Hillslope erosion identified as major source of sediment in Australian river.
Researchers studied where sediment in the Herbert River, Australia comes from. They used models, tracing techniques, and water data to find that most sediment comes from hillslope erosion (52%), with gully and stream bank erosion also contributing (24% each). Measurements of 137Cs supported these findings. The total sediment loads predicted by the models matched measured values well, showing the models are useful for studying sediment in large tropical areas.