owledge with science
PROJECT PARTNERS
cientists are involved with LDC, linking science with graziers in way that enables
S
research to be adapted and packaged in a more meaningful way. This ensures
landholders’ actions and choices are based on best available knowledge.
It also opens the way to graziers’ knowledge and innovation complementing
the formal science.
andholders Driving change project
L volunteer
managers are keen to establish a
network of graziers to collect
elemental and isotopic makeup of soils
and suspended sediments in the Burdekin,
Tully and Johnstone river catchments to
water samples across Burdekin tributaries
obtain a distinct “fingerprint” of the fine
and major sub-catchments to help trace the sediments (mud fraction) entering the
origin of suspended sediment.
marine environment.
This data will help the project refine how
Sampling of the suspended sediments
best to tackle gully remediation, keep soil
offshore in flood plumes and strategically-
on the land, and improve water quality.
deployed sediment traps allow better
Samples will be analysed by TropWATER,
understanding of the sediment processes
James Cook University scientists who are
including tracing the sediment back to a
researching sediment characterisation and catchment source to refine management
tracing from the BBB catchment to the
prioritisation.
Great Barrier Reef.
The key aims are to identify specific
Stephen Lewis and Zoe Bainbridge have
sources of the fine sediments which are
spent more than a decade examining
transported large distances.
the sources, transport, loads and fate of
The work is supported through an
sediment in catchments of the Great Barrier Advance Queensland Research Fellowship.
In collaboration with Griffith University and
Reef.
the Queensland Government Department
This includes constructing catchment
of Environment and Science (Landscape
budgets using monitoring, modelling and
tracing data, and marine sediment cores to Sciences), Lewis’ current National
Environmental Science Program (NESP)
examine changes in deposition rates and
Project 2.1.5, aims to characterise and
sources.
trace the origin and fate of fine sediment
The data is central to the Burdekin Water
delivered from rivers, using samples
Quality Improvement Plan which supports
collected in flood plumes and during
the LDC project.
resuspension events.
The project team uses the physical,
ISSUE 1, April, 2018 | P21