The Federal Government has provided a $31 million dollar funding package for more studies into water quality in the Great Barrier Reef.

The big grant has been given to start the Tropical Water Quality Hub – a research institute that will help with studies by the Australian Institute of Marine Science, CSIRO and four universities to carry out studies.

Professor John Rolfe from CQUniversity has told the ABC that the studies will look at problems and possible solutions.

“[There is] a lot of sediment load into the Great Barrier Reef lagoon and a lot of nutrient movement from fertiliser,” he said.

“So what the emphasis is on is working with landholders to change management practices because the better management practices, more conservative management practices are generally good for farm incomes but also reduce the loads to the reef.

Professor Rolfe said the impacts of infrastructure, agriculture and extreme weather on the great Barrier Reef would be investigated

“Looking at water quality in tropical waters but particularly at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef,” he said.

“The other is getting to the pointy end of making decisions.

“So we're going to be involved in a lot of the economic work which is about, once the science is done, looking at some of the management solutions to it and working out which are the best ones to prioritise.”