IN the 1960s 11 holes were blown into one of the country’s
largest seagrass meadows. It was at Hole in the Wall in Booderee
National Park, when seismic testing was used to check ground
stability for a proposed nuclear testing facility. Nearly 50
years later, the holes are clearly visible on Google Earth and
aren’t expected to grow back for another 100 years. This week
marine ecologist Dr Peter Macreadie will be taking sediment
cores from the damaged areas and measuring the carbon loss from
the area. The Chancellor’s Post Doctoral Research Fellow at the
University of Technology Sydney, Dr Macreadie specialises in
seagrass and its ability to store carbon. Dr Macreadie will be
joined by a team of technicians, a PHD student and a research
assistant who together will be drilling into the seabed to take
core samples. Working from a large punt out of Murray’s Beach
boat ramp the team will use a hydraulic pile driving system to
hammer the seven metre aluminium sample tubes into the seabed.
Samples are then stored and