Total Particulate Nutrients (TPN)

Total particulate nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) are central to Great Barrier Reef nutrient cycling over a wide range of time scales, and are derived from both natural ecological events (e.g. litter fall, runoff, weathering) and from human sources (e.g. sewage outfall, fertiliser runoff, industrial and agricultural effluents). Excessive loads of nutrients can cause eutrophication (an increase in the rate of supply of organic matter to an ecosystem) in coastal waterways.

Select the interactive map below to discover where in our catchment the TPN is coming from. You can search by total load or rate of export. Please note, these estimates are developed from models and should be considered estimates only. They do, however, provide a good relative comparison between catchments.