Plutonium - A New Tracer of Sediment Transport into the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon

This project aims to: (i) assess the proportion of sediment entering the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon attributable to anthropogenic activities in the Herbert river catchment area by using a new isotopic tracer, and (ii) provide new information on the sediment transported from the catchment to the inner reefs of the GBR and on the erosion processes within the catchment of the Herbert river. This will be achieved by using fallout plutonium as a tracer of erosion and sediment transport. The plutonium levels will be very low, but can be measured with the ultra-sensitive AMS system at the ANU. The project will lead to a new technique for the assessment of soil erosion and will almost certainly find applications elsewhere in Australia.