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Australia’s natural wonder is on the verge of meeting with natural disaster.
As floodwaters peak at almost 4.5 meters (14.7 feet) in Brisbane, residents face the daunting task of cleaning up their waterlogged homes, salvaging what wasn’t washed away. But the water has to flow somewhere, and much is receding into the Coral Sea just off the coast. With all the destruction caused so far, that can mean some pretty murky water.
But in those waters off the eastern coast of Queensland state lies Australia’s national treasure: the Great Barrier Reef. The marine life and coral that live in the reef are facing the threat of a 1,500-kilometer (932-mile)-wide “plume” of brown-tinged, debris-laden freshwater, says the New Zealand Herald.
(More on TIME.com: See photos of the destruction caused by flooding in Australia.)
Jon Brodie, a freshwater researcher with Queensland’s James Cook University, has been investigating the problems the flooding runoff could cause. He’s visited the location where the dirty rainwater is beginning to mix with the salty seawater. “One side [is] clear with visibility to 50 meters while the other side is fresh, dirty brown water where visibility is down to one meter,” Brodie told CNN.
Scientists expect the contaminated water to have an “immediately devastating impact” on marine life from coral to sea grasses, which could affect the entire ecosystem. It could take weeks for the murk to dissipate and the water to return to its original salinity.
(More on TIME.com: See the long road ahead for those cleaning up after the floods.)
Only time will tell if there’s a clear solution for this murky mess.