Whanganui Estuary site B is situated in a non-vegetated, muddy sand area of the lower estuary, bordering the low tide channel of the Whanganui River. It is located approximately 500m from monitoring site A. The site has been monitored since 2019 and is sampled on an annual basis for the first three years, and then once every five years. This monitoring provides information on biological (aquatic animals, insects and plants) and physicochemical (sediment mud content, metals, and nutrients) characteristics. Sediment mud content is high at the site, but this level fluctuates due to flooding of the Whanganui River. Chemical contaminants are consistently low and have not significantly impacted the local ecology.
This dashboard shows information on the data collected by the regional councils and unitary authorities for the Estuary health scientific indicators, click the tiles for more information:
Mud content refers to the amount of fine silt and clay particles (collectively called ‘mud’) that are present in the estuary sandflats. This figure shows (mean) annual mud content measured at the monitoring site. The annual values are assessed against custom, national guidelines that indicate increasingly negative impacts on the macrofaunal community.
Ecology is not negatively impacted.
The diversity of the macrofauna community is slightly reduced.
The diversity of the macrofauna community is reduced and less resilient to disturbance.
The macrofauna community is unbalanced and dominated by a small number of tolerant species.
The macrofauna community is degraded.
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This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.
View results alongside National guidelines:
View results alongside alternative guidelines:
This figure shows the (mean) annual contaminant concentration measured in the sediments of the monitored site. The annual values are assessed against the ANZG 2018 guidelines by default, and you can choose to view them assessed against several additional, more conservative guidelines. All of the guidelines show how likely it is that the contaminant is having negative ecological impacts. See the Contaminants factsheet for more information.