Fitzroy River Basin, Queensland, Australia. I. Identification of Sediment Sources in Impoundments and Flood Events

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 364 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Douglas ◽  
P. W. Ford ◽  
M. Palmer ◽  
R. M. Noble ◽  
R. Packett
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
River Basin ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Minor Component ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Basaltic Soils ◽  
Fitzroy River

Environmental Context. The Fitzroy River Basin is a major contributor to the loads of suspended sediment and nutrients reaching coastal areas in the southern Great Barrier Reef. Cost-effective investment in improved land, vegetation, and water management to lower these loads requires an understanding of the sources and movement of sediments within the basin. This multidisciplinary geochemical and modelling study provides for the first time a quantitative estimate of sediment sources and spatial and hydrology-related variation within the Fitzroy River Basin. Abstract. An integrated geochemical, modelling, and reconnaissance soil sampling approach has been used to identify the sources of sediment in the Fitzroy River Basin (FRB). The composition of sediment in weirs and dams within the FRB indicate that in the southern and central FRB the Dawson River contributes only a small basaltic component and the inputs are dominated by soils from the Surat and Bowen Basins. Rivers from the central FRB carry variable amounts of basaltic soils. In contrast, basaltic soils constitute the majority of sediment transported during flood events. Surat Basin soils form a minor component of flood events with little contribution from soils of the Bowen Basin despite it constituting the majority of the area of the central FRB. Soils from the Thomson Fold Belt constitute a substantial proportion of the sediment transported by, and retained in, impoundments in the central FRB and also dominate sediment delivered from the western FRB. This study will inform cost-effective investment by government to target remedial actions to reduce sediment and nutrient loads within the FRB that may be ultimately transported via the Fitzroy River Estuary to the southern Great Barrier Reef.

Fitzroy River, Queensland, Australia. II. Identification of Sources of Estuary Bottom Sediments

2006 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 377 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Douglas ◽  
P. W. Ford ◽  
M. Palmer ◽  
R. M. Noble ◽  
R. Packett
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Companion Paper ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Longitudinal Variation ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Major River ◽  
Fitzroy River

Environmental Context. The Fitzroy River Basin constitutes a major source of suspended sediment and nutrient fluxes to the southern Great Barrier Reef. Improved land management practices to ameliorate these catchment loads require an understanding of the sediment sources and dynamics. This multidisciplinary geochemical and modelling study provides for the first time a quantitative estimate of sediment sources delivered to, and their degree of retention in, the Fitzroy River Estuary. Abstract. Sources of sediment deposited in the Fitzroy River Estuary (FRE) have been identified and quantified using an integrated geochemical, modelling and reconnaissance soil sampling approach. A companion paper (this volume) identifies the major sources of sediments in impoundments on the major river systems and sediment sampled from flood events in the Fitzroy River Basin (FRB). Sediment within the FRE may display distinct longitudinal variation with little basaltic material retained. Sediments derived from the Bowen Basin, which occupies the greatest portion of the FRB, and from the Surat Basin display the greatest longitudinal variation. All FRB soils have a similar total phosphorus (P) concentration. Thus, in considering P export from the catchment it is the total sediment flux which is of major importance, rather than the relative proportions of individual catchment soils. This research provides crucial new regional scale information on the sediment sources deposited within the FRE.

Can paddock scale data integration achieve more cost effective outcomes in the Great Barrier Reef? A case study in the Fitzroy Basin

2017 ◽  
Vol 202 ◽  
pp. 461-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Star ◽  
John Rolfe ◽  
Miriam East ◽  
Terry Beutel ◽  
Kevin McCosker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Integration ◽  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Scale Data

Effect of terrestrial and marine humics on copper speciation in an estuary in the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon

1988 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
GB Jones ◽  
FG Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Humic Substances ◽  
Coastal Waters ◽  
River Estuary ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Reef Lagoon ◽  
Copper Speciation ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
Monsoonal Season

Studies carried out over several years on a tropical estuary, the Ross River Estuary, have shown that copper speciation is influenced by both terrestrial and marine humic substances. While terrestrial humic substances are mobilized by high freshwater runoff in the monsoonal season, Trichodesmium blooms mobilize high concentrations of marine humics to the inshore zone and increase labile forms of copper. The marine humics are more soluble than the terrestrial humics and persist in coastal waters of the Great Barrier Reef lagoon for many months prior to the wet season.

Community and connectivity: summary of a community based monitoring program set up to assess the movement of nutrients and sediments into the Great Barrier Reef during high flow events

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (9) ◽  
pp. 121-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Devlin ◽  
J. Waterhouse ◽  
J. Brodie
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Monitoring Program ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Suspended Sediments ◽  
Life Forms ◽  
First Flush ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Extreme Flow

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) system encompasses the largest system of corals and related life forms anywhere in the world. The health of this extensive system, particularly the inshore area, is dependent on the relationship between the GBR and adjacent coastal catchments. The major impact of agricultural practices on the GBR is the degradation of water quality in receiving (rivers) waters, caused by increased inputs of nutrients, suspended sediments and other pollutants. For the past three years, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) has been involved with the co-ordination of a river-monitoring program, specifically targeting the sampling of rivers during flood events. Representative sites were set up along two North Queensland rivers, the Russell-Mulgrave and Barron Rivers. This monitoring program is run in conjunction with the Queensland Department of Natural Resources' Waterwatch program. The program involves intensive sampling of first flush, extreme flow and post flood conditions over the two rivers. Extreme flow conditions are sampled over a limited time span (48 hours) with trained volunteers at 4-hour intervals. Concentrations measured in the flood events are dependent on landuse characteristic, and extent of flow. Concentrations of dissolved and particulate nutrients are higher if the extreme flow event is part of the first flush cycle. Concentrations of DIN and DIP measured before, during and after a major flood event suggest that there is a large storage of inorganic material within the Barron and Russell-Mulgrave agricultural subcatchments that move over a period of days, and perhaps weeks. This program created a forum in which GBRMPA liased with the Barron and Russell-Mulgrave community about the connectivity existing between the river and the Great Barrier Reef lagoon.

Fitzroy River Basin, Queensland, Australia. III. Identification of sediment sources in the coastal zone

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 231 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Smith ◽  
G. B. Douglas ◽  
L. C. Radke ◽  
M. Palmer ◽  
B. P. Brooke
Keyword(s):  
River Basin ◽  
Coastal Zone ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Coastal Sediments ◽  
Nutrient Loads ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Geochemical Variation ◽  
Fitzroy River ◽  
Basaltic Material ◽  
Modelling Approach

Environmental context. The Fitzroy River Basin is a major source of suspended sediment and nutrients to the southern Great Barrier Reef lagoon. A reduction in sediment and nutrient loads is necessary to protect coastal reefs and this requires an understanding of the sediment sources. The present geochemical and modelling study provides a quantitative estimate of the spatial and temporal variations in the sources of sediment deposited in the Fitzroy River coastal zone. Abstract. Sediment sources to the Fitzroy River coastal zone have been identified and quantified using an integrated geochemical and modelling approach. The coastal sediments display little geochemical variation as a result of substantial homogenisation during hydrodynamic processes and indicate a sediment composition consistent with derivation from mixed catchment sources. A lack of substantial temporal geochemical variation in the sediment records indicates weathering regimes and hydrodynamic transport have been relatively consistent throughout the Holocene. Despite this apparent geochemical homogeneity, a modelling approach using a Bayesian statistical model revealed changes in catchment sediment sources over time. Variations in the occurrence and intensity of rainfall events in different parts of the catchment as well as land-use changes following European settlement are likely to have had a substantial effect on the relative contributions of the catchment sources delivered to and deposited in the coastal zone. Additionally, large variations in flow events and variable estuary hydrodynamics result in different catchment soil types being delivered and deposited under different conditions. The present study found that basaltic material is the dominant catchment source in the coastal surface sediments with an estimated enrichment of ~3 relative to catchment and estuary abundances. Basaltic soils present as a more recent and extensive, weathered surficial cover are more readily mobilised than other catchment soils and will be transported further within freshwater flood plumes. It is likely that in large flood events, this basaltic material may reach the coral-dominated outer shelf. Improved land management practices to reduce sediment loads can be targeted to the areas supplying the majority of sediment to the coastal zone.

Paired geochemical tracing and load monitoring analysis for identifying sediment sources in a large catchment draining into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon

Geomorphology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 266 ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takahisa Furuichi ◽  
Jon Olley ◽  
Scott Wilkinson ◽  
Stephen Lewis ◽  
Zoe Bainbridge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Reef Lagoon ◽  
Load Monitoring ◽  
Large Catchment

Fitzroy River Basin, Queensland, Australia. IV. Identification of flood sediment sources in the Fitzroy River

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 243 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. B. Douglas ◽  
P. W. Ford ◽  
M. R. Palmer ◽  
R. M. Noble ◽  
R. J. Packett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Suspended Sediment ◽  
Isotope Geochemistry ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Flood Event ◽  
Sediment Sources ◽  
Sediment Fraction ◽  
Flood Hydrograph ◽  
Basaltic Soils ◽  
First Time ◽  
Fitzroy River

Environmental context. During flood events, the Fitzroy River is a major contributor to the loads of suspended sediment and nutrients to the southern Great Barrier Reef. The present geochemical and modelling study provides for the first time a quantitative estimate of the temporal variation in sediment sources over an entire flood hydrograph. Basaltic soils are substantially enriched in this flood event relative to their catchment abundance. Abstract. Suspended sediment collected over a complete flood hydrograph in the Fitzroy River provided an insight into the origin and transport of sediment in this system. Strong temporal trends are evident in the proportions of catchment soil types estimated using a Bayesian mixing model in the fine (<10 μm) fraction of the suspended sediment. These temporal trends were also manifested in changes in mineralogy, major and trace element and Nd–Sr and C–N isotope geochemistry. Tertiary Basaltic soils were the most abundant catchment soil type transported in the flood event studied here, constituting 39% of the <10-μm sediment fraction, but varied between an estimated 20 and 50% of the suspended solids over the course of the flood event. The techniques used here allow quantification and comparison between flow and suspended sediment sources and are widely applicable to other river systems.

A MODEL OF ALLELOCHEMICAL INTERACTIONS BETWEEN SOFT AND SCLERACTINIAN CORALS ON THE GREAT BARRIER REEF

1993 ◽  
Vol 01 (01) ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.L. ANTONELLI ◽  
P.W. SAMMARCO ◽  
J.C. COLL
Keyword(s):  
Great Barrier Reef ◽  
Soft Coral ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Scleractinian Corals ◽  
Toxic Effects ◽  
Barrier Reef ◽  
Central Question ◽  
Soft Corals ◽  
Allelopathic Interactions ◽  
Community Production

The mathematical theory of Volterra-Hamilton systems developed for modelling allelopathic interactions in sessile communities, is utilized here to model cost of terpene production of colonizing soft corals and their highly toxic effects on scleractinian corals of the Great Barrier Reef. The central question asked is what strategies of hard corals, if any, would enable them to survive colonization. Several detailed results are obtained relating quantitative measures of terpene production (v), soft coral encroachment (µ), allelopathic vigour (–K) and community production stability. The model predicts that any factor which reduces soft coral encroachment (which includes direct toxic effects) has survival value. Thus, spatial shapes and distributions of scleractinians or refuge in space, in themselves, may constitute viable “cost-effective” competitive defenses. It is unlikely, however, that scleractinian corals could evolve in such a way as to specifically neutralize terpenes directly, according to this model, although their species-specifically variable resistance to their effects can be accounted for.

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