Thesis
Transport dynamics of antimony and deposition patterns of antimony and arsenic in the Macleay catchment, Australia
Southern Cross University
Masters by Thesis, Southern Cross University
2024
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25918/thesis.416
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Abstract
Toxic metalloids, such as antimony (Sb) and arsenic (As), often co-contaminate river water and sediment in catchments impacted by mining activity. The Macleay River in eastern Australia has the longest (~300 km) mining-derived Sb and As co-dispersion train documented in the southern hemisphere, spanning the headwater catchment to the coastal floodplain and the Pacific Ocean. However, the daily, seasonal, annual and inter-annual climate related dynamics of riverine Sb transport have not fully been explored for the Macleay River system, and remain important for explaining and contextualising historical Sb impacts on water quality. Additionally, drivers of Sb and As spatial distribution in coastal floodplain depositional environments have not yet been determined for the lower Macleay catchment. Methods for mapping the spatial extent and variability of contaminated sediments are valuable for catchment management and may be improved by incorporating predictors of Sb and As distribution. This thesis aims to i) calculate daily and annual Sb aqueous and particulate loads for a 7-year period (involving collection and characterisation of 496 water samples from 2016 - 2023) and explore relationships with Macleay River catchment flow characteristics and seasonal climatic conditions, and ii) identify floodplain morphology variables that may act as useful predictor variables for Sb and As spatial distribution in the Clybucca Wetlands on the lower coastal Macleay floodplain.
Details
- Title
- Transport dynamics of antimony and deposition patterns of antimony and arsenic in the Macleay catchment, Australia
- Creators
- Gretchen Taylor Wichman
- Contributors
- Scott G Johnston (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityEdward D Burton (Supervisor) - Southern Cross UniversityDamien T Maher (Supervisor) - Southern Cross University
- Awarding Institution
- Southern Cross University; Masters by Thesis
- Theses
- Masters by Thesis, Southern Cross University
- Publisher
- Southern Cross University
- Number of pages
- xiii, 97
- Identifiers
- 991013227012902368
- Copyright
- © Gretchen T Wichman 2024
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Southern Cross GeoScience
- Resource Type
- Thesis