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.

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.

Poster prepared for International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress 2013 This study was undertaken to establish a chronology for Quaternary fluvial landscape in the Darling River floodplain area. This was required to constrain the 3D mapping of floodplain units and to constrain conceptual models of surface-groundwater interaction. 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. Furthermore, the Understanding the relationships between these geomorphic units 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 20 ka. Indistinct scroll-plain tracts older than the anabranch system, are evident both upstream and downstream of Menindee and have ages around 30 ka. 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. Age dating of the Quaternary fluvial sediments has been used to constrain a model of landscape evolution, neotectonics and recharge dynamics. Geomorphic and structural mapping identified a number of structural lineaments in the LiDAR data. These structures are coincident with mapped faults at depth in airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and airborne magnetic (and gravity) data. Those faults mapped at surface have varying landscape expression, with many re-worked by younger scroll-plain tracts. Younger faults appear to play a role in surface-groundwater interaction, while older faults are important for inter-aquifer leakage.

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

Interpreted groundwater flow divide in the Hutton Sandstone between the Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins in the Great Artesian Basin (to be used in conjunction with dataset 'Surat / Clarence-Moreton basins Hydrogeological Boundary' (GA 2013, Catalogue #75830) to define the easternmost boundary of the GAB) This data set provides an approximate location of the groundwater divide as a polygon in Shapefile format. This data set was used in: Figure 5.3 in Ransley TR and Smerdon BD (eds) (2012) Hydrostratigraphy, hydrogeology and system conceptualisation of the Great Artesian Basin. A technical report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Australia. Figure 5.3 in Smerdon BD and Ransley TR (eds) (2012) Water resource assessment for the Surat region. A report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Australia Figure 14 in Smerdon BD, Marston FM and Ransley TR (2012) Water resource assessment for the Surat region. Summary of a report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Australia. 16pp. This dataset and associated metadata can be obtained from www.ga.gov.au, using catalogue number 77024.

Poster prepared for International Association of Hydrogeologists Congress 2013 In this study, AEM mapping validated by drilling has enabled the lateral extents and thickness of the Pliocene aquifers to be identified. The Pliocene in this area dominantly comprises the fluvial Calivil Formation, with the shallow marine Loxton-Parilla Sands restricted to the southernmost part of the area. Post-depositional warping, tilting and discrete offsets associated with neotoectonics are also recognised. Facies analysis indicates the Calivil was deposited in deep braided streams across a dissected sedimentary landscape. Overall, the sequence is fining-upwards, with evidence for progradation over the Loxton-Parilla. Channel fill materials comprise gravels and sands, and local fine-grained units represent abandoned channels and local floodplain sediments. Integration of textural and hydraulic testing data has revealed there are five hydraulic classes within the Calivil,. At a local scale (10s to 100s of metres), there is considerable lithological heterogeneity, however at a regional scale (kms), sands and gravels are widely distributed with particularly good aquifers developed in palaeochannels and at the confluence of palaeo-river systems. Aquifer testing has revealed Calivil to be an excellent aquifer, with high storage capacity, and locally very high transmissivities (up to 50 l/s). Integration of the AEM data with borehole geophysical data (gamma, induction and NMR) and textural and pore fluid data has enabled maps of aquifer properties including groundwater salinity, porosity, storage and hydraulic conductivity to be derived. Overall, the multi-disciplinary approach adopted has enabled rapid delineation of new groundwater resources, and facilitated assessment of the Pliocene aquifers for managed aquifer recharge.

Thickness of Cenozoic sequence overlying the Great Artesian Basin. Data is available as isopachs in Shapefile format. This GIS data set was produced for the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment and used in Figure 3.1 of Ransley TR and Smerdon BD (eds) (2012) Hydrostratigraphy, hydrogeology and system conceptualisation of the Great Artesian Basin. A technical report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Australia. This dataset and associated metadata can be obtained from www.ga.gov.au, using catalogue number 76534.

This report describes the findings of the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment that have led to advancing the understanding of the GAB. It encapsulates findings that are presented in four region reports and a technical report on conceptualising the GAB that were prepared for the Assessment. Advancing the conceptual understanding of the GAB requires careful evaluation of the geological framework (i.e. the layers of rock), description of how the geology translates into hydrostratigraphy (i.e. the relative ability of specific layers to store and transmit water) and investigation of the groundwater conditions (i.e. watertable, groundwater levels, and inferred movement). It is the geological framework, hydrostratigraphy and groundwater conditions that are the basis for conceptualising water resources in the GAB. The conceptual understanding of the GAB provides the foundation for assessing water availability and providing guidance to water policy and water resource planning.

Polygons representing a qualitative estimate of the potential for hydraulic interconnection between the base of the Great Artesian Basin and top of underlying basement units. This dataset is derived from the 'Hydrogeological basement units in contact with the base of the Great Artesian Basin' dataset (Geoscience Australia, catalogue #75910, 2013) and 'Base Great Artesian Basin hydrogeological units in contact with basement' dataset (Geoscience Australia, catalogue #75911, 2013). It is used to identify potential hydraulic interconnection between the Great Artesian Basin and basement units. Data is available as polygons in Shapefile format This GIS data set was produced for the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment and used in Figure 3.6 of Smerdon BD, Ransley TR, Radke BM and Kellett JR (2012) Water resource assessment for the Great Artesian Basin. A report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Australia. This dataset and associated metadata can be obtained from www.ga.gov.au, using catalogue number 75839.

Thickness of the Rolling Downs group in the Great Artesian Basin Data is available as a raster in both ESRI grid and ASCII grid formats. This GIS data set was produced for the Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment and used in Figure 5.29 of Ransley TR and Smerdon BD (eds) (2012) Hydrostratigraphy, hydrogeology and system conceptualisation of the Great Artesian Basin. A technical report to the Australian Government from the CSIRO Great Artesian Basin Water Resource Assessment. CSIRO Water for a Healthy Country Flagship, Australia. This dataset and associated metadata can be obtained from www.ga.gov.au, using catalogue number 76540.