Reseachers from the University of Western Australia are studying the potential impact of climate change and altered hydrology on a major Pilbara wetland in Western Australia.

Grzegorz (Greg) Skrzypek, an associate professor and Australian Research Council Future Fellow at the university, said the 960-square kilometre Fortescue Marsh was a wetland of national importance and was also highly significant to Indigenous people.

"The marsh, about 100km north of Newman, is part of the catchment area of the Fortescue River. It is an important bird area and a wetland of national significance, supporting flora and fauna species of very high conservation value," he said.

Skrzypek is working with mining giant Rio Tinto "to better understand the area so that disturbance from human activity can be kept to a minimum." The company through its subsidiary Pilbara Iron operates several mines near the area.

Years earlier, Rio Tinto was involved in a controversy when a uranium mine it operates leaked toxins into a river leading to the wetlands of the Kakadu National Park. Aside from Rio Tinto, the study is also supported by the government and other industry leaders.

Skrzypek is also a chief investigator on a new Australian Research Council Linkage Project. The project will investigate the paleohydrological (the movement, distribution and quality of water) history of the marsh using a variety of techniques including analyses of the stable isotope geochemistry of water, sediments and tree-ring samples. The project seeks to determine how the marsh "works" as a basis for developing best management practices in the catchment and to minimise potential impacts of mining.

"Recent flooding from deluges associated with Cyclone Heidi will provide a fantastic opportunity to assess the response of the marsh to extreme climatic events,"Skrzypek said.

Earlier this February, Professor Ravi Naidu, director of the CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment, warned that the increased flooding, most recently in Queensland and northern NSW, could increase contaminants into groundwater, rivers, oceans, the food supply and atmosphere. He urged federal and state government to rethink nationwide contamination and cleanup policy with the greater risk posed by the change in climatic conditions. Toxins could be remobilized into the environment.

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