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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Measuring Carbon-based Contaminant Mineralization Using Combined CO2 Flux and Radiocarbon Analyses
Published on: October 21, 2016
Organic carbon deliveries and their flow related dynamics in the Fitzroy estuary
Phillip Ford1, Pei Tillman, Barbara Robson
1CSIRO Land and Water, GPO Box 1666, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. phillip.ford@csiro.au
Abstract:
The Fitzroy estuary (Queensland, Australia) receives large, but highly episodic, river flows from a catchment (144,000 km(2)) which has undergone major land clearing. Large quantities of suspended sediments, and particulate and dissolved organic carbon are delivered. At peak flows, delta(13)C (-21.7+/-0.8 per thousand) and C/N (14.8+/-1.3) of the suspended solids indicate that the particulate organic material entering the estuary is principally soil organic carbon. At the lower beginning flows the particulate organic matter comes from in-stream producers (delta(13)C=-26 per thousand). The DOC load is about 10 times the POC load. Using the inverse method, budgets for POC and DOC were constructed for high and low flows. Under high flows, only a small portion of the POC and DOC load is lost in the estuary. Under dry season (low flow) conditions the estuary is a sink for DOC, but remains a source of POC to the coastal waters.
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