Scientific voyage maps deep ocean changes across Cook Islands EEZ

A month-long scientific expedition is currently exploring the Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to create a comprehensive baseline of ocean conditions. This joint initiative between Climate Change Cook Islands and Earth Science New Zealand aims to understand how climate change is impacting the region's waters.

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Basically, we are trying to gather information from the ocean to describe the state of the ocean of the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone, so we can, in the future, know whether changes have been happening in this ocean. We can always come back to this reference period.

Researchers aboard the vessel Kaharoa II are meticulously collecting data, including water samples, ocean temperatures, and currents. They are also mapping the seafloor and testing for microplastics. The expedition focuses particularly on the Northern Cook Islands, where a significant increase in 'ocean heat content' has been observed.

Denise Fernandez, the voyage lead and an oceanographer from Earth Science New Zealand, explained the expedition's significance. "We are trying to gather information from the ocean to describe the state of the ocean of the Cook Islands exclusive economic zone, so we can, in the future, know whether changes have been happening in this ocean," she said. This baseline data will allow scientists to track future changes accurately.

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We don't know ourselves with 100 percent accuracy what is in our ocean. We generally know, of course there's fish and there's whales, and in some parts of it there's manganese nodules. But what we don't know is what else is there, if anything.

Wayne King, director of Climate Change Cook Islands, emphasized that the collected information is crucial for the nation's long-term ocean monitoring program. "We don't know ourselves with 100 percent accuracy what is in our ocean," King admitted. He added that understanding the ocean's state is vital for an island nation like the Cook Islands, which has a vast ocean territory relative to its landmass. The data will help predict changes in fisheries, coral reefs, ocean chemistry, and carbon storage, all of which directly affect the livelihoods of Cook Islanders.

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The idea of it is to capture what we call baseline. That's all the information from the surface of the ocean right to the very bottom, and that will that will allow us to then know what changes will occur to that ocean over time.