Vast areas of New Zealand's sea floor have been mapped in never-before-seen detail by the country's scientists.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) undersea New Zealand map captures about 1.5 million square kilometres of seafloor in 20 times the resolution of previous versions.
Niwa ocean geologist Helen Neil said the map, which would also be available in 3D, showed the 'texture' of the seafloor and would help a range of people understand more about our extensive marine environment.
"New Zealand sits across a plate boundary, resulting in a diverse seascape of ridges, volcanoes, plateaux, canyons and seamounts.
"Recent technological advances mean we can now map the seabed in detail approaching that of terrestrial (land) mapping,'' Dr Neil said.