Australia's Groundwater Future: The Role of Multi-Disciplinary Science Approaches in Improving National Water Security  

Authors / CoAuthors

Lawrie, K. | Brodie, R.S. | Coram, J. | Gow, L.

Abstract

Presently, groundwater, through direct extraction (>30%), and indirectly through replenishing our river systems (>20%), contributes over 50% of Australia's water supplies. Groundwater (and surface water) management in Australia faces intensifying pressures, from population expansion and increasing surface water scarcity in southern Australia posed by extreme drought and future climate change. Recently, and significantly, new additional pressures on groundwater systems have emerged through the rapid expansion of new energy sources (coal seam gas, uranium, geothermal and carbon geo-sequestration) and a rapid expansion of the minerals resource sector (including iron ore). The complexity and conflicts in the nexus between water, new energy, minerals and food and fibre security require innovative approaches in science, management and policy. This is particularly the case in the context of Australia's inherent vulnerability to climate change and the likely emergence of a carbon economy. Quantification of the hydrological cycle and catchment water balances in Australia is limited by a lack of spatial and temporal data. While substantial effort has been put into developing approaches for the mapping and quantification of surface hydrology, resources and processes, significant uncertainty remains in the knowledge of the size of Australian groundwater resources, their locations, rates of recharge, connectivity with surface waters and rates of use or depletion. Recently completed groundwater audits and regional groundwater investigations have made valuable assessments of resources based on limited available data, but have not adequately quantified the large uncertainties in groundwater model predictions and resource assessments, or identified where and what data and knowledge is required to improve these assessments.

Product Type

nonGeographicDataset

eCat Id

73801

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Keywords

• External PublicationAbstract

( Theme )

• groundwater

( Theme )

• AEM

( Theme )

• hydrogeology

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

• Earth Sciences

• Published_Internal

Publication Date

2012-03-15T00:00:00

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Australian Government Security ClassificationSystem    

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Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence    

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unknown

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geoscientificInformation

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