The Sydney Harbour is renowned as a beautiful landmark straddling our thriving city but a new study has shown it is also a source of significant carbon emissions, which requires careful management as the city is poised to double its population by the end of the century.
That is the message of new research that has quantified CO2 emissions from the Harbour for the first time – found to be 1000 tonnes annually – equivalent to the pollution from about 200 cars.
The Sydney Harbour is renowned as a beautiful landmark straddling our thriving city but a new study has shown it is also a source of significant carbon emissions, which requires careful management as the city is poised to double its population by the end of the century.
That is the message of new research that has quantified CO2 emissions from the Harbour for the first time – found to be 1000 tonnes annually – equivalent to the pollution from about 200 cars.
The research, by the University of Sydney’s Marine Studies Institute and the Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry at Southern Cross University, is the first long term study of such a large and important Southern Hemisphere system referred to as a drowned river valley, which in Sydney spans estuaries from Middle Harbour to Lane Cove and Parramatta.
The emissions from Sydney Harbour – including from urban runoff, leaf litter, soil decomposition and sewage overflow – were found to be very low compared to the highly polluted estuaries of Europe and Asia, which can emit up to 76,500 car CO2 equivalents each year.
Read more at University of Sydney
