The 'River Murray Corridor (RMC) Salinity Mapping Project', provides important new information in relation to salinity hazard and management along in a 20 km-wide swath along a 450 km reach of the River Murray. The project area contains iconic wetlands, national and state forest parks, irrigation and dryland farming assets and the Murray River, significant areas of which are at risk from increasing salinisation of the River, the floodplain, and underlying groundwater resources. The project utilised a hydrogeological systems approach to integrate and analyse data obtained from a large regional airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey (24,000 line km @ 150m line-spacing in a 20 km-wide swath along the Murray River), field mapping, and lithological and hydrogeochemical data obtained from drilling. New holistic inversions of the AEM data have been used to map key elements of the hydrogeological system and salinity extent in the shallow sub-surface (top 20-50 m). The Murray River is known to display great complexity in surface-groundwater interactions along its course. Electrical geophysical methods (such as AEM) are able to map surface-groundwater interaction due to the contrast between (electrically resistive) fresh water in the river, and (electrically conductive) brackish to saline groundwater in adjacent sediments. The location of significant river flush zones is influenced both by underlying geology and the location of locks, weirs and irrigation districts. The study has also identified significant areas of high salinity hazard in the floodplain and river, and quantified the salt store and salt load across the floodplain. The study has also identified sub-surface factors (including saline groundwater, shrinking flush zones, declining water tables) linked to vegetation health declines.

This report summarises the result of a study into seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers in the Northern territory coastal plain using AEM data, down hole geophysics, and bore hole geology carried out by Geoscience Australia on behalf of the National Water Commission and in partnership with NRETAS. The study showed that ground-validated AEM is able to map areas of saline aquifers in the area and differentiate them from bedrock conductors.

There is increasing demand from policy makers for high levels of certainty before committing to decisions on water security infrastructure. This demand for higher certainty in groundwater model predictions has provided an impetus for new hydrogeological research directions. This has included a renewed impetus in the search for technologies and methods to aid rapid groundwater resource assessment. Critical measurements used to parameterise groundwater models include effective porosity and hydraulic conductivity measurements. Typically, values for effective porosity are derived by lithological comparisons with published data, and measurements of hydraulic conductivity acquired by limited constant head pumping tests or slug tests. Look-up tables are used for deriving effective porosity as a surrogate for expensive and time consuming laboratory measurements of cores that may be biased by sampling, and the difficulty of making measurements on unconsolidated materials. However, pump tests are costly and time-consuming, with environmental permissions for disposal of produced waters increasingly difficult to obtain. Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) can provide a direct measurement of the presence of water in the pore space of aquifer materials. The detection is possible due to the nuclear magnetization of the hydrogen (protons) in the water. The NMR measurement is the basis of MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) in medical applications, and geophysical logging applications within consolidated sediments for the petroleum industry. In the Darling River floodplain, NMR data were acquired in 26 boreholes in a 4-week period. Effective porosity values were derived directly from the NMR data, and hydraulic conductivity values were calculated using empirical relationships calibrated and verified with limited laboratory permeameter and field aquifer tests.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Robinvale - Boundary Bend study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Groups assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

Airborne Geophysical Data acquired as part of the Gawler Mineral Promotion Project. Includes point located TEMPEST electromagnetics, magnetics and elevation data. This is a one line transect, hence no grids or images.

Phase 3a of the Broken Hill Managed Aquifer Recharge (BHMAR) project is tasked with assessing whether a sustainable ground water extraction approach, including MAR, is a feasible option for securing Broken Hill's water supply in times of drought. More specifically, the project is charged with determining, with a defined level of confidence, whether at least 3 years water supply (~30 GL), at a similar salinity to that already available for Broken Hill would be available at all times through these new arrangements. This interim report documents the preliminary findings of the Phase 3a study, which is focussed on a priority target immediately south of Menindee.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Nangiloc - Colignan study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Group's assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

Summary reporting of AEM Survey results and interpretations to AEM workshop attendees in Alice Springs March 24th 2011.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Liparoo - Robinvale study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Groups assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.

Under the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project, the Australian Government through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Department of Environment and Heritage, acting through Bureau of Rural Sciences, funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey to provide information in relation to land use questions in selected areas along the River Murray Corridor (RMC). The proposed study areas and major land use issues were identified by the RMC Reference Group at its inception meeting on 26th July, 2006. This report has been prepared to facilitate recommendations on the Boundary Bend - Nyah study area. The work was developed in consultation with the RMC Technical Working Group (TWG) to provide a basis for the RMC Reference Group and other stake holders to understand the value and application of AEM data to the study area. This understanding, combined with the Reference Groups assessment of the final results and taking in account policy and land management issues, will enable the Reference Group to make recommendations to the Australian Government.