The average length of service appointment of a Training Advisor in the Human as at 30 June 2007 was 12 years. Resources team. In addition to training in areas such Our culture as facilitation, project management, and performance management, we have started a formal management Our staff are highly qualified, with 34% holding PhDs. development programme. Much of our work is done in teams and we encourage collaboration both inside and outside the organisation. Employment policies We have an expanding range of nationalities, reflecting We have a wide range of employment-related policies the international market from which we recruit. Among that are readily available to staff via the intranet. the languages spoken by staff are Afrikaans, Arabic, These are regularly reviewed and, where appropriate, Cantonese, Danish, Dutch, Filipino, French, German, staff input is sought as part of the review process. Greek, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Mandarin, Ma-ori, Polish, Employee relations Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Turkish and Ukrainian. We continue to have a positive relationship with the Public Service Association and the local delegates. The PSA represents 52% of staff. Our Collective Employment Agreement expired on 30 June 2006 and was renegotiated in December 2006. The new Collective Agreement expires in 2009.
Health and safety We contract Workplace Support, and Seed, to ensure independent on-site support is available for staff. We continue to provide a range of health and safety training which is reviewed regularly to ensure it is appropriate. As in previous years, we have made medical checks, flu vaccinations, hearing tests, and workplace assessments available to staff. We continue to be part of the ACC Workplace Safety Management Programme where we have primary status.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 17
Personal and family security Source of appointments to permanent positions
Through our insurer, we provide financial assistance for 2007 2006 2005 employees’ families in the event of death or injury by way Private sector – New Zealand 19 23 6 Private sector – overseas 11 6 6 of life insurance policy and income protection insurance. Government 2 5 1 We assist staff with retirement planning by facilitating New Zealand university 6 9 3 Total 38 43 16 employee deductions and paying administration costs for the Government Superannuation Fund and the Individual Retirement Plan. As at 30 June 2007, Staff departures for the following opportunities 27% of staff participated in these retirement savings 2007 2006 2005 plans. KiwiSaver will lead to an increase in this Private sector 1 3 3 percentage. We also offer group discount arrangements Working overseas 3 1 0 for medical insurance and this is used by 25% of staff. Government/university 5 7 3 Full-time study 0 1 1 Career change 2 0 0 Lifestyle (includes family, retirement, returning overseas, or relocating within New Zealand) 12 12 8 Other 3 3 0 Total 26 27 15
Workplace accidents requiring medical treatment
2007 2006 2005 Cases 3 7 9
Staff turnover Average remuneration year ended 30 June Average salary in 2007: $69,947
10.0 70,000
9.0 65,000
8.0 60,000
7.0 55,000
6.0 50,000
5.0 45,000 % DOLLA R S 4.0 40,000
3.0 35,000
2.0 30,000
1.0 25,000
0 20,000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 18 GNS SCIENCE: Working for the benefit of all New Zealanders
GNS Science is an organisation dedicated to helping New Zealand benefit from our earth and ocean environments. It is a unique country and it has resulted in a highly specialised group of world-recognised people. Here are just 50 ways we benefit New Zealand.
Keeping people safe Energy resources
1 GeoNet – national network 7 Geothermal resource exploration, to monitor earthquakes and assessment and management volcanoes 8 Assessments of New Zealand’s oil 2 Forecasting potential volcanic and gas prospects eruptions and lahar events 9 Seismic surveys, data processing 3 Volcano and earthquake hazard and modelling and risk assessment 10 Drill core analysis and interpretation 4 Tsunami modelling and hazard assessment
5 Slope stability assessment
6 Underpinning data for the Building Code
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 19
Mineral wealth Infrastructure development Enhancing New Zealand’s Community responsiveness competitive advantage 11 Regional geology 23 Hydro dam safety assessments 39 Linking GNS Science capabilities 31 Development of nanotechnologies with Ma-ori end-users 12 Geological mapping 24 Earthquake hazard assessment 32 Non-invasive scanning of meat 40 Geological history and landform 13 Hydrothermal mineral surveys 25 Modelling potential earthquake for export studies damage to highlight areas of greatest risk 33 Non-invasive scanning of timber 41 Dating of natural and man-made Protecting the environment products artifacts 26 Designing structures to survive 14 ANDRILL – analysis of sedimentary earthquake shaking 34 Development of novel non-invasive 42 Providing expertise to Te Papa record of climate history scanning methods Museum of New Zealand 27 Slope failure studies 15 Past environment estimation from 35 Development of indigenous energy 43 Supervision and support of both fossils and ice cores 28 Slope stability assessment resources graduate students
16 Air particulate studies and air 29 Highway, transmission and 36 Extremophile research 44 Societal perception of hazards quality monitoring pipeline route surveys 37 Maintaining New Zealand’s place 45 Pollen analysis for forensic 17 Tritium dating of water and ice 30 Hazards information for at the forefront of earth sciences investigations property owners 18 Groundwater research and water 38 Software development for quality assessment commercial application New Zealand’s international obligations 19 Carbon dioxide sequestration 46 International Atomic Energy 20 Software for optimising power Authority representation station efficiency 47 Technical expertise for UN 21 Environmental analysis using Convention on the Law of the Sea isotope techniques 48 Hazards advice and training in the 22 Managing the environmental Pacific and southeast Asia region impacts of geothermal development 49 Climate change advice for Kyoto negotiations
50 Representing New Zealand on numerous international committees and bodies
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 20 SEISMIC SAFETY
Dam safety is important to hydro electricity generators. Meridian Energy came to GNS Science for the best earthquake geology expertise to apply to a potential seismic risk at their Aviemore hydro dam.
At a glance Working with consultant URS New Zealand Ltd, we undertook a detailed study of the geological faults at and near the Aviemore hydro-electric dam for owner, Meridian Energy. Our investigation confirmed that the Waitangi Fault, which underlies the dam, is active. We characterised the fault so dam safety could be properly assessed in the event of a rupture.
Aviemore dam Over a 10-year period, we have been working with dam engineering consultants URS New Zealand to assess geological faulting in the Waitaki Valley, in the South Island. This project provides client Meridian Energy with the seismic loads needed to assess the performance of its hydro dams against current dam safety criteria. It is best practice to periodically review the safety and operating procedures of large engineered structures, to take into account advances in geology and in structure performance.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 21
Project started: Funding: Direct beneficiaries: Wide-area fault studies started Commercially funded throughout. Meridian Energy and mid-90s. Specific fault studies Sub-contracted to URS URS New Zealand started 1998. New Zealand for client Meridian Energy. Long-term beneficiaries: Project duration: All New Zealanders Over 10 years Progress communicated by: Regular reports and meetings Researchers involved: with client. Up to 12 at any one time
The Aviemore hydro-electric dam was built across To assure safe management of reservoir outflow after the Waitangi Fault in the 1960s, when the fault was a surface rupture event, Meridian Energy has upgraded considered inactive. With the realisation that the fault the spillway and sluice gates as well as their operating could be active, we undertook state-of-the-art geological systems. They have also built a concrete bund across investigations to understand the rupture threat from the the fault on top of the dam. The project illustrates the geological faults at and near the dam. increasing recognition of the value of geological science in supporting engineering work. Our brief was to determine when the Waitangi Fault last ruptured, how often it ruptures, and the size of these ruptures. We concluded that the Waitangi Fault Meridian Energy commentary: has moved at least twice in the past 25,000 years. “Throughout the project, GNS Science has consistently The last rupture was 11,000 to 14,000 years ago. delivered scientific information which is first-class. Surface displacement during ruptures was between This has included introducing and evaluating 1.2m and 1.6m. We also found that smaller, less active luminescence-dating techniques that allow the age faults to the west of the dam have moved in the last of faulting in the Waitaki gravels to be determined.” 30,000 years. “Areas where GNS Science has made the greatest Our investigation made use of a range of techniques contribution include: including luminescence and radiocarbon dating to determine timings of past ruptures of the Waitangi Fault. • understanding of regional seismicity and seismotectonics URS used the findings of our investigations to evaluate • active fault characterisation studies the safety of the dam for fault displacement and • development of fault models for specific dam sites earthquake-shaking loads, as well as seiche waves • determination of single event displacements and generated in the retained reservoir. The high quality recurrence intervals.” of the information we provided enabled URS to conclude that Aviemore dam could safely withstand the loads Jim Walker expected in the event of a rupture of the Waitangi Engineer – Dam Safety & Civil Fault with no uncontrolled release of the reservoir. Meridian Energy Ltd, Christchurch Meridian appointed an International Review Board, which reviewed all aspects of the investigation and evaluation. The Review Board expressed confidence in our work and endorsed our conclusions.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 22 CLIMATE RESEARCH
By drilling 300m into the seabed and collecting sediment cores dating back millions of years, scientists have found that the Ross Ice Shelf has advanced and retreated more than 60 times in the past 2 million years. The speed and extent of these changes is helping in understanding the way Antarctic ice sheets behave in relation to climate change.
At a glance A GNS Science-led team of scientists recovered 12 million years of sediment core from under the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica last summer. The ambitious project, called ANDRILL, shows Antarctica has warmed a number of times in the past 12 million years, with the ice retreating rapidly and leaving open ocean. The observations from times when the planet was warmer than today will help to improve our understanding of what will happen to the Earth as it gets warmer.
Abrupt and dramatic climate changes in Antarctic sediment core In the past 12 months we learned important clues about how Antarctica and the world’s oceans might change if the Earth’s climate warms signifi cantly in the next 70 years. The NZ$43 million ANDRILL (Antarctic geological drilling) programme used a state-of-the-art drill rig to pierce the Ross Ice Shelf and retrieve a 1.3km-long core of sediment and rock from beneath the seabed.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 23
Project started: the US is paying half the cost, MFAT, through Antarctica NZ, Planning started 1997. the New Zealand government provided 25% of the logistics Summer field surveys 1999-2005. is contributing 25%, Italy 18.5%, and operational costs. First drilling season 2006-2007. and Germany 6.5%. New Zealand’s science funding is provided by Progress communicated by: Project duration: Seven years. the Foundation for Research, Mainstream and specialist media, Science and Technology, conferences, public presentations, Number of researchers website: www.andrill.org involved: More than 70 from and the Royal Society’s Marsden four countries, including 10 from Fund to GNS Science and its Direct beneficiaries: Climate GNS Science. partners at Victoria University scientists, policy developers. of Wellington, the University Funding: $US35 million. Over the of Otago, and the University Long-term beneficiaries: seven-year duration of the project, of Canterbury. The human race.
Analysis of the 12 million years of core has given scientists Co-Chief Scientist of the project, Tim Naish of GNS new insights into behaviour of the Antarctic ice sheet. Science, says most scientific models predict that the During the first and last million years of the core, the ice Earth will warm between two and four degrees during sheet was relatively stable. However, the middle 10-million- the next 100 years. year period of the core shows clear signs of instability Given the uncertainties associated with predicting where the ice sheet reacted strongly to changes in global future dynamic behaviour of the Antarctic ice sheets, temperature. It shows Antarctica moving abruptly from ancient analogues such as the ANDRILL cores full glacial conditions to open ocean and back again. are crucial in building a picture of how Antarctica When the ice melted away, scientists saw a strong biological has responded in times of past global warmth. presence in the sediment resulting from abundant marine life in warm oceans. During cold periods, stony glacial Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade commentary: sediments dominate, with only minor biological content. “The achievement of the ANDRILL science consortium From the findings, scientists can reconstruct past in drilling through 80 metres of ice shelf and 850 metres polar temperatures which can be used to ‘ground truth’ of sea to extract a core well over a kilometre long is climate models. Melting of the ice sheets would a highly successful example of international scientific result in a substantial rise in the height of sea level. cooperation in Antarctica. The drilling took place on the Ross Ice Shelf, 15km west “GNS Science are to be congratulated for their role of Scott Base. The drill passed through 85m of floating in ensuring the success of the project through their ice in McMurdo Sound, then through 850m of water, leadership and management of the science, along with and into 1300m of sediment and rock. The drill recovered the significant contributions made by Victoria and 98% of the core. A second drill site, 25km east Otago universities and Antarctica New Zealand.” of Scott Base, is planned for the summer season of 2007-2008. Trevor Hughes Head, Antarctic Policy Unit The ANDRILL core represents the longest and most MFAT, Wellington complete geological record recovered from Antarctica. This technical success is due to the team of world-leading polar drilling specialists including Alex Pyne of Victoria University of Wellington and Webster Drilling of Porirua, New Zealand.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 24 IMAGING DEEP MAGMA FOR MANY BRANCHES OF SCIENCE DEPEND THE FIRST TIME ON RADIOCARBON DATING
We have broken new ground by producing an Our National Isotope Centre has a long tradition image of the magma layer beneath the Taupo of scientific excellence and innovative thinking. Volcanic Zone (TVZ) in the central North Island. Its team is well known for expanding the horizon The new findings show that, below about 10km, of radiocarbon dating. The radiocarbon laboratory the rocks contain filaments of interconnected leads research into terrestrial carbon dynamics magma across a zone 50km wide and 160km long which investigates the fate of carbon in soils and extending northeast of Taupo. Although scientists how it is affected by climate change and human have put forward conceptual models of the origins management. This provides the understanding of geothermal heat and eruptions from the TVZ, needed to estimate New Zealand’s carbon accounts. until now there has been little hard evidence The formidable reputation of Rafter Radiocarbon for about the extent of the magma system that precision dating and superb client service has resulted underlies the central North Island. in invitations to take part in a wide range of collaborative Previously it was thought that magma occurred as un- assignments, both nationally and internationally. Below connected blobs under the TVZ. Our finding represents are examples from among the the thousands of samples a significant change in our understanding of the the laboratory has analysed recently. TVZ magma system. It provides the link between the Our staff are associates in a Marsden-funded project geothermal system of the TVZ and its violent volcanic led by Christchurch-based Palaeocol Research. history. In its benign state, the magma layer provides The study examines the dynamics of moa populations the heat necessary to fuel more than 20 geothermal before human settlement, and employs radiocarbon systems. However, instability in the heat and magma to date changes in moa bone stable isotope signatures. system can lead to a shallowing of the magma layers, which can be the forerunner of a caldera eruption. In association with the University of Sydney, we are working on a unique investigation of changes in diet The TVZ is a broad belt of volcanism and geothermal and migration patterns of ancient Khmer populations activity that extends 300km northeast from Mt Ruapehu in Cambodia. As part of this programme, we have to White Island. Finding a way to successfully identify and achieved perhaps the first radiocarbon dates on bone image magma bodies in this region has eluded scientists from Cambodian sites. until now. Our scientists use a highly specialised technique called magnetotellurics, which uses the We are also working with St Andrews University, Scotland, natural fluctuations of the Earth’s magnetic field and dating insect remains from cave deposits in the Grand the induced currents in the earth that these changes Canyon in Arizona. Radiocarbon dating provides ages produce. The technique can produce images of rock for stable isotope measurements also derived from these layers down to depths of about 50km. insect bodies. These measurements could provide a rare inland-continental record of regional climate driven by Methods that enable scientists to identify magma changes 8200 years ago in the North American Monsoon systems will open the door to new research that will at the end of the Younger Dryas, a cold-climate period. lead to a greatly improved understanding about the way magmatic systems work. One of the outcomes We recently provided radiocarbon dating for a University will be improved monitoring of the TVZ for volcanic of Auckland project investigating the evidence for and geothermal unrest. This will result in greater levels a pre-Columbian introduction of chicken in a Chilean of community confidence in hazard monitoring and archaeological site. DNA analysis indicated the Chilean it will help to strengthen New Zealand’s resilience chickens had sequences associated with Polynesian- to volcanic eruptions. region chickens from Tonga, and radiocarbon analysis gave the bones calibrated ages between 1304 and 1424. These ages suggest the introduction of chicken to coastal Chile from Polynesia occurred before European contact with the Americas.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 THE GREAT SOUTHERN OIL HUNT NEW FACILITY FOR UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE 25
We have played a vital role in attracting major oil The edges of Antarctica are among the fastest- companies to explore in the Great South Basin, warming parts of the planet. The need to improve New Zealand’s biggest and most prospective the understanding of the climate history of our sedimentary basin. This culminated in two major region has never been greater and collecting consortia and a New Zealand company being and analysing ice cores is a key method for granted exploration licences for 18% of this achieving that. 360,000sqkm frontier basin this year. In the past year we took the lead by building a state- Our involvement with this basin goes back many of-the-art ice-core research laboratory for studying the years. In 1999 we published a definitive basin study, climate history of the southern hemisphere. The $1.4 GNS Science Monograph 20, which synthesises three million facility at our National Isotope Centre in Lower Hutt decades of government and industry research. In 2002 comprises laboratories and refrigerated rooms for the we produced a comprehensive review that provides safe long-term storage of ice cores from Antarctica and workstation-ready data and analysis needed by the from New Zealand glaciers. Because of its design and petroleum exploration industry to evaluate prospectivity. level of equipment, it is already regarded as one of the Called the Great South Basin Regional Review, it covers top ice-core facilities in the world. all exploration to date, petroleum geology, geochemistry, Ice cores are extracted from Antarctica and from analysis of the well failures from the 1970s and 1980s, glaciers in New Zealand by special drilling equipment. estimated oil and gas volumes, and discussion of the They store dust, and chemical and isotope signatures main exploration risk factors. We have marketed this in chronological sequence that reveal vital information product extensively overseas where it has been well about past climates. This includes air temperatures, received. A number of exploration companies have rainfall, and wind speed and direction going back described it as the most useful and best-produced many thousands of years. About 400m of ice cores are prospectivity product they have seen. currently held at the facility for processing and analysis. In 2006 we processed and interpreted 3100km of seismic Fresh cores will be added after each Antarctic field season. data acquired by the Ministry of Economic Development. Ice cores provide a robust forensic tool for climate They show sediments up to 8km thick in the deeper researchers. They represent one of the most continuous parts of the basin and a number of geological structures and detailed records of past climate that we have. capable of holding giant oil and gas fields. Because the The research findings produced from the laboratory region is some distance from the tectonic plate boundary will play an important part in showing how New Zealand and has been seismically quiet for the past 50 million will respond to changes in climate. It will help to clarify years, there is a good chance that petroleum has the impact on New Zealand’s infrastructure and economy, remained within the trap structures. Any accumulations particularly on sectors such as agriculture, horticulture, have the potential to be larger than the Maui gas field. forestry, and tourism. The breadth of our knowledge and expertise means that we are the first port-of-call for companies assessing The facility and its associated analytical capabilities will the Great South Basin. In the past two years we have help put New Zealand on the international stage in climate run workshops and fieldtrips for companies looking research. It comes at a time of increasing soul-searching at exploring in this area. about the impact of humans on the planet. The facility includes an ultra-clean laboratory at room temperature, The outcome in 2007 of a commitment from the Great another laboratory at minus 18°C, and a storage area South Basin licence holders to invest over $1 billion in held at minus 35°C. This makes it the coldest walk-in exploring for oil and gas will benefit all New Zealanders. space in New Zealand. As well as helping us to reduce our dependence on imported oil, it will generate cash that can be used The facility is the cornerstone in a joint initiative between to research and develop other energy alternatives for GNS Science and Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. called the Joint Antarctic Research Institute. It is materially supported by Antarctica New Zealand and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 26 COLLABORATIONS AND PARTNERSHIPS
We are a highly collaborative organisation that Advanced degree in petroleum geosciences works with a wide range of organisations in GNS Science and Victoria University of Wellington have New Zealand and internationally. The following list joined forces to offer a postgraduate degree in petroleum is not exhaustive, but it reflects the diversity of geosciences. The two-year Masters degree is open to our activities and the breadth of our relationships. all earth science students with the aim of addressing the worldwide shortage of geoscientists in the petroleum Natural Hazards Centre exploration industry. GNS Science and the National Institute of Water and New Zealand’s seafloor resources Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have combined to form Gaining new knowledge and improved understanding the Natural Hazards Centre. It provides New Zealanders of New Zealand’s vast offshore territory is a major with a single point of contact for the latest research, programme within GNS Science. To achieve this, resources, and scientific expertise in natural hazards. GNS Science collaborates with NIWA, the National Ocean The Centre delivers world-class information and and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Woods Hole research to emergency and resource managers, Oceanographic Institution, IFM-Geomar of Germany, the science community, and other stakeholders. the University of Hawaii, and other international Earthquake Engineering Business Cluster science agencies. GNS Science is a member of Earthquake Engineering Dealing with carbon dioxide emissions New Zealand, a network of 34 consultants, researchers, GNS Science has formed a consortium with electricity manufacturers, and educators specialising in international generator Genesis Energy to investigate ways of burying work in earthquake engineering, seismology, and carbon dioxide produced from the use of fossil fuels. related services. The New Zealand consortium has joined the Australian Joint Centre for Disaster Research Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies for a four-year research programme. Massey University and GNS Science have set up Capture and storage of this major greenhouse gas a Joint Centre for Disaster Research. Based at Massey’s in deep geological formations will significantly reduce Wellington campus, the centre teaches at postgraduate emissions from coal and gas fired power stations. level, conducts research, and undertakes commercial work for clients in New Zealand. Novel scanners for the food industry Earthquake Commission and GNS Science With ANZCO Foods Ltd, GNS Science is a shareholder in MeatVision, a joint venture company that develops GNS Science has a long-term partnership with the and commercialises innovative scanning technology for Earthquake Commission – the funder of our GeoNet the food industry. Project, which is building and operating a world-class geological hazards monitoring system for New Zealand. Australian Synchrotron Hazards information service for property owners GNS Science is a shareholder in the New Zealand Synchrotron Company, which is a foundation partner In partnership with Quotable Value New Zealand and of the Australian Synchrotron. The stadium-sized scientific Niu Pacific, GNS Science operates PropertyInsight, tool, based in Melbourne, was commissioned in mid- a joint venture that has developed an on-line hazard 2007. It creates beams of radiation, a million times information service for one million urban properties brighter than the sun, to investigate molecular structures. in New Zealand. PropertyInsight services are available Synchrotrons are an increasingly important tool for to councils, property professionals, the insurance research in almost all areas of science. As a foundation industry, and the public. partner, New Zealand scientists will have access to the facility and the opportunity to be at the forefront of scientific development.
Nanotechnology and advanced materials GNS Science is a member of the MacDiarmid Institute for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology, one of the New Zealand government’s centres of excellence.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 27
Antarctic climate research Life in the extremes GNS Science is a leading coordinator of the multi- GNS Science and our collaborators have made significant national ANDRILL project which is drilling two deep advances in understanding the diversity of microbial life sediment cores through the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica in New Zealand’s volcanic and geothermal areas. to find out more about polar climate and ice sheet Our main collaborators are the University of Hawaii behaviour over the past 15 million years. The project and Nankai University in China. The project team has involves New Zealand, Germany, Italy, and the identified new species, genera, classes, and kingdoms United States (see pages 22-23). of heat-loving bacteria in New Zealand.
Reconstructing past southern hemisphere climate Biodiversity research In collaboration with Victoria University, GNS Science Understanding past biodiversity patterns is fundamental has built an ice-core storage and analytical facility in to understanding all aspects of biological and ecological Lower Hutt. The initiative recognises the importance evolution. GNS Science is collaborating with Chicago of Antarctica as a driver of global climate, and University and the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular New Zealand’s location at the boundary between Ecology and Evolution at Massey University to northern and southern hemisphere climate systems characterise and explain New Zealand’s marine bio- (see page 25). diversity history over the past 50 million years. This will be achieved using a novel integration of deep-time, Keeping track of groundwater quality paleontological information together with modern GNS Science works with all the regional councils molecular information. The study, using the best- and territorial authorities in New Zealand to manage the documented regional fossil record in the world, National Groundwater Monitoring Programme (NGMP). is challenging internationally long-held views about This partnership aims to foster sustainable use of how diversity has changed through time and about the New Zealand’s groundwater resources and provides way species occupy and vacate their ecological space. a national perspective on groundwater quality. Long-term relationship with Te Papa Ma-ori participation in industry GNS Science is a foundation corporate associate of GNS Science is part of an inter-agency project aimed Te Papa Museum of New Zealand. We provide the at identifying opportunities to advance Ma-ori participation museum with scholarship, collections, and staff time. in the oil, gas, mining and natural resources sectors. In return we receive the opportunity to promulgate Other collaborators are Te Puni Ko-kiri, the Petroleum our science to Te Papa’s large audience. For example, Exploration Production Association of New Zealand, among other projects, we helped build Awesome Forces, Department of Labour, Tertiary Education Commission, the museum’s most popular permanent attraction. New Plymouth City Council, Ngati Tu, Ngati Ruahine, This year we were pleased to renew our agreement Venture Taranaki, Western Institute of Technology, for another five years. and Greymouth Drilling School.
Working with Ngai Tahu on pounamu GNS Science collaborates with Ngai Tahu to assess the distribution of pounamu (greenstone or jade) in the South Island. Knowledge gained from this project will enable informed management of pounamu.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007 28 International linkages
GNS Science officially represents New Zealand on the These MOUs provide for the exchange of staff involved following committees or international groups: in collaborative projects as well as partial funding for research initiatives. • Australia New Zealand Minerals and Energy Council Chief Government Geologists Conference GNS Science also represents New Zealand on unions (ANZMEC CGGC) and associations of the International Council of Scientific • Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering Unions (ICSU), and other international scientific (AINSE) committees, specifically: • International Atomic Energy Agency Regional • ANDRILL Co-operative Agreement (IAEA RCA) • International Association of Seismology and Physics • Incorporated Research Institutions in Seismology (IRIS) of the Earth’s Interior (IASPEI) • International Energy Association (IEA) Geothermal • International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry Experts’ Group of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) • International Consultative Group on Food Irradiation. • International Union of Geological Sciences (IGUA) GNS Science has formal Memoranda of Understanding • International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) (MOU) with the following organisations: • National Association of Geochemistry and Cosmochemistry • Chilean National Commission for Scientific and • Scientific Committee of Antarctic Research (SCAR) Technical Research (CONICYT) • United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea • China Geological Survey (CGS) (UNCLOS). • China Seismological Bureau • China Earthquake Administration GNS Science also has strong research and collaborative • GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ Potsdam) links with many New Zealand and overseas universities. • Geological Survey of Japan • GeoScience Australia • Hebei Bureau of Prospecting and Development of Geology (China) • Institute of Geology and Institute of Mineral Resources (China) • International Atomic Energy Agency • Japan Marine Science & Technology Centre (JAMSTEC) • Jeonnam Regional Environmental Technology Development Centre (JETeC) in South Korea • Korean Institute of Geology, Mining and Minerals (KIGAM) • Korean National University • Massey University • Ministry of Geology and Mineral Resources, China (MGMR) • Nankai University (China) • New Energy and Technology Development Organisation, Japan (NEDO) • Ocean Technology Foundation (USA) • Oxford University • Seoul National University • University of Hawaii • University of La Reunion (France) • US Geological Survey.
GNS SCIENCE ANNUAL REPORT 2007