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Australia Floods Wash Soil into Sea Near Great Barrier Reef

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(Image credit: Norman Kuring, NASA.)

In December 2010 and January 2011, swollen rivers in Queensland, Australia, did more than flood homes and force residents to evacuate. The rivers also carried heavy sediment loads to the coast, according to a NASA statement.

Fed by the Burdekin River, the waters around Cape Bowling Green turned muddy brown in early January, and a thick plume of sediment neared the Great Barrier Reef . The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite captured this natural-color image of the coast on Jan. 4, 2011.

Heavy sediment loads also cloud the water, interfering with photosynthesis in marine plants and smothering some organisms. In its Great Barrier Reef Water Quality Protection Plan, the regional government has made it a priority to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff to the ocean.

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Live Science Staff
Live Science Staff
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