The Surface Hydrology Points (Regional) dataset provides a set of related features classes to be used as the basis of the production of consistent hydrological information. This dataset contains a geometric representation of major hydrographic point elements - both natural and artificial. This dataset is the best available data supplied by Jurisdictions and aggregated by Geoscience Australia it is intended for defining hydrological features.

This data set comprises one of three archives of Geoscience Australia work in the project "A Consistent Approach to Groundwater Recharge Determination in Data Poor Areas". The project was carried out by CSIRO and Geoscience Australia and was funded by the National Water Commission Raising National Water Standards program. The data contained included Original data sourced for the project, Final data produced by the project, MXD's of maps created, and tools used within the project. The archives created for this project comprise: 1. Data archive. Data set stored in the GA CDS. Geocat Record number 79804 2. Adminstration and publication archive. Documents stored in TRIM Project P10/67 RECHARGE-DISCHARGE PROJECT 3. References archive. Endnote library located at \\nas\eg\water\References\Recharge_Discharge_Project.enl For more information about the creation of these archives, including the location of files, see TRIM D2014-102808 For more information about the project, see the following references: Leaney F, Crosbie R, O'Grady A, Jolly I, Gow L, Davies P, Wilford J and Kilgour P. 2011. Recharge and discharge estimation in data poor areas: Scientific reference guide. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. 61 pp (GA Record No. 2011/46 GACat # 71941) Jolly I, Gow L, Davies P, O'Grady A, Leaney F, Crosbie R, Wilford J and Kilgour P. 2011. Recharge and discharge estimation in data poor areas: User guide for the recharge and discharge estimation spreadsheets and MapConnect. CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. 40 pp. (GA Record No. 2011/35 GeoCat # 71940) Pain, C.F., Gow, L.J, Wilford, J.R. and Kilgour, P. 2011. Mapping approaches to recharge and discharge estimation and associated input datasets. A report for CSIRO: Water for a Healthy Country National Research Flagship. (Professional Opinion No. 2011/01 GeoCat # 70392)

In many areas of the world, vegetation dynamics in semi-arid floodplain environments have been seriously impacted by increased river regulation and groundwater use. With increases in regulation along many rivers in the Murray-Darling Basin, flood volume, seasonality and frequency have changed which has in turn affected the condition and distribution of vegetation. Floodplain vegetation can be degraded from both too much and too little water due to regulation. Over-regulation and increased use of groundwater in these landscapes can exacerbate the effects related to natural climate variability. Prolonged flooding of woody plants has been found to induce a number of physiological disturbances such as early stomatal closure and inhibition of photosynthesis. However, drought conditions can also result in leaf biomass reduction and sapwood area decline. Depending on the species, different inundation and drought tolerances are observed. Identification of groundwater-dependent terrestrial vegetation, and assessment of the relative importance of different water sources to vegetation dynamics, typically requires detailed ecophysiological studies over a number of seasons or years as shown in Chowilla, New South Wales [] and Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia []. However, even when groundwater dependence can be quantified, results are often difficult to upscale beyond the plot scale. Quicker, more regional approaches to mapping groundwater-dependent vegetation have consequently evolved with technological advancements in remote sensing techniques. Such an approach was used in this study. LiDAR canopy digital elevation model (CDEM) and foliage projected cover (FPC) data were combined with Landsat imagery in order to characterise the spatial and temporal behaviour of woody vegetation in the Lower Darling Floodplain, New South Wales. The multi-temporal dynamics of the woody vegetation were then compared to the estimated availability of different water sources in order to better understand water requirements.

Water resource assessment for the Great Artesian Basin. Synthesis of a report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment

This document contains metadata for the hydrodynamics products produced by the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment

The Habanero Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) in central Australia has been under development since 2002, with several deep (more than 4000 m) wells drilled to date into the high-heat-producing granites of the Big Lake Suite. Multiple hydraulic stimulations have been performed to improve the existing fracture permeability in the granite. Stimulation of the newly-drilled Habanero-4 well (H-4) was completed in late 2012, and micro-seismic data indicated an increase in total stimulated reservoir area to approximately 4 km². Two well doublets have been tested, initially between Habanero-1 (H-1) and Habanero-3 (H-3), and more recently, between H-1 and H-4. Both doublets effectively operated as closed systems, and excluding short-term flow tests, all production fluids were re-injected into the reservoir at depth. Two inter-well tracer tests have been conducted: the first in 2008, and the most recent one in June 2013, which involved injecting 100 kg of 2,6 naphthalene-disulfonate (NDS) into H-1 to evaluate the hydraulic characteristics of the newly-created H-1/H-4 doublet. After correcting for flow hiatuses and non-steady-state flow conditions, tracer breakthrough in H-4 was observed after 6 days (compared to ~4 days for the previous H-1/H-3 doublet), with peak breakthrough occurring after 17 days. Extrapolation of the breakthrough curve to late time indicates that approximately 60% of the tracer mass would eventually be recovered (vs. approximately 80% for the 2008 H-1/H-3 tracer test). This suggests that a large proportion of the tracer may lie trapped in the opposite end of the reservoir from H-4 and/or may have been lost to the far field. The calculated inter-well swept pore volume is approximately 31,000 m³, which is larger than that calculated for the H-1/H-3 doublet (~20,000 m³). A simple 2D TOUGH2 tracer model, with model geometry constructed based on the current conceptual understanding of the Habanero EGS system, demonstrates good agreement with the measured tracer returns in terms of timing of breakthrough in H-4, and observed tracer dispersion in the tail of the breakthrough curve.

Poster prepared for International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress 2013 Sonic drilling is a relatively new technology that was used successfully to obtain relatively uncontaminated and undisturbed continuous core samples with excellent (>99%) recovery rates to depths of 206m in unconsolidated fluvio-lacustrine sediments of the Darling River floodplain. However, there are limitations with the standard sonic coring method. Sands, in particular, are disturbed when they are vibrated out of the core barrel into the flexible plastic sampling tube. There can be changes to moisture content, pore fluid chemistry and sediment mineralogy on exposure to the atmosphere, even when the samples are processed and analysed soon after collection. The option exists during sonic drilling to encapsulate the core in rigid polycarbonate lexan tubes. Although this increases costs and reduces drilling rates, atmospheric exposure of the core during drilling is reduced to the ends of the lexan tubes before being capped. In addition, the tubes can be purged with an inert gas such as argon. Lexan coring is best carried out below the watertable as the heat from drilling dry clays can cause the polycarbonate to melt. In the study, 60 sonic holes (4.5 km) and 40 rotary mud holes (2 km) were obtained as part of a program to map and assess potential groundwater resources and managed aquifer recharge (MAR) targets over a large area (7,500 km2) of the Darling River floodplain. Two of the sonic bores were drilled to depths of 60 metres to obtain lexan-encapsulated core samples. These cores were used to obtain less perturbed samples for pore fluid analysis (salinity, major ions, trace metals, stable isotopes), textural analysis, and analysis of mineral phases to help assess aquifer clogging potential (using XRD, XRF, SEM). An additional advantage of the lexan coring was the recovery of encapsulated and intact sediment intervals for determining porosities, effective porosities, hydraulic conductivities, and other geophysical and petrophysical measurements. By painting some tubes black, sand samples were also successfully obtained for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating. Alternatively, opaque black lexan can be made to order by the supplier. Overall, the superior sample integrity obtained from lexan coring enables a greater range of hydrogeological and hydrochemical parameters to be assessed.

This document lists metadata for the hydrogeology products produced by the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment.

Development of coal mines and coal seam gas (CSG) resources can significantly impact groundwater systems, hydrogeological processes and the surface environment. Consequently, a sound understanding of basin-scale hydrogeology Is critical to developing effective water management strategies. The Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities recently funded investigation of the potential impacts of the development of coal mining and CSG production in several Australian coal basins. The Laura Basin was investigated as part of this program due to the significant environmental and cultural heritage values of the region which include several National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. The Laura Basin is a geological basin on Cape York Peninsula, QLD. There has been relatively limited development of the groundwater resources of the basin to date, which predominantly occur in Mesozoic sandstone units, the Dalrymple Sandstone and the Gilbert River Formation, which are contiguous with the Great Artesian Basin rocks of the Carpentaria Basin.

This report presents key results from hydrogeological investigations at Alice Springs, completed as part of Exploring for the Future (EFTF)—an eight year, $225 million Australian Government funded geoscience data and information acquisition program focused on better understanding the potential mineral, energy and groundwater resources across Australia. The Southern Stuart Corridor (SSC) project area within the Northern Territory extends in a north–south corridor from Tennant Creek to Alice Springs, encompassing four water control districts and a number of remote communities. Water allocation planning and agricultural expansion in the SSC is currently limited by a paucity of data and information regarding the volume and extent of groundwater resources and groundwater systems more generally. This includes recharge rates, surface water –groundwater connectivity, and the dependency of ecosystems on groundwater. Outside the proposed agricultural areas, the project includes numerous remote communities where there is a need to secure water supplies. Geoscience Australia, in partnership with the Northern Territory Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Power and Water Corporation, undertook an extensive program of hydrogeological investigations between 2017 and 2019. Data acquisition included helicopter airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic data, investigative groundwater bore drilling, ground-based and downhole geophysical data (including nuclear magnetic resonance for mapping water content and induction conductivity/gamma for defining geological formations), and hydrochemistry for characterising groundwater systems. This report investigates the hydrogeology across the Alice Springs focus area, which includes the Roe Creek and proposed Rocky Hill borefields, where five hydrostratigraphic units were mapped based on AEM interpretation and borehole geophysical information. The mapping supports the presence of a syncline, with a gentle parabolic fold axis that plunges westward, and demonstrates that the main Siluro-Devonian Mereenie Sandstone and Ordovician Pacoota Sandstone aquifers are continuous from Roe Creek borefield to the Rocky Hill area. Areas with the highest potential for recharge to the Paleozoic strata are where Roe Creek or the Todd River directly overlie shallow subcrop of the aquifer units. Three potential recharge areas are identified: (1) Roe Creek borefield, (2) a 3 km stretch of Roe Creek immediately west of the proposed Rocky Hill borefield, and (3) the viticulture block to the east of Rocky Hill. Analysis of groundwater chemistry and regional hydrology suggests that the rainfall threshold for recharge of the Paleozoic aquifers is ~125 mm/month, and groundwater isotope data indicate that recharge occurs rapidly. The groundwaters have similar major ion chemistry, reflecting similar geology and suggesting that all of the Paleozoic aquifers in the focus area are connected to some degree. Groundwater extraction at Roe Creek borefield since the 1960s has led to the development of a cone of depression and a groundwater divide, which has gradually moved eastward and is now east of the proposed Rocky Hill borefield. The majority of the groundwater within the focus area is of good quality, with <1000 mg/L total dissolved salts (TDS). The brackish water (7000 mg/L TDS) further to the east of the proposed Rocky Hill borefield warrants further investigation to determine the potential risk of it being captured by the cone of depression following the development of this borefield. This study provides new insight to the hydrogeological understanding of the Alice Springs focus area. Specifically, this investigation demonstrates that the Roe Creek and proposed Rocky Hill borefields, and a nearby viticulture area are all extracting from the same aquifer system. This finding will inform the future management and security of the Alice Springs community water supply. New groundwater resource estimates and a water level monitoring scheme can be developed to support the management of this vital groundwater resource.