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  • The presence of Neogene fault systems can have a significant impact on hydraulic connectivity of aquifers, juxtaposing otherwise disconnected aquifers, enhancing recharge and/or discharge or acting as barriers to flow and consequently compartmentalising groundwater resources. Previously, regional airborne electromagnetics (AEM) transects allied with groundwater investigations have pointed to the potential for localised compartmentalisation of the Daly River Basin groundwater systems. However, existing data is sparse, and equivocal. In this context, the main aim of the Daly River Basin Project is to determine if compartmentalisation of the aquifers is a significant factor and thus should be explicitly considered in groundwater modelling and water allocation planning. The objectives of the project main goals of the project are to: (1) map Neogene faults through the use of airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and morphotectonic mapping, and (2) assess the permeability and transmissivity of mapped fault zones and their role in potential groundwater system compartmentalisation. Data acquisition includes 3325 line-kilometres of new AEM and airborne magnetics, ground (ground magnetic resonance (GMR)), and borehole geophysics, drilling, groundwater sampling and hydrochemical analysis, geomorphic and morphotectonics mapping. Hydrogeophysical, geomorphic and hydrogeological data will also be used to better understand groundwater-surface water connectivity and the potential for managed aquifer recharge schemes to replenish extracted groundwater resources. The outcomes of this project will inform decisions on water allocations and underpin effective and efficient groundwater use. This paper specifically reports on the ability of AEM and morphotectonics mapping to identify Neogene fault systems in the Daly River Basin.

  • Groundwater is an essential part of Darwin’s water supply mix, and is sourced from Howard East Borefield (HEB) and McMinns Borefield in the Koolpinyah Dolostone Aquifer (KDA), east of Darwin. Previous work suggested that electrical conductivity anomalies observed in airborne electromagnetic (AEM) data within 8 km of HEB may be caused by saline groundwater within the KDA that is separated from HEB by geological features that effectively compartmentalise the aquifer. Nevertheless, concerns grew that increased groundwater use may result in migration of saline groundwater towards HEB, which could compromise the groundwater resource. We collected hydrochemistry, including isotopes, time-series groundwater salinity and AEM data to better understand the complexities of the KDA. These data are presented here, along with a hydrodynamic analysis undertaken by the Northern Territory Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which shows that drawdown is occurring more rapidly from the NE of HEB and that dykes ~8 km NE of HEB act as barriers to groundwater flow. We show that groundwater sampled on the NE side of these dykes has a seawater composition. We use new AEM data to map the elevation of the top of unweathered dyke material and to characterise AEM conductors proximal to HEB. Our mapping reveals that the top of the unweathered portion of these dykes is commonly below sea level. We also show that AEM conductors proximal to HEB are more likely mineralised clays than saline groundwater within the aquifer. Drilling is required to confirm these results. Our findings contribute to building a robust conceptual understanding of the KDA and will inform future modelling of the groundwater system. <b>Citation:</b> Haiblen, A.M., Symington, N.J., Woltmann, M.J., Ray, A., Gow, L.J., Leplastrier, A. and McGrath, E.S.B., 2020. A multifaceted approach to investigating hydrogeological complexities in the Koolpinyah Dolostone Aquifer, Howard East, Northern Territory. In: Czarnota, K., Roach, I., Abbott, S., Haynes, M., Kositcin, N., Ray, A. and Slatter, E. (eds.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, 1–4.

  • This Southern Australian Fractured Rock Province dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. Crustal elements are crustal-scale geological regions primarily based on composite geophysical domains, each of which shows a distinctive pattern of magnetic and gravity anomalies. These elements generally relate to the basement, rather than the sedimentary basins. The South Australian Element comprises the Archean-Mesoproterozoic Gawler Craton and Paleo-Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province, formed over billions of years through sedimentation, volcanism, magmatism, and metamorphism. The region experienced multiple continental-continent collisions, leading to the formation and breakup of supercontinents like Nuna and Rodinia, along with periods of extensional tectonism. Around 1,400 Ma, both the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province were cratonised, and during the building of the Rodinia supercontinent (1,300-700 Ma), the present configuration of the region emerged. The area between the Gawler and Curnamona provinces contains Neoproterozoic to Holocene cover, including the Adelaide Superbasin, with the Barossa Complex as its basement, believed to be part of the Kimban Orogen. The breakup of Rodinia in the Neoproterozoic (830-600 Ma) resulted in mafic volcanism and extensional episodes, leading to the formation of the Adelaide Superbasin, characterized by marine rift and sag basins flanking the Gawler Craton and Curnamona Province. During the Mesozoic and Cenozoic, some tectonic structures were rejuvenated, while sedimentary cover obscured much of the now flatter terrain. Metamorphic facies in the region vary, with the Gawler and Curnamona provinces reaching granulite facies, while the Adelaide Superbasin achieved the amphibolite facies. The Gawler Craton contains rocks dating back to approximately 3,150 Ma, while the Curnamona Province contains rocks from 1,720 to 1,550 Ma. These ancient regions have undergone various deformation and metamorphic events but have remained relatively stable since around 1,450 Ma. The Adelaide Superbasin is a large sedimentary system formed during the Neoproterozoic to Cambrian, with distinct provinces. It started as an intracontinental rift system resulting from the breakup of Rodinia and transitioned into a passive margin basin in the southeast and a failed rift in the north. Later uplift and re-instigated rifting led to the deposition of thick Cambrian sediments overlying the Neoproterozoic rocks. Overlying basins include late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic formations, such as the Eromanga Basin and Lake Eyre Basin, which are not part of the assessment region but are adjacent to it.

  • This Central Australian Cenozoic Basins dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. Cenozoic basins are an important source of readily accessible groundwater within the arid deserts of central Australia. This province represents a collection of six notable Cenozoic basins within the region, including the Ti Tree, Waite, Hale, Mount Wedge, Lake Lewis and Alice Farm basins. Many local communities in this region (such as Papunya, Ti Tree and Ali Curung) rely upon groundwater stored within Cenozoic basin aquifers for their water security. The basins typically contain up to several hundred metres of saturated sediments that can include relatively thick intervals of hydraulically conductive sands, silts and minor gravels. It is noted that the potential groundwater storage volumes in the Cenozoic basins are much greater than the annual amount of runoff and recharge that occurs in central Australia, making them prospective targets for groundwater development. Groundwater quality and yields are variable, although relatively good quality groundwater can be obtained at suitable yields in many areas for community water supplies, stock and domestic use and irrigated horticulture operations, for example, in the Ti Tree Basin. However, not all of the Cenozoic basins have the potential to supply good quality groundwater resources for community and horticultural supplies. With the exception of several small sub-regions, most of the Waite Basin has very little potential to supply good quality groundwater for agricultural use. This is mainly due to limited aquifer development, low yielding bores and elevated groundwater salinity (commonly >2000 mg/L Total Dissolved Solids). However, bores have been successfully installed for smaller-scale pastoral stock and domestic supplies and small communities or outstations in the Waite Basin.

  • This North-east Australian Fractured Rock Province dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. In fractured rock aquifers, groundwater is stored in the fractures, joints, bedding planes and cavities of the rock mass. About 40 per cent of groundwater in Australia is stored in fractured rock aquifers, and much of this may be available for irrigation, town water supplies, stock watering and domestic use. Approximately 33% of all bores in Australia are in fractured systems, representing about 10 per cent of total extraction. Groundwater yield is extremely variable, and dependent on the distribution of major fractures. However, rates of groundwater movement in fractured rock systems are difficult to quantify. Characterising groundwater flow in fractured rock aquifers is difficult with existing techniques, and groundwater flow direction can be related more to the orientation of fractures than to the hydraulic head distribution. Recharge in fractured rock aquifers is usually local and intermediate. The Queensland fractured rock is taken to be that part of the northern elements of the Eastern Fracture Rock provinces that extends from the southern part of the Laura Basin, south to the state boundary with New South Wales, and inland as far as the Bundock and Galilee Basins. It comprises the Mossman, Thomson and New England Orogens, and related Provinces. These include: i) The Mossman Orogen, including the Hodgkinson Province, and the Broken River Province; ii) The Thomson Orogen, comprising Neoprotozoic – Early Paleozoic Provinces, including the Anakie Province, Barnard Province, Charters Tower Province, Greenvale Province, and Iron Range Province; and iii) The New England Orogen, including the Gympie Province, Connors-Auburn Province, Yarrol Province, Wandilla Province, Woolomin Province, Calliope Province, Marlborough Province, and Silverwood Province

  • This Daly Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Daly Basin is a geological formation consisting of Cambrian to Ordovician carbonate and siliciclastic rocks, formed approximately 541 million to 470 million years ago. The basin stretches about 170 km in length and 30 km in width, shaped as a northwest elongated synform with gentle dips of less than 1 degree, likely due to prolonged sedimentary deposition in the shallow seas of the Centralian Superbasin, possibly along basin-scale faults. The primary groundwater reservoir within the Daly Basin is found in the Cambrian Daly River Group. This group comprises three units: the Tindall Limestone, Jinduckin Formation, and Oolloo Dolostone. The Tindall Limestone, which lies at the base, consists of grey, mottled limestone with some maroon-green siltstone or dark grey mudstone. The transition from the Tindall Limestone to the overlying Jinduckin Formation is marked by a shift from limestone to more siliciclastic rocks, indicating a change from open-shelf marine to peri-tidal environments. The Jinduckin Formation, situated above the Tindall Limestone, is composed of maroon-green dolomitic-siliciclastic siltstone with interbeds of dolomitic sandstone-siltstone, as well as dolostone and dolomitic quartz sandstone lenses. It gradually transitions into the carbonate-rich Oolloo Dolostone, with the highest finely laminated dolomitic sandstone-siltstone interbeds at the top of the Jinduckin Formation. The Oolloo Dolostone, the uppermost unit of the Daly River Group, comprises two members: the well-bedded lower Briggs Member, consisting of fine- to medium-grained crystalline dolostone and dolomitic quartz sandstone, and the massive upper King Member. Overlying the Daly River Group is the Ordovician Florina Formation, consisting of three carbonate intervals separated by two fine-grained, glauconite-bearing quartz sandstone units. The Florina Formation and the Daly River Group are covered unconformably by Cretaceous claystone and sandstone of the Carpentaria Basin, which extends over a significant portion of the Daly Basin.

  • This Bonaparte Basin dataset contains descriptive attribute information for the areas bounded by the relevant spatial groundwater feature in the associated Hydrogeology Index map. Descriptive topics are grouped into the following themes: Location and administration; Demographics; Physical geography; Surface water; Geology; Hydrogeology; Groundwater; Groundwater management and use; Environment; Land use and industry types; and Scientific stimulus. The Bonaparte Basin is a large sedimentary basin off the north-west coast of Australia, encompassing both offshore and onshore areas. It has undergone multiple phases of extension, deposition, and tectonic inversion from the Paleozoic to Cenozoic periods. The Petrel Sub-basin, situated on the eastern margin, exhibits a north-west trending graben/syncline and exposes lower Paleozoic rocks onshore while transitioning to upper Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic sediments offshore. Onshore, the basin's geological structures reflect two dominant regimes: north to north-north-east trending Proterozoic basement structures associated with the Halls Creek Mobile Zone, and north-north-west trending basin structures linked to the rifting and later compressional reactivation of the Petrel Sub-basin. The Petrel Sub-basin has experienced growth and tectonic inversion since the Paleozoic, marked by volcanic activity, deposition of clastics and carbonates, and extension events. During the Devonian, extension occurred along faults in the Ningbing Range, leading to the deposition of clastics and carbonates. The Carboniferous to Permian period witnessed offshore extension associated with the Westralian Superbasin initiation, while onshore deposition continued in shallow marine and transitional environments. Thermal subsidence diminished in the Early Permian, and subsequent compression in the mid-Triassic to Early Jurassic reactivated faults, resulting in inversion anticlines and monoclines. After the Early Jurassic, the sub-basin experienced slow sag with predominantly offshore deposition. Post-Cretaceous deformation caused subsidence, and an Early Cretaceous transgression led to shallow marine conditions and the deposition of chert, claystone, and mudstones. Mid-Miocene to Recent compression, related to continental collision, reactivated faults and caused localized flexure. The stratigraphy of the onshore Bonaparte Basin is divided into Cambro-Ordovician and Middle Devonian to Early Permian sections. Studies have provided insights into the basin's stratigraphy, with an update to the Permo-Carboniferous succession based on seismic interpretation, borehole data integration, field validation, and paleontological information. However, biostratigraphic subdivision of the Carboniferous section remains challenging due to poorly constrained species definitions, leading to discrepancies in the application of biozonations.

  • 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 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 and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water - groundwater interactions. The methods used to derive these data for all Galilee Basin aquifers in the Galilee Basin region are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptual models (Hostetler et al., 2023). The Galilee 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 were 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 were used for this compilation.

  • Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper 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 Cooper Basin aquifers and their properties, including salinity, water levels, resource size, potential aquifer yield and surface water interactions. The methods used to derive these data for the Cooper Basin aquifer are outlined in the associated metadata files. These are described in groundwater conceptualisation models (Gouramanis et al., 2023). The Cooper Basin includes one broadly defined aquifer named the Nappamerri Group aquifer. Compiled data are 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.

  • Publicly available groundwater data have been compiled to provide a common information base to inform environmental, resource development and regulatory decisions in the Cooper Basin region. This web service summarises salinity and water levels for the Cooper Basin located within the Cooper Basin region.