Legacy product - no abstract available

The lower Darling Valley contains Cenozoic shallow marine, fluvial, lacustrine and aeolian sediments including a number of previously poorly dated Quaternary fluvial units associated with the Darling River and its anabranches. New geomorphic mapping of the Darling floodplain that utilises a high resolution LiDAR dataset and SPOT imagery, has revealed that the Late Quaternary sequence consists of scroll-plain tracts of different ages incised into a higher more featureless mud-dominated floodplain. Samples for OSL (Optically-Stimulated Luminescence) and radiocarbon dating were taken in tractor-excavated pits, from sonic drill cores and from hand-auger holes from a number of scroll-plain and older floodplain sediments in the Menindee region. The youngest, now inactive, scroll-plain phase, associated with the modern Darling River, was active in the period 5-2 ka. A previous anabranch scroll-plain phase has dates around 20ka. Indistinct scroll-plain tracts older than the anabranch system, are evident both upstream and downstream of Menindee and have ages around 30ka. These three scroll-plain tracts intersect just south of Menindee but are mostly separated upstream and downstream of that point. Older dates of 50 ka, 85 ka and >150 ka have been obtained from lateral-migration sediments present beneath the higher mud-dominated floodplain. Establishing a chronology for the Quaternary fluvial landscape has been important for groundwater investigations in the Darling River floodplain area. More specifically, this has assisted in constraining the 3D mapping of floodplain units, helped constrain conceptual models of surface-groundwater interaction, and aided in the assessment of managed aquifer recharge options.

In this study, 3D mapping using airborne electromagnetics (AEM) was used to site a monitoring bore network in the Darling River floodplain corridor. Pressure loggers were installed in over 40 bores to monitor groundwater levels primarily in the shallow unconfined Coonambidgal Formation aquifer, deeper (semi)confined Calivil Formation and confined Renmark Group aquifers. In 2010-11, the network provided the opportunity to monitor the groundwater response to flooding of the Darling River and the replenishment of the Menindee Lakes storages, following a period of prolonged drought. In this event, the Darling River at Menindee (Weir 32) rose from 1.59m in October 2010 and peaked at 7.16m in March 2011. A synchronous rise in groundwater levels varying between 0.5-3.4m was observed in the shallow unconfined aquifer near the river. Shallow groundwater levels also declined following the flood peak. Near-river groundwater levels in the Calivil aquifer rose between 0.2-1.3m and also by 4.0 m at a site near Lake Menindee. The latter confirms lake leakage into the aquifer at this particular site, as previously inferred by the AEM data. There was also a pressure response of 0.1-0.9m evident in certain Renmark aquifer bores near the river. The monitoring confirms the importance of episodic flood events to the recharge of the alluvial aquifers, as supported by groundwater chemistry and stable isotope data. Although some of the confined aquifer response may relate to transient hydraulic loading associated with the flood, the inference is that in places there is a degree of hydraulic connectivity between the aquifers.

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Seawater intrusion (SWI) is a problem globally due to changes in catchment water balances and rising sea levels. The northern coastline of Australia is an area of incipient SWI hazard; however, there is limited understanding of the characteristics of SWI. This study undertook a regional TEMPEST AEM survey of the Darwin coastal plains over the Koolpinyah Dolostone (KD) aquifer, to inform understanding of SWI in this important urban and peri-urban water source. Calibration and validation of AEM data involved sonic and rotary mud drilling, borehole geophysical and geological logging, and laboratory analysis of lithologies, pore fluids and groundwater samples. The AEM data provide greater spatial detail of critical elements of the hydrostratigraphy, and map a complex SWI interface in 3D. A potential SWI hazard to the main producing aquifer has been identified, with SWI ingress through preferential flow paths mapped along structural corridors. There is also extensive leakage of saline groundwater beneath the tidal Adelaide and Mary River floodplains. The existing regional hydrogeological model requires major revision to incorporate the significant weathered zones and salt stores, more restricted extent of dolostone in the aquifer,, and preferential recharge zones and groundwater flow paths to the KD aquifer identified through this study. Assessment of SWI risk to the groundwater resource requires additional hydrodynamic data targeted using the AEM data, and incorporation of results within a predictive groundwater model. The study demonstrates the value of regional, AEM surveys in understanding SWI proceses in karstic aquifers, particularly in data-poor, inaccessible or environmentally sensitive areas.

Traditional aquifer tests are an expensive and time-consuming method for obtaining hydraulic information. Furthermore, in many environments, it is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain environmental clearances to dispose produced waters. In this study, the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) method was evaluated to provide data on hydraulic conductivities (K) and transmissivities (T) of sediments within the Darling River Floodplain, Australia. NMR data were acquired every 0.5 m using a slim-hole logging system in 26 sonic cored wells to a depth of ~70 m. KNMR can be estimated from the NMR measurements using the Schlumberger-Doll Research Equation: KNMR = C x ?2 x T2ML2, where is the NMR effective porosity, T2ML is the logarithmic mean of the T2 distributions, and C is a formation factor related to tortuosity. Prior to the calculation of the KNMR, the NMR data were classified into five hydraulic classes ranging from clay to gravely-coarse sand using the core, geophysical, mineralogical, and hyperspectral logs. In selected zones aquifer tests were conducted to provide constraints on the K and T of the formations. Least-squares inversion was used to solve for the optimum C values for each of the hydraulic classes versus the aquifer test obtained T. Comparisons between laboratory permeameter measurements and KNMR indicated correspondence within two orders of magnitude. The borehole NMR method provides a rapid way of estimating the near continuous variations in K through a sedimentary sequence, while also providing useful estimates of K at a scale not achievable using traditional aquifer testing methods.

The work presented is the outcome of a pilot program of 2 1/2 month's duration involving the preparation by Australian Groundwater Consultants (AGC) of a hydrogeological map of the Ballarat 1: 250 000 scale sheet, with accompanying explanatory notes. The pilot program was initiated by Bureau of Mineral Resources through funding provided by the Commonwealth Department of Resources and Energy,and was based on recommendations contained in a report to theDepartment by AGC on the National Groundwater Data Base Inventory 5 Year Forward Program. The pilot program report to BMR by AGC had three parts: volume 1 described the approach and methodology, the second part (volume 2) consisted of a copy of the Victorian Department of Industry, Technology and Resources (DITR) database used to compile the map, and the third part comprised the map and explanatory notes. In the present record the approach and methodology form part 1, and the explanatory notes and map part 2; only representative examples of the database files are included in part 1.