TRaCK (Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge) is a research hub which has drawn together more than 70 of Australia's leading social, cultural, environmental and economic researchers. Our research focuses on the tropical north of Australia from Cape York to Broome.

The TRaCK Digital Atlas has been developed to provide a durable and centralised metadata repository for all of TRaCK’s significant intellectual output. All the mapping layers from the TRaCK Digital Atlas are now available in the e-Atlas mapping system.

The transport of pesticides from land-based applications to the coastal waters of Queensland is considered a potential risk to the health and heritage values of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem. At sites near the Queensland coast pesticides and herbicides from agricultural sources have been detected throughout the year. The aim of this component of the MMP is to assess trends in the concentrations of specific herbicides and pesticides, primarily through routine monitoring at sites within 20km of the coast.

As part of its commitment under Theme 5 of the MTSRF, the Reef and Rainforest Research Centre publishes, or makes available, outputs (e.g. final technical or scientific reports, synthesis reports) from MTSRF-funded research projects nested within Research Themes 1-4.

This report provides an overview of the key findings of research conducted through the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) designed to improve our understanding of the linkages between catchment and reef processes, and how the quality of water from paddock, sub-catchment, catchment and marine systems can directly and indirectly influence the ecological functioning of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). The research aimed to inform and facilitate management action and remediation to reduce, restore and increase resilience of the inshore GBR ecosystems. The research findings are also applicable elsewhere, particularly in tropical ecosystems, but many outcomes can be translated for broader application in catchment and marine ecosystem management.

Access and download PowerPoint slides (in PDF) prepared by Jane Waterhouse, C2O Consulting, for presentation to government agencies involved in water quality management in the GBR.

This article provides a brief review of the Coral Sea, and lists the main body of literature written about this important geographic region. The Coral Sea hosts a high diversity of geomorphic and oceanographic features, giving rise to numerous habitats and ecosystems, from abyssal seafloor over 4,000 m deep to vegetated coral cays above the ocean’s surface. This area hosts important habitats and migration corridors that sustain unique assemblages of organisms. Many of the Coral Sea’s ecosystems and ecological processes remain to be explored and described through scientific research.