The history of dredging in Cleveland Bay, Queensland and its effect on sediment movement and on the growth of mangroves, corals and seagrass

Abstract

The aims of this project on Cleveland Bay were to investigate: 1) the history of dredging using all available Townsville Port Authority records and records from other relevant sources; attention was to be focussed on the location of dredging and dumping and the types of material involved, 2) coastal changes as revealed by aerial surveys between 1941 and 19B8 and a more limited number of replicate ground surveys, 3) processes influencing sediment movement both in the coastal catchments which supply sediment to the bay, and in the marine zone, 4) the relationship between dredging and the coastal changes identified on the aerial photographs and ground surveys, taking into account processes in the coastal catchments and the marine zone.