Understanding and mitigating the cumulative impacts of mining on the quality of water discharged to the Great Barrier Reef
Mining activities have directly and indirectly threatened the Great Barrier Reef (the world’s largest coral reef system) through climate-induced events, port dredging, and industrial water runoff. The project aims at investigating long-term dynamics of hydrology and water quality in the Fitzroy Basin, a major river system that discharges into the Great Barrier Reef. Both conventional statistical approaches and advanced techniques will be used to quantify spatiotemporal trends and attribute observed changes to key drivers, including coal mining, agricultural practices, waterway modifications, and climate variability.
Kshitiz Kandel is a PhD Candidate at the Centre for Environmental Responsibility in Mining at the Sustainable Minerals Institute at The University of Queensland. Kshitiz completed his master’s degree by research in Physical Geography/Hydrogeological study at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) in China. Since then, he started working across water science and engineering—collaborating with research scientists and expertise around the world. He has published multiple research papers in the esteemed international peer-reviewed journals.
He is also a proud visionary chairperson at Research Insight Nepal, a research institute working across Environmental Sustainability and the Green Economy.