This report presents a summary of the groundwater and surface water hydrochemistry data release from the Howard East project conducted 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. This data release records the groundwater and surface water sample collection methods and hydrochemistry and isotope data from monitoring bores in the Howard East project area, Northern Territory (NT). The Howard East project is a collaborative study between Geoscience Australia and the NT Government. Hydrochemistry and isotope data were collected from existing bores in the Howard East area. The sampling methods, quality assurance/quality control procedures, analytical methods and results are included in this report and all hydrochemistry data are available for download from the link at right.

This report provides an initial summary of the hydrogeochemistry of the McBride Basalt Province (MBP) and Nulla Basalt Province (NBP) of the Upper Burdekin Region of North Queensland, 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. Groundwater hydrogeochemistry studies can improve system understanding by reflecting host formation compositions and groundwater processes. These studies also provide regional baseline groundwater datasets that can inform environmental monitoring, resource use and decision making. During 2017 and 2018 Geoscience Australia collected 38 groundwater samples and 80 surface water samples (including quality control samples) to evaluate groundwater system processes including potential flow paths, recharge and groundwater-surface water-interactions. These surveys were conducted across three months of fieldwork, sampling water for a comprehensive suite of hydrogeochemical parameters. The present report includes surface water and groundwater data and information on: 1) sampling sites; 2) field physicochemical parameters (EC, pH, Eh, DO and T); 3) field measurements of total alkalinity (HCO3-); 4) laboratory results of major anion and cation results; 5) laboratory results for isotopes of water (δ18O and δD), DIC (δ13C), and dissolved strontium (87Sr/86Sr); and 6) hydrogeochemical maps representing the spatial distribution of these parameters. Pending analyses include: CFCs, SF6 and radiogenic isotopes δ14C and δ36Cl. Analysis that were largely below detection limit include: trace element concentrations, dissolved sulfide (S2-), ferrous iron (Fe2+), and dissolved sulfate (affecting sampling of δ34S and δ18O). This study demonstrates that hydrogeochemistry surveys, with full suites of chemical parameters including isotopes, can reveal fundamental groundwater system processes such as groundwater flow paths, groundwater recharge and groundwater-surface water interactions. The chemical ‘fingerprints’ identified here indicate groundwater flow paths are largely restricted to within the MBP and NBP aquifers, which have little interaction with adjacent and underlying non-basaltic rocks. The results also indicate groundwater is largely recharged from rainfall in higher elevations of the basalt provinces, with variable rainfall inputs to groundwater from lower elevation and rivers along flow paths. Groundwater-surface water interactions show several chemical signatures linking groundwater to springs, tributary rivers and the Burdekin River. Results from the Upper Burdekin Hydrogeochemistry Survey for the MBP and NBP have been plotted and mapped with initial interpretations presented below. Further detailed interpretation of this hydrogeochemistry data will be the focus of future publications. This data release is part in a series of staged outputs from the EFTF program. Relevant data, information and images are available through the Geoscience Australia website.

This animation shows how groundwater sampling is conducted. It is part of a series of Field Activity Technique Engagement Animations. The target audience are the communities that are impacted by GA's data acquisition activities. There is no sound or voice over. The 2D animation includes a simplified view of what groundwater sampling equipment looks like, what the equipment measures and how scientists use the data.

This web service provides access to groundwater raster products for the Upper Burdekin region, including: inferred relative groundwater recharge potential derived from weightings assigned to qualitative estimates of relative permeability based on mapped soil type and surface geology; Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) used to map vegetation with potential access to groundwater in the basalt provinces, and; base surfaces of basalt inferred from sparse available data.

This web service provides access to groundwater raster products for the Upper Burdekin region, including: inferred relative groundwater recharge potential derived from weightings assigned to qualitative estimates of relative permeability based on mapped soil type and surface geology; Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) used to map vegetation with potential access to groundwater in the basalt provinces, and; base surfaces of basalt inferred from sparse available data.

The Groundwater Dependent Waterbodies (GDW) dataset is a subset of the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) Waterbodies product that has been combined with the Bureau of Meteorology’s national Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem (GDE) Atlas to produce surface waterbodies that are known/high potential aquatic GDEs. These aquatic GDEs include springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Where known/high potential GDEs intersected a DEA waterbody, the entire DEA waterbody polygon was retained and assigned as a GDW. Additional attributes were added to the waterbody polygons to indicate amount of overlap the waterbody had with the GDE(s) as well as the minimum, mean, median and maximum percentage of time that water has been detected in each GDW relative to the total number of clear observations (1986 to present). This web service will display a variety of layers with spatial summary statistics of the GDW dataset. These provide a first-pass representation of known/high potential aquatic GDEs and their surface water persistence, derived consistently from Landsat satellite imagery across Australia.

The Groundwater Dependent Waterbodies (GDW) dataset is a subset of the Digital Earth Australia (DEA) Waterbodies product that has been combined with the Bureau of Meteorology’s national Groundwater Dependent Ecosystem (GDE) Atlas to produce surface waterbodies that are known/high potential aquatic GDEs. These aquatic GDEs include springs, rivers, lakes and wetlands. Where known/high potential GDEs intersected a DEA waterbody, the entire DEA waterbody polygon was retained and assigned as a GDW. Additional attributes were added to the waterbody polygons to indicate amount of overlap the waterbody had with the GDE(s) as well as the minimum, mean, median and maximum percentage of time that water has been detected in each GDW relative to the total number of clear observations (1986 to present). This web service will display a variety of layers with spatial summary statistics of the GDW dataset. These provide a first-pass representation of known/high potential aquatic GDEs and their surface water persistence, derived consistently from Landsat satellite imagery across Australia.

This South-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. Groundwater in Australia's fractured rock aquifers is stored in fractures, joints, bedding planes, and cavities within the rock mass, comprising about 40% of the country's groundwater. Much of this water can be utilized for irrigation, town water supplies, stock watering, and domestic use, based on state regulations. Fractured systems account for approximately 33% of all bores in Australia but contribute to only 10% of total extraction due to variable groundwater yield. Quantifying groundwater movement in fractured rock systems is challenging, as it depends on the distribution of major fractures. Groundwater flow direction is more influenced by the orientation of fractures than hydraulic head distribution. Recharge in fractured rock aquifers is typically localized and intermediate. In Eastern Australia, New South Wales' Lachlan Orogen, which extends from central and eastern New South Wales to Victoria and Tasmania, is a significant region with diverse lithological units, including deep marine turbidites, shallow marine to sub-areal sediments, extensive granite bodies, and volcano-intrusive complexes. This region contains various mineral deposits, such as orogenic gold, volcanic-hosted massive sulphide, sediment-hosted Cu-Au, porphyry Au-Cu, and granite-related Sn. Note: The study does not include additional Orogens in the east (New England) and west (Thomson and Delamerian). The Delamerian Orogen is present throughout western Tasmania.

This Georgina 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 Georgina Basin is a large intra-cratonic sedimentary basin in central Australia that has undergone several deformation events throughout its geological history. Its deposition began during the Neoproterozoic due to the breakup and erosion of the Rodinia Supercontinent, resulting in the broader Centralian Superbasin, encompassing the Amadeus, Georgina, Ngalia, Officer, and Savory basins. The basin's initial formation occurred as a north-west trending extensional structure in its southern part, containing thick sequences preserved in structural depo-centres such as the Toko Syncline, Dulcie Syncline, and Burke River Structural Zone. The basin unconformably overlies Proterozoic basement rocks, with its eastern boundary onlapping the Mesoproterozoic Mount Isa Province. The Georgina Basin is connected to the Daly and Wiso basins by early to middle Cambrian seaways in some areas, while in others, they are separated by basement highs like the Tomkinson, Warramunga, and Davenport provinces. The northern Georgina Basin is overlain by Mesozoic rocks of the Carpentaria Basin, and the southern basin is covered by Cenozoic deposits. The stratigraphy and rock types within the Georgina Basin include Neoproterozoic rock units in the southern parts correlated with the Centralian Superbasin, characterized by dolostone, tillite, sandstone, quartzite, siltstone, conglomerate, and shale. The basin's structure has been moderately deformed by folding and faulting, with the most significant deformation in its southern part related to the Ordovician to Carboniferous Alice Springs Orogeny. The basin's development occurred in several stages, including Neoproterozoic rifting and subsidence, tectonic activity during the Petermann Orogeny, Early Cambrian rifting, Middle to late Cambrian foreland loading and deposition, Early Ordovician minor rifting, transpression during the Alice Springs Orogeny, and a final phase of synorogenic siliclastic sedimentation in a foreland basin setting, is limited to southern depo-centres. Overall, the Georgina Basin's complex geological history has resulted in a diverse array of sedimentary rocks and structural features, making it a significant area of interest for geological studies and resource exploration in central Australia.

This Officer 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 Officer Basin is one of Australia's largest intra-cratonic sedimentary basins, spanning approximately 525,000 square kilometres. It contains a thick sedimentary sequence, ranging up to 10,000 m in depth, composed of rocks from the Neoproterozoic to Late Devonian periods. The basin features diverse depositional environments, including marine and non-marine siliclastic and carbonate units, evaporites, and minor volcanic deposits. The Neoproterozoic succession exhibits a range of depositional settings, including pro-delta to shelf, fluvial to shallow marine, lagoonal, glacial, and aeolian systems. The Cambrian to Ordovician sequence reveals evidence of fluvial, shallow marine, aeolian, sabkha to playa, and lacustrine settings. Volcanic rocks occur sporadically within the sequence, like the Cambrian Table Hill Volcanics in WA and the Neoproterozoic Cadlareena Volcanics in SA. The Officer Basin is considered a remnant of the larger Centralian Superbasin that formed during the Neoproterozoic, covering a vast region in central Australia. The Centralian Superbasin formed as a sag basin during the Tonian, accumulating fluvial, marine, and evaporitic sediments, followed by Neoproterozoic glacial deposits. The long-lasting Petermann Orogeny affected the earlier depositional systems, with extensive uplift along the northern margin of the basin leading to deposition of widespread fluvial and marine siliciclastic and carbonate sediments spanning the terminal Proterozoic to Late Cambrian. The Delamerian Orogeny renewed deposition and reactivated existing structures, and promoted extensive basaltic volcanism in the central and western regions of the basin. Later events are a poorly understood stage, though probably involved continued deposition until the Alice Springs Orogeny uplifted the region, terminating sedimentation in the Late Ordovician or Silurian. A suspected Late Devonian extensional event provided space for fluvial siliciclastic sediment deposition in the north-east. Today, the Officer Basin features four distinct structural zones: a marginal overthrust zone along the northern margin, a zone with rupturing by salt diapirs across the main depositional centre, a central thrusted zone, and a broad gently dipping shelf zone that shallows to the south.