sampled wet seasons , with 53 samples collected over eleven discrete flow events . This sub-catchment is the dominant flow contributor to the Bowen River , draining steep forested and higher rainfall areas ( e . g ., Eungella and the Clarke Range ).
The creeks draining into the lower reaches of the Bowen River ( Rosella , Pelican and Glenmore ) had average SS concentrations ranging from 335 to 2,815 mg / L . The sediment concentrations of water samples collected from flow events in Rosella and Pelican Creeks in the 2020-21 wet season were higher than previous years . A larger flow event in Rosella Creek ( sourced from the upper reaches ) was sampled this year , with a concentration range of 3,100-9,000 mg / L compared to < 1,000 mg / L in the smaller 2018-19 sampled flow event . Capturing additional samples in larger flow events in these western creeks is still required to increase sample numbers and improve data confidence . Sediment concentrations measured in the Little Bowen and Rosella Creek sub-catchments are considerably higher than any other sub-catchment measured across the large Burdekin catchment ( Bainbridge et al . 2016 ). The Burdekin end-of-river site has a long-term average ( 1986-2015 ) sediment concentration of 405 mg / L , well below these high-sediment contributing subcatchments .
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