Australian Stratigraphic Units Database (ASUD)
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<div><strong>Output Type: </strong> Exploring for the Future Extended Abstract</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Short Abstract: </strong>Geoscience Australia and the Bureau of Meteorology manage national groundwater datasets and hydrogeological information. To continue building common, trusted and nationally consistent datasets, Geoscience Australia and the Bureau of Meteorology collaborated with state and territory jurisdictions as part of the National Groundwater Systems Project. The National Groundwater Systems Project has developed new national scale datasets to refine the understanding of groundwater systems and improve data standards and workflows of groundwater assessment. The collaboration assessed the currency and availability of national groundwater data, while ensuring consistency between national and state/territory government datasets. The updates include aligning the Bureau’s National Aquifer Framework and the National Groundwater Information System with current geological understanding and Geoscience Australia’s Australian Stratigraphic Units Database. Through collaboration, we also conducted a comprehensive review of dataset differences held by each organisation, from groundwater provinces to aquifer boundaries. This, with outcomes from stakeholder engagement with each jurisdiction, led to proposed data alignments and further development of priorities for future work programs. Together Geoscience Australia and the Bureau of Meteorology have improved dataset alignments, such as dynamically linking the National Aquifer Framework and National Groundwater Information System with the Australian Stratigraphic Units Database such that they synchronously update if changes are made. This enhances their accuracy, consistency, and use across the groundwater community and beyond. Further linkages will need to be developed to increase the use of national hydrogeological datasets, bringing mutual benefits to stakeholders and the broader groundwater community in Australia. This work supports the delivery of the Australian Government’s National Groundwater Strategic Framework.</div><div><br></div><div><strong>Citation: </strong>Rollet, N., Nation, E., Harrison, A., Northey, J., Peljo, M., Bishop, C., Boronkay, A., Ahmad, Z., Vizy, J., Lewis, S., Sundaram, B., Carey, H., Zhang, S., Thiele, Z., Hostetler, S., Brooks, M. & Wethasinghe, C., 2024. Collaborating to update and align national groundwater datasets. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts. Geoscience Australia, Canberra. https://doi.org/10.26186/149291</div>
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<div>This dataset represents the second version of a compilation of borehole stratigraphic unit data on a national scale (Figure 1). It builds on the previous Australian Borehole Stratigraphic Units Compilation (ABSUC) Version 1.0 (Vizy & Rollet, 2023a) with additional new or updated stratigraphic interpretation on key boreholes located in Figure 2. Its purpose is to consolidate and standardise publicly accessible information from boreholes, including those related to petroleum, stratigraphy, minerals, and water. This compilation encompasses data from states and territories, as well as less readily available borehole logs and interpretations of stratigraphy.</div><div> </div><div>This study was conducted as part of the National Groundwater Systems (NGS) Project within the Australian Government's Exploring for the Future (EFTF) program. Geoscience Australia’s Exploring for the Future program provides precompetitive information to inform decision-making by government, community and industry on the sustainable development of Australia's mineral, energy and groundwater resources. By gathering, analysing and interpreting new and existing precompetitive geoscience data and knowledge, we are building a national picture of Australia’s geology and resource potential. This leads to a strong economy, resilient society and sustainable environment for the benefit of all Australians. This includes supporting Australia’s transition to net zero emissions, strong, sustainable resources and agriculture sectors, and economic opportunities and social benefits for Australia’s regional and remote communities. The Exploring for the Future program, which commenced in 2016, is an eight year, $225m investment by the Australian Government. More information is available at http://www.ga.gov.au/eftf and https://www.eftf.ga.gov.au/national-groundwater-systems.</div><div> </div><div>As our understanding of Australian groundwater systems expands across states and territories, including legacy data from the 1970s and recent studies, it becomes evident that there is significant geological complexity and spatial variability in stratigraphic and hydrostratigraphic units nationwide. Recognising this complexity, there is a need to standardise diverse datasets, including borehole location and elevation, as well as variations in depth and nomenclature of stratigraphic picks. This standardisation aims to create a consistent, continent-wide stratigraphic framework for better understanding groundwater system for effective long-term water resource management and integrated resource assessments.</div><div> </div><div>This continental-scale compilation consolidates borehole data from 53 sources, refining 1,117,693 formation picks to 1,010,483 unique records from 171,396 boreholes across Australia. It provides a consistent framework for interpreting various datasets, enhancing 3D aquifer geometry and connectivity. Each data source's reliability is weighted, prioritising the most confident interpretations. Geological units conform to the Australian Stratigraphic Units Database (ASUD) for efficient updates. Regular updates are necessary to accommodate evolving information. Borehole surveys and dip measurements are excluded. As a result, stratigraphic picks are not adjusted for deviation, potentially impacting true vertical depth in deviated boreholes.</div><div> </div><div>This dataset provides:</div><div>ABSUC_v2 Australian stratigraphic unit compilation dataset (ABSUC)</div><div>ABSUC_v2_TOP A subset of preferred top picks from the ABSUC_v2 dataset</div><div>ABSUC_v2_BASE A subset of preferred base picks from the ABSUC_v2 dataset</div><div>ABSUC_BOREHOLE_v2 ABSUC Borehole collar dataset</div><div>ASUD_2023 A subset of the Australia Stratigraphic Units Database (ASUD)</div><div> </div><div>Utilising this uniform compilation of stratigraphic units, enhancements have been made to the geological and hydrogeological surfaces of the Great Artesian Basin, Lake Eyre Basin and Centralian Superbasin. This compilation is instrumental in mapping various regional groundwater systems and other resources throughout the continent. Furthermore, it offers a standardised approach to mapping regional geology, providing a consistent foundation for comprehensive resource impact assessments.</div>