<div>This was the last of five presentations held on 31 July 2023 as part of the National Groundwater Systems Workshop. Towards developing a 3D hydrogeological framework for Australia: A common chronostratigraphic framework for aquifers&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>

Groundwater is critical to Australia’s future economic development and is the only reliable water source for many regional and rural communities. It also sustains environmental and cultural assets including springs and groundwater-dependent ecosystems. The demand for groundwater in Australia is expected to increase with population growth, economic development and climate change. Geoscience Australia, in partnership with Commonwealth, State and Territory governments is delivering national and regional groundwater investigations through the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) Program to support water management decisions. Geoscience Australia’s groundwater studies apply innovative geoscience tools and robust geoscientific workflows to increase knowledge and understanding of groundwater systems and assessment of groundwater resource potential for economies, communities and the environment. Through integrating geological and hydrogeological data, airborne electromagnetic and ground-based geophysical, hydrogeochemical and remote sensing data, we have developed new geological and hydrogeological conceptual models and identified potential managed aquifer recharge sites in a number of areas across Northern Australia. The EFTF program is focussed on improving our understanding of Australia's groundwater through a National Groundwater Systems project as well as two regional-scale groundwater investigations in Southern Australia. We are commencing an inventory of Australia’s groundwater systems in onshore basins that includes a compilation and broad interpretation of hydrogeological information. This is the basis for the collation and curation of nationally seamless groundwater information to support informed decision making and water resource coordination across jurisdictions. All data and value-added products are freely available for public use via the Exploring for the Future Data Discovery portal (https://portal.ga.gov.au/). This Abstract was submitted to the 2022 Australasian Groundwater Conference 21-23 November (https://agc2022.com.au/)

<div>This is a conference abstract discussing the compilation of information for our consistent national understanding across the major hydrogeological regions of Australia. This work is a component of the National Groundwater Systems project within the Exploring for the Future program.</div>

<div>Abstract to present results so far from Upper Darling floodplain EFTF module at Australasian Groundwater Conference (AGC) in Perth</div> This presentation was given at the 2022 Australasian Groundwater Conference 21-23 November (https://www.aig.org.au/events/australasian-groundwater-conference-2022/)

<div>Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth and groundwater is crucial to maintaining the country’s population, economic activities, Indigenous culture and environmental values. Geoscience Australia is renewing a national-scale focus to tackle hydrogeological challenges by building upon our historic legacy in groundwater studies at regional and national scales.</div><div><br></div><div>The most comprehensive hydrogeological coverage of the nation is the 1987 Hydrogeology of Australia map, developed by a predecessor of Geoscience Australia. This map provides an overview of groundwater systems and principal aquifers across Australia, based upon the large sedimentary basins, intervening fractured rock areas and smaller overlying sedimentary/volcanic aquifers. However, the currency and completeness of the information presented and accompanying the national hydrogeology map needs to be improved. Updating the extents, data and scientific understanding of the hydrogeological regions across Australia, and improving the accessibility and useability of this information will address many of its current limitations.</div><div><br></div><div>Geoscience Australia, within its Exploring for the Future program, is compiling hydrogeological and related contextual information clearly and consistently across Australia’s major sedimentary basins and intervening fractured rock provinces. This information has been collected for 41 major hydrogeological regions spanning the continent: 36 sedimentary basins and 5 regions dominated by fractured-rock aquifers. The information, collected through a combination of geospatial analyses of national datasets and high-level summaries of scientific literature, will be presented through Geoscience Australia’s online data discovery portal, thereby enabling improved interrogation and integration with other web mapping services.</div><div><br></div><div>The new compilation of nationally consistent groundwater data and information will help to prioritise future investment for new groundwater research in specific regions or basins, inform the work programs of Geoscience Australia and influence the prioritisation of national hydrogeological research more broadly.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>This Abstract was submitted/presented to the 2022 Australasian Groundwater Conference 21-23 November (https://agc2022.com.au/)

<div>Geoscience Australia, in partnership with Commonwealth, State and Territory governments is delivering national and regional groundwater investigations through the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) Program to support water management decisions. Geoscience Australia’s groundwater studies apply innovative geoscience tools and robust geoscientific workflows to increase knowledge and understanding of groundwater systems and assessment of groundwater resource potential for economies, communities and the environment.&nbsp;</div> This presentation was given at the 2022 Australasian Groundwater Conference 21-23 November (https://agc2022.com.au/)

<div>This data package is a key output from the integrated, basin-scale hydrogeological assessment of South Nicholson-Georgina as part of Geoscience Australia’s National Groundwater Systems project in the Exploring for the Future program.&nbsp;This comprehensive desktop study has integrated numerous geoscience and hydrogeological datasets to develop a new whole-of-basin conceptualisation of groundwater flow systems and recharge and discharge processes within the regional unconfined aquifers of the Georgina Basin.</div><div><br></div><div>This data release includes an ESRI geodatabase and ESRI shapefiles with associated layer files:</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Georgina Basin watertable trend surface</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Georgina Basin reduced standing water level (RSWL) contours</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Regional scale groundwater divides</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Groundwater flow paths</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bores with aquifer attribution and water level information where available</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Hydrochemistry data for bores and springs, and aquifer attribution (where available)</div><div>-&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Basin boundary extents</div><div><br></div><div>For more information and detail on these products, refer to associated report, Dixon-Jain et al. (2024).</div><div><br></div><div>Dixon-Jain, P., Bishop, C., Lester, J., Orlov, C., McPherson, A., Pho, G., Flower, C., Kilgour, P., Lawson, S., Vizy, J., Lewis, S. 2024. Hydrogeology and groundwater systems of the South Nicholson and Georgina basins, Northern Territory and Queensland. Record 2024/37. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/149730</div>

<div><strong>Output Type: </strong>Exploring for the Future Extended Abstract</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Short Abstract: </strong>Communities and ecosystems along the Darling-Baaka River have been impacted by critical water shortages and water quality issues including high salinity, algal blooms, and fish kills due to declining surface water flows. The river is characterised by naturally highly variable flows and is the primary water source for the region, but extraction and a meteorological drying trend associated with climate change have caused declines in discharge of 53–73% since the advent of post-settlement agriculture and industry. Understanding of the spatial extent, quality, and useability of lower salinity groundwater within the surrounding Darling Alluvium, which could provide an alternative and potentially more sustainable water source, was previously limited. Here we present the findings of an integrated study combining modelled ground and airborne geophysical data, groundwater and surface water levels, hydrochemistry, lithology, and remote sensing data to delineate groundwater systems and understand the geological and hydrological controls on their occurrence. The resolution and breadth of datasets acquired and collated permit mapping of the key factors controlling occurrence and quality of groundwater aquifers, namely basement topography and hydrostratigraphy, groundwater-surface water dynamics, and inter-aquifer connectivity. On this basis the study area can be sub-divided into regions with distinctive aquifer distribution and quality, recharge mechanisms, and pressure gradients between aquifers. We also showed that the groundwater levels in the unconfined aquifer have declined, an expected outcome of the decline in discharge in the Darling-Baaka River which forms the primary recharge mechanism for the alluvial aquifers. These outputs have direct implications for key management questions including location and quantity of potentially useable groundwater, risk of saline groundwater up-coning or discharging to the river, and likelihood of groundwater extraction impacting river flows and groundwater dependent ecosystems.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Citation: </strong>Buckerfield, S., McPherson, A., Tan, K.P., Walsh, C., Buchanan, S., Kilgour, P., Suckow, A., Raiber, M., Symington, N. & Pincus, J., 2024. Groundwater systems of the Upper Darling-Baaka River Floodplain. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. https://doi.org/10.26186/149718</div>

The Exploring for the Future program Showcase 2024 was held on 13-16 August 2024. Day 4 - 16th August talks included: <b>Session 1 – Deep Dives into the Delamerian</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/09knAwPnD7s?si=acdu6pQgIj7DNlnj">Scaffold to success: An overview of the Delamerian Orogen, and its crustal and lithospheric architecture</a> - Chris Lewis <a href="https://youtu.be/5GQC5f5IkWc?si=rLPqxoZFkxGAEPEf">Only time will tell: Crustal development of the Delamerian Orogen in space and time</a> - David Mole <a href="https://youtu.be/PhdIYE49eqU?si=d7acyv5rbTW_wTiO">Is it a big deal? New mineral potential insights of the Delamerian Orogen</a> - Dr Yanbo Cheng <b>Session 2 – Deep dives into Birrindudu, West Musgrave and South Nicholson–Georgina regions</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/DEbkcgqwLE8?si=sBKGaMTq_mheURib">Northwest Northern Territory Seismic Survey: Resource studies and results</a> - Paul Henson <a href="https://youtu.be/k9vwBa1fM9E?si=VOG19nBC1DAk-jGH">Tracing Ancient Rivers: A hydrogeological investigation of the West Musgrave Region</a> - Joshua Lester <a href="https://youtu.be/Du1JANovz8M?si=1XEOF87gxhSP9UF3">Water's journey: Understanding groundwater dynamics in the South Nicholson and Georgina basins, NT and QLD </a>- Dr Prachi Dixon-Jain <b>Session 3 – Groundwater systems of the Curnamona and upper Darling-Baaka River</b> <a href="https://youtu.be/nU8dpekmEHQ?si=WygIzefKNzsU4gUA">Groundwater systems of the upper Darling-Baaka floodplain: An integrated assessment</a> - Dr Sarah Buckerfield <a href="https://youtu.be/AKOhuDEPxIA?si=ebradAT6EBwHhPQ_">Potential for a Managed Aquifer Recharge Scheme in the upper Darling-Baaka floodplain: Wilcannia region</a> - Dr Kok Piang Tan <a href="https://youtu.be/epUdD8ax2FQ?si=_aMO_e_ZDZESgLOR">Aquifer alchemy: Decoding mineral clues in the Curnamona region</a> - Ivan Schroder Exploring for the Future: Final reflection – Karol Czarnota Resourcing Australia’s Prosperity – Andrew Heap View or download the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/149800">Exploring for the Future - An overview of Australia’s transformational geoscience program</a> publication. View or download the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.26186/149743">Exploring for the Future - Australia's transformational geoscience program</a> publication. You can access full session and Q&A recordings from YouTube here: 2024 Showcase Day 4 - Session 1 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nuIQsl71cY">Deep Dives into the Delamerian</a> 2024 Showcase Day 4 - Session 2 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N3dIZRAcHk">Deep dives into Birrindudu, West Musgrave and South Nicholson–Georgina regions</a> 2024 Showcase Day 4 - Session 3 - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ddvLAnUdOI">Groundwater systems of the Curnamona and upper Darling-Baaka River</a>

<div>This dataset comprises hydrochemistry results for groundwater, surface water, and rainwater samples collected as part of the Upper Darling Floodplain groundwater study. Associated methods, interpretation, and integration with other datasets are found in the Upper Darling Floodplain geological and hydrogeological assessment (Geoscience Australia Ecat ID:149689). This project is part of the Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program, an eight-year, $225 million Australian Government funded geoscience data and precompetitive information acquisition program. The dataset contains 68 groundwater samples, 17 surface water samples, and four rainwater samples. Groundwater samples are from the Cenozoic formations within the alluvium of the Darling River, the Great Artesian Basin, and the Murray geological basin. Surface water samples are from the Darling River, and rainwater samples were taken within the study area. Subsets of the samples were analysed for major ions and trace metals, stable isotopes of water (δ2H and δ18O), radiocarbon (14C), stable carbon isotopes (δ13C), strontium isotopes (87Sr/86Sr), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) isotopes, chlorine-36 (36Cl), noble gases, and Radon-222. The results were used to inform a range of hydrogeological questions including aquifer distribution and quality, inter-aquifer connectivity, and groundwater-surface water connectivity.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div>