moved around by Cyclone Gabrielle, and what happens to it
Among the most shocking sights to emerge from recent extreme weather events were the vast amounts of sediment washed down by floodwaters onto the plains of Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti.
In some of the worst cases, the sediment left behind after the water had gone completely buried houses up to their roofs.
Professor Troy Baisden, from the University of Auckland, studies the flow of carbon, nitrogen and water through ecosystems. He said the North Island’s east coast was among the world’s leading hotspots for the uplift erosion and deposition of sediment.
In areas such as the Waipaoa catchment above Gisborne, sediments from the 20th century were more than 5m deep.
Link to video and article: The origin of the vast amount of sediment moved around by Cyclone Gabrielle, and what happens to it | Stuff.co.nz
