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I love being a recession and scary drought baby!
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type of drought
meteorological drought
distribution
Affected most of Australia, generally southern parts
effects on river systems
low rainfall, serious decrease in inflows to the River Murray
Wetlands were temporarily disconnected to make give more water to rivers
potentially destructive effects on ecosystem eg animals suited to drier conditions become invasive and disrupt ecosystem balance
Parts of the Coorong became too salty for native plants and animals to survive
flows across the South Australian border fell to just 960 GL per year
mitigation efforts
pipelines built to get water to Lower Lakes community in Adelaide and to sustain (barely) agricultural industries
Water transported to regional communities
The Independent Murray-Darling Basin Authority was formed to ensure water conservation is properly practiced and the murray-darling basin can be resilient to drought
how long did it last
debated but usually said to be 2001-2009ish (omg did i single-handed solve the drought at 1 yo??? yeah that was me)
Lakes
lakes Alexandrina and Albert reached their lowest point in a thousand years with the water level in Lake Alexandrina plunging to 1.1 metres below sea level in April 2009
environmental impact (acid sulfate)
20,000 hectares of acid sulfate soils were exposed in the Lower Lakes region
Acidification of water bodies, wetlands, and estuaries can harm aquatic life and disrupt ecosystems.
The acid can leach toxic metals like aluminum, iron, and arsenic from the soil, contaminating groundwater and water bodies.
cultural impact on First Nations Peoples
Aboriginal communities suffered the exposure of ancient burial grounds
Demographic and socio-economic preparedness (compared with Mali)
less vulnerable to the negative effects of drought because of support from other parts of australia and enough money to buy water and build pipelines
Probability and prediction of risk (compared w Mali)
increasing risk as climate change progresses