Publicly available baseline surface water data are compiled to provide a common information base for resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This data guide captures existing knowledge of the catchments and watercourses overlying the Galilee Basin, including streamflow quality and quantity, inundation, and climatological data. The Galilee Basin straddles the Great Dividing Range and encompasses the headwaters of 9 major river basins, with the largest area underlying Cooper Creek, Diamantina River and Flinders River catchments. The Galilee Basin geological boundary also intersects parts of the catchment of the Burdekin River, Fitzroy River, Warrego River, Bulloo River, Paroo River and Condamine-Balonne rivers. The data on the catchments overlying the Galilee Basin have been summarised at a point in time to inform decisions on resource development activities. Key data sources are the Water Monitoring Information Portal (Queensland Government), Water Data Online (Bureau of Meteorology), DEA Water Observations (Geoscience Australia) and Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network.

Publicly available data was compiled to provide a common information base for resource development, and environmental and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used to create the components of a workflow to identify geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) opportunities. The data guide is designed to support the data package that provide insights on the geological storage of CO2 in the Galilee Basin. The geological storage of CO2 assessment for the Galilee Basin encompasses 5 geological intervals, termed plays – these have been defined by Wainman et al. (2023). The assessment captures data from well completion reports and government data sources (e.g. Queensland Petroleum Exploration Database (QPED) from the Geological Survey of Queensland (GSQ) Open Data Portal) to inform the 4 components required for a potential geological storage of CO2 system. One hundred and sixty-three boreholes in the Galilee Basin were used to map out gross depositional environments and their geological properties relevant for geological storage of CO2. From these datasets, the following properties were evaluated and mapped across the basin: injectivity, storage efficiency, containment and structural complexity. The data are compiled at a point in time to inform decisions on resource development opportunities. The guide outlines the play-based workflow for assessing geological storage of CO2 prospectivity. Each of the elements required for a prospective geological storage of carbon dioxide system are explained and mapped. These data were merged and spatially multiplied to show the relative assessment of geological storage of carbon dioxide prospectivity across the basin at both a play interval and basin scale. As an example of assessments contained within the data package, this data guide showcases the geological storage of CO2 prospectivity of the Betts Creek-Rewan Play interval.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This web service summarises salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water–groundwater interactions for the Lake Eyre Basin located within the Galilee Basin region.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Adavale Basin region. This web service summarises salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water–groundwater interactions for the Galilee Basin located within the Adavale Basin region.

Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Adavale Basin region. This data guide gives examples of how these data can be used. The data package included with this data guide captures existing knowledge of Galilee Basin aquifers in the Adavale Basin region and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water interactions. The methods to derive these data for all Galilee Basin aquifers in the Adavale Basin region are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptual models (Gouramanis et al., 2023). The Galilee Basin overlying the Adavale Basin includes 3 broadly defined aquifer intervals: from deepest to shallowest, these are the Joe Joe Group, Betts Creek beds and Clematis aquifers. Compiled data have been assigned to these intervals and used to characterise groundwater systems at the basin scale. The data are compiled for a point-in-time to inform decisions on potential resource developments in the Basin. The available historical groundwater data can be used to assess the potential effects on groundwater. The data can also be used for other purposes, such as exploring unallocated groundwater resource potential. Data to January 2022 are used for this compilation.

The potential for hydrogen production in the Galilee Basin region is assessed to provide a joint information base for hydrogen generation potential from renewable energy, groundwater and natural gas coupled with carbon capture and storage (CCS). Hydrogen generation requires water, whether using electrolysis with renewable energy or steam methane reforming (SMR) of gas with CCS. The data package includes the regional renewable energy capacity factor, aquifers and their properties (potential yield, salinity, and reserves or storativity), natural gas resources, and geological storage potential of carbon dioxide (CO2). This data guide gives examples of how the compiled data can be used. The renewable hydrogen potential is assessed based on renewable energy capacity factor and groundwater information (potential yield, salinity, and reserves or storativity). Nine aquifers from the Galilee and overlying Eromanga and the Lake Eyre basins are included in the assessment. The Galilee Basin region has low renewable hydrogen potential except for small areas in the north, south and south-west. Although the renewable energy capacity factor in the basin is high, aquifers tend to have poor groundwater reserves or storativity, which results in lower overall renewable hydrogen potential. The Galilee Basin contains modest contingent gas resources, while sizeable gas reserves and contingent resources were identified in the overlying Eromanga Basin (Geoscience Australia, 2022). The geological CO2 storage assessment suggests that the Betts Creek - Rewan Play interval is the most prospective for CCS, with the highest potential around the central basin region. Further work on identifying detailed gas potential is needed to assess hydrogen generation potential from gas.

Across Australia, groundwater is a vital resource that supports and strengthens communities, culture, the environment and numerous industries. Movement of groundwater is complicated, taking place horizontally, vertically and across different timescales from weeks to millions of years. It is affected by changes in climate, human use, and geological complexities such as the type, geometry and distribution of rocks. Understanding how all these factors interact is known as a groundwater conceptual model and it is an important first step. This groundwater conceptualisation includes the Galilee Basin and the overlying Eromanga and Lake Eyre basins and other Cenozoic units as well as surface-groundwater interactions. Figure 1 shows the locations of the cross sections used to conceptualise groundwater in the Galilee Basin region. In the Galilee Basin extended region this includes 1 aquifer in the Lake Eyre Basin, 5 aquifers in the Eromanga Basin and 3 aquifers in the Galilee Basin (Wainman et al., 2023a, b). Confidence for each aquifer was calculated for both salinity and water levels (Hostetler et al., 2023a, b, c). The confidence for each aquifer was added to show the overall confidence for the basin. The level of knowledge across all aquifers are moderate to low. The groundwater conceptualisations summarise the groundwater flow and potential connectivity between aquifers. Figures also show the distribution of the aquifers and aquitards, average salinity, potential aquifer yield and confidence over an area of 50 km along the cross section lines.

Publicly available geology data are compiled to provide a common information base for resource development and regulatory decisions in the Galilee Basin region. This web service summarises the geology of the Galilee Basin.

<div>The Australian Government's Trusted Environmental and Geological Information (TEGI) program is a collaboration between Geoscience Australia and the CSIRO that aims to provide access to baseline geological and environmental data and information for strategically important geological basins. The initial geological focus is on the north Bowen, Galilee, Cooper, Adavale, and their overlying basins. This paper presents seven stratigraphic frameworks from these basin regions that underpin groundwater, environmental and resource assessments, identify intervals of resource potential, and can assist in management of associated risks to groundwater resources and other environmental assets. The construction of stratigraphic frameworks for this program builds upon existing lithostratigraphic schemes to capture the current state of knowledge. The frameworks incorporate play divisions for resource and hydrogeological assessments. A total of 33 play intervals are defined for the north Bowen, Galilee, Cooper, Adavale, and their overlying basins, using chronostratigraphic principles. Where possible, unconformities and flooding surfaces are used to define the lower and upper limits of plays. Data availability and temporal resolution are considered in capturing significant changes in gross depositional environments. The results from this work enable the consistent assessment of shared play intervals between basins, and also highlight uncertainties in the age and correlation of lithostratigraphic units, notably in the Galilee and north Bowen Basins.</div> This presentation was given at the 2023 Australasian Exploration Geoscience Conference (AEGC) 13-18 March, Brisbane (https://2023.aegc.com.au/)

Publicly available geological data in the Galilee Basin region are compiled to produce statements of existing knowledge for natural hydrogen, hydrogen storage, coal and mineral occurrences. This web service summarises mineral potential in the Galilee Basin region.