World-first research to turn Brisbane River back to blue

The Nile is known for its length, the Amazon for its girth, and the Brisbane River for its murky brown colour, but one University of Queensland researcher is working to make it crystal clear. UQ School of Civil Engineering PhD student Jesper Nielsen is completing a world-first study collecting river turbulence data using a device mostly built by himself. He hopes data from the study, which begins this month, can be used to help clean up the murky river. Mr Nielsen said no one had ever collected accurate turbulence data from the river bed all the way up to the surface. "The only data available of river turbulence was taken either from a single point in the water column or in lab experiments," he said. "I was surprised to find no one had ever done a study like this." Mr Nielsen said constructing the device was a challenge. He spent months designing and testing in hydraulics laboratories — even making his own custom-electronic circuitry for his 'turbulence tower' device.