Pia Akerman; 30/8/08
The “cancer” of the Murray - acid sulphate soils - has spread to the river system’s northern catchments in Queensland where up to 200 sites are under investigation by scientists. The Murray-Darling Basin Commission ordered the investigation in southern Queensland amid mounting evidence that wetlands and rivers in the north of the system were succumbing to the poisoning that threatened to overwhelm the Murray’s lower lakes in South Australia. Pockets of acidification are also emerging in northern Victoria and along the Murray River in southwestern NSW. Acid sulphate soils can occur when river and lake beds are exposed to the air as water levels fall, triggering a toxic chemical reaction.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24264492-5013404,00.html
Tags: Australia, Environment, Murray-Darling Basin