Kilometre-wide erosion gullies eating their way across Australia’s northern landscape are proving likely culprits as the main source of the sediments that are flushed into the Gulf of Carpentaria each year, possibly smothering prawn and barramundi breeding and rearing habitats.

Researchers involved in the Tropical Rivers & Coastal Knowledge (TRaCK) program are trying to find out more about northern Australia’s rivers in the face of demands to develop them as southern water supplies run dry.