We finally have some encouraging news on Great Barrier Reef water quality

Phil Copp/Getty Imagine a plume of brown sediment is washed off the land into Queensland rivers and carried out to sea. Here, it can settle on seagrass and inshore corals, potentially smothering them. River water often also carries nitrogen from fertiliser residue, which can fuel algal growth and damage coral health. W

Tens of thousands of years ago, the Great Barrier Reef was above water. Whether it was grassland, rainforest, or mangrove swamp is something researchers and Indigenous rangers are trying to uncover.