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dc.contributor.authorDoriean, Nicholas JC
dc.contributor.authorBennett, William W
dc.contributor.authorSpencer, John R
dc.contributor.authorGarzon-Garcia, Alexandra
dc.contributor.authorBurton, Joanne M
dc.contributor.authorTeasdale, Peter R
dc.contributor.authorWelsh, David T
dc.contributor.authorBrooks, Andrew P
dc.date.accessioned2021-03-04T01:25:43Z
dc.date.available2021-03-04T01:25:43Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.identifier.issn1607-7938
dc.identifier.doi10.5194/hess-25-867-2021
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/402760
dc.description.abstractGully erosion can be a major disruptor to global fluvial sediment budgets. Gully erosion in the catchments of the Great Barrier Reef is attributed to ∼40 % of fine suspended sediment pollution to the freshwater and marine ecosystems downstream. Mitigating this source of erosion will have a lasting positive impact on the water quality of connected rivers and the receiving marine environment. Here we conduct a preliminary evaluation of the ability of intensive landscape-scale gully remediation to reduce suspended sediment and associated nutrient export from a catchment draining to the Great Barrier Reef. The gully remediation method was a first attempt, in the region, at investing a high level of financial (total cost of remediation AUD ∼90 000) and logistical effort (e.g. intensive earthworks, including the establishment of an on-site quarry) to develop long-lasting erosion mitigation measures (i.e. regraded, compacted, and battered gully walls, rock armouring of banks and channel, and installation of rock check dams). A novel suspended sediment monitoring network, comprised of a suite of new and established automated monitoring methods capable of operating in remote environments, was used to evaluate the water quality of a remediated gully, a control gully, and their respective catchments. The recently developed pumped active suspended sediment (PASS) sampler optimised to sample ephemeral water flows was deployed in gully outlets and catchment runoff flow paths. This study demonstrates how the combination of low- and high-cost water quality monitoring techniques can be deployed in a configuration that ensures sample collection redundancy and complementary data collection between methods. Monitoring was conducted during two consecutive wet seasons and, thus, can only provide preliminary information. Monitoring over longer timescales (i.e. 5–10 years) will need to be carried out in order to validate the findings discussed herein. Samples collected from the remediated gully had significantly lower suspended sediment concentrations compared to the control gully, providing preliminary evidence that the remediation works were successful in stabilising erosion within the gully. Dissolved and particulate nutrient concentrations were also significantly lower in the remediated gully samples, consistent with the decreased suspended sediment concentrations. The novel combination of suspended sediment measurements from both the gully channels and overland flows in the surrounding gully catchments suggests that sediment and nutrients at the remediated site are likely sourced from erosion processes occurring within the catchment of the gully (at relatively low concentrations). In contrast, the primary source of suspended sediment and associated nutrients at the control gully was erosion from within the gully itself. This study demonstrates the potential of landscape-scale remediation as an effective mitigation action for reducing suspended sediment and nutrient export from alluvial gullies. It also provides a useful case study for the monitoring effort required to appropriately assess the effectiveness of this type of erosion control.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageen
dc.publisherCopernicus GmbH
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom867
dc.relation.ispartofpageto883
dc.relation.ispartofissue2
dc.relation.ispartofjournalHydrology and Earth System Sciences
dc.relation.ispartofvolume25
dc.subject.fieldofresearchCivil engineering
dc.subject.fieldofresearchPhysical geography and environmental geoscience
dc.subject.fieldofresearchGeomorphology and earth surface processes
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental engineering
dc.subject.fieldofresearchHydrology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchGeomatic engineering
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode4005
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode3709
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode370901
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode4011
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode3707
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode4013
dc.titleIntensive landscape-scale remediation improves water quality of an alluvial gully located in a Great Barrier Reef catchment
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationDoriean, NJC; Bennett, WW; Spencer, JR; Garzon-Garcia, A; Burton, JM; Teasdale, PR; Welsh, DT; Brooks, AP, Intensive landscape-scale remediation improves water quality of an alluvial gully located in a Great Barrier Reef catchment, Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 25 (2), pp. 867-883
dcterms.licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated2021-03-03T05:06:38Z
dc.description.versionVersion of Record (VoR)
gro.rights.copyright© The Author(s) 2021. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
gro.hasfulltextFull Text
gro.griffith.authorDoriean, Nic J.
gro.griffith.authorBrooks, Andrew P.
gro.griffith.authorBennett, Will W.


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