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Environmental consequences of saline groundwater intrusion into the Wimmera River, Victoria

Saline groundwater intrusions into lowland reaches of the Wimmera River, western Victoria, accumulated under low-flow conditions and formed stable saline pools. An extensive area of river downstream was affected, and almost all water in the channel during flow stoppages appeared to be of groundwater origin. Water in these saline pools had conductivity up to seawater level ( > 50000 EC units) , stable temperature of 14-20°C, low dissolved oxygen (< 10% saturation), and low pH (6.1 - 6.4), in contrast with surface water (conductivity < 4000 EC units, oxygen level >60% saturation, and temperature 8- 12°C in winter and over 20°C in summer). Halocline, oxycline and thermocline depths generally coincided, especially in winter. Salinity-related density stratification was very stable even in winter. The stratification pattern remained stable under low to moderate discharge (mean daily discharge < 1000 ML / day) , although major flow events (> 3000 ML / day) mixed or displaced most of the saline bottom layer. Saline pools which re-established within two months of flow decline had similar depth, temperature and conductivity to those found six months before. Under the prevailing intermittent flow regime, saline pools would be expected during the 7-month low-flow period (October to May) in most years. Stable stratification and associated severe hypoxia rendered much of the water in the pools uninhabitable by fish and other aerobic organisms; hypoxia rendered bed substrates and organic debris inaccessible for cover, feeding or resting, and probably reduced secondary production. The habitable area in many pools was confined to upper layers and shallow pool margins. Severe deoxygenation and rapid short term changes in salinity and temperature occurred with a first flush, and displacement of partially mixed saline water produced secondary stratifications in deep pools downstream. Vertical conductivity gradients of < 1000 EC units were associated with persistent deoxygenation at many sites as a result of this process. The total area affected by saline groundwater intrusions extended downstream far beyond the immediate area of the intrusion. The Wimmera River provides a model for other rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin where saline groundwater from rising water tables drains into them. The low-land sections of many rivers and streams proposed as sites for the disposal of saline water might have flow regimes and channel morphology conducive to the formation of stable saline pools. Further studies are required to develop management and control measures to prevent large-scale environmental degradation of riverine habitats in the Murray-Darling Basin through rising water tables, increased groundwater drainage or deliberate disposal of saline water into rivers and streams.

Simple

Identification info

Date (Publication)
1989-01-01T00:00:00
Citation identifier
Geoscience Australia Persistent Identifier/https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/81255

Cited responsible party
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Publisher

Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology and Geophysics

Canberra
Author

Anderson, J.R.

1
Author

Morison, A.K.

2
Name

BMR Journal of Australian Geology and Geophysics

Issue identification

11:2-3:233-252

Point of contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Custodian

Corp

Owner

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Custodian

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice
Topic category
  • Geoscientific information

Extent

N
S
E
W


Maintenance and update frequency
Unknown

Resource format

Title

Product data repository: Various Formats

Website

Data Store directory containing the digital product files

Data Store directory containing one or more files, possibly in a variety of formats, accessible to Geoscience Australia staff only for internal purposes

Keywords
  • GA Publication

  • Journal

Keywords
  • VIC

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)
  • Earth Sciences

Keywords
  • Published_External

Resource constraints

Title

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence

Alternate title

CC-BY

Edition

4.0

Website

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/

Access constraints
License
Use constraints
License

Resource constraints

Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified
Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8

Distribution Information

Distributor contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Distributor

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice
OnLine resource

Journal article (pdf)

Journal article (pdf)

Distribution format
  • pdf

Resource lineage

Statement

Unknown

Hierarchy level
Non geographic dataset
Other

GA Publication

Description

Source data not available.

Metadata constraints

Title

Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem

Edition date
2018-11-01T00:00:00
Website

https://www.protectivesecurity.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx

Classification
Unclassified

Metadata

Metadata identifier
urn:uuid/fae9173a-70c4-71e4-e044-00144fdd4fa6

Title

GeoNetwork UUID

Language
English
Character encoding
UTF8
Contact
Role Organisation / Individual Name Details
Point of contact

Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)

Voice

Type of resource

Resource scope
Document
Name

AGSO BMR Journal

Alternative metadata reference

Title

Geoscience Australia - short identifier for metadata record with

uuid

Citation identifier
eCatId/81255

Metadata linkage

https://ecat.ga.gov.au/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/fae9173a-70c4-71e4-e044-00144fdd4fa6

Date info (Revision)
2018-04-20T06:08:14
Date info (Creation)
2014-06-03T00:00:00

Metadata standard

Title

AU/NZS ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-1:2014

Metadata standard

Title

ISO 19115-3

Title

Geoscience Australia Community Metadata Profile of ISO 19115-1:2014

Edition

Version 2.0, September 2018

Citation identifier
https://pid.geoscience.gov.au/dataset/ga/122551

 
 

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W



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