Before it became submerged around 7000 years ago, Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef was a “vast coastal plain” rich with rivers, lakes and estuaries.
This existed at a time when First Nations people lived in the region. New research is combining indigenous knowledge with contemporary science to piece together the area’s history.
A team of Australian researchers has just returned from a 24-day voyage which has resulted in “stunning new insights” into the evolution and history of the reef.
The research mission was led by The University of Queensland using the vessel (RV) Investigator, operated by the CSIRO.
Voyage Chief Scientist Helen Bostock said the team had produced intricate maps of the seafloor and sub-seafloor using advanced sonar systems.
“First Nations people arrived in Australia over 65,000 years ago when sea levels were 80 metres below present day,” Professor Bostock said.
“At that time, the Great Barrier Reef area was a vast coastal plain bordered by towering forests that stretched inland.
“Our research has revealed submerged rivers, lakes, estuaries and beaches in stunning detail and helps tell the story of the First Nations people who lived on this land in times past.”
The reef area is estimated to have gone underwater around 7000 years ago.
The latest research was co-designed with the Darumbal Traditional Owners of Sea Country and their close neighbour the Woppaburra people.
The voyage team included Land and Sea Country Rangers from the Darumbal and Woppaburra Traditional Owner groups.
“They worked with other researchers to connect scientific findings with their cultural knowledge and songlines, the pathways of knowledge that cross the landscape linking important sites and stories for First Nations people,” the CSIRO said in a statement.
Land and Sea Country Ranger Nataliah Backo, from the Darumbal people, said the research gave them a deeper connection to their history, ancestors and the stories held beneath the ocean.
“We hope this journey makes our families, ancestors and the Darumbal people proud, while creating stronger pathways for our younger generations to continue caring for and protecting our Land and Sea Country,” Ms Backo said.
To reconstruct past conditions, the research team collected more than 20 sediment cores from the seabed to investigate the submerged landscapes.
From there, the researchers could reconstruct the historical climate, sea level rise, vegetation and evolution of the southern Great Barrier Reef.
“Seafloor sediments act like time capsules and allow us to reconstruct the history of the region, from its past as a wide coastal plain to the development of the modern Great Barrier Reef, and connect this with the cultural stories of the Darumbal people and their close neighbours the Woppaburra people,” Professor Bostock said.
“By weaving together modern science and traditional knowledge systems, we have a much greater understanding of the story of the southern Great Barrier Reef, which will help us better protect its incredible natural and cultural values into the future.”
CSIRO Voyage Manager Matt Kimber said RV Investigator provided researchers with an impressive range of scientific capability to study the structure, dynamics and productivity of the southern Great Barrier Reef.
“RV Investigator is an absolute workhorse for ocean science, and we’ve put the vessel’s advanced oceanographic systems and scientific equipment to great use in gathering a broad range of data to increase our understanding of ocean dynamics in the region,” Mr Kimber said.
