Industrial past, urban future: using palaeo-studies to determine the industrial legacy of the Barwon Estuary, Victoria, Australia
J. M. Reeves A D , P. A. Gell A , S. M. Reichman B , A. J. Trewarn A and A. Zawadzki C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Faculty of Science and Technology, Federation University Australia, Ballarat, Vic. 3353, Australia.
B School of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, RMIT University, Melbourne, Vic. 3001, Australia.
C Institute for Environmental Research, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO), Lucas Heights, NSW 2322, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: j.reeves@federation.edu.au
Marine and Freshwater Research 67(6) 837-849 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF15344
Submitted: 14 November 2014 Accepted: 9 October 2015 Published: 27 November 2015
Abstract
Around the globe, heavy industry has often been associated with estuaries, which provide water for operations, waste disposal and navigation. Many of these practices leave a legacy of contamination, which accumulate in the estuaries, which act as sediment sinks. Heavy metal contaminants may remain buried, even after the industrial practices are ceased. The Connewarre Complex is a series of wetlands, within the Port Philip and Bellarine Ramsar site. Through a unique combination of techniques, including diatom assemblages, biogeochemistry (δ13C, δ15N, C/N) and heavy metal content, the major anthropogenic influences over the last 170 years and the biotic response has been determined. Key features that can be elucidated include regulation of the waterways, establishment of heavy industry and major shifts in climatic conditions. In combination, these drivers have acted to rapidly shift the condition of the wetland from early in settlement such that the perceived ‘natural ecological character’ is actually an artificial one. The legacy of contamination is common to many Ramsar-listed wetlands. The lesson from this site is that, when making plans to manage the ecological condition of a wetland, past use needs to be considered to ensure that well meaning interventions do not exacerbate risk of mobilising contaminants best left undisturbed.
Additional keywords: diatoms, metals, palaeoecology, 210Pb-dating, Ramsar, stable isotopes.
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