Bonus! Massive Runoff From Debbie Propels Polluted Sediment Plumes Onto Broken GBR Corals
Scientists have raised concerns about another sting in the tail from Cyclone Debbie, with fresh run-off pollution from torrential rains sweeping into Great Barrier Reef waters where many corals lie smashed. The cyclone last month dumped much of its deluge on a stretch of the north Queensland coast known as an “erosion hot spot” that generates almost a third of all sediment flowing into the reef.
Andrew Brooks, an associate professor at Griffith University, released pictures hinting at the scale of damage in the erosion-prone Burdekin catchment, as well as flood plumes from the Burdekin, Fitzroy and Gregory rivers pushing sediment and nitrogen pollution out to sea.
Brooks, in a helicopter flight partly funded by the federal and Queensland governments, flew over the area to gauge the damage on 31 March, three days after the cyclone hit. His findings suggest the cyclone’s impact on a 11,000 sq km stretch of the Burdekin, estimated to produce 30% of run-off to the reef, is an unwelcome setback for a major state government investment in lifting water quality.
It comes after many coral reefs in the Whitsundays, which were largely spared mass bleaching further north, were pummelled and broken by Debbie. Flood waters created a sweeping brown veil of sludge 18.5km out to sea from the mouth of the Burdekin, while the plume from the Gregory wrapped around Middle Island, 70 nautical miles south-east of Mackay.
EDIT
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/apr/11/run-off-pollution-from-cyclone-debbie-flooding-sweeps-into-great-barrier-reef
= new reply since forum marked as read
