Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme ope ....Sustaining intensive agriculture through droughts and floods. This project aims to develop state-of-the-art conceptual and numerical models of river-soil-groundwater interactions to address complex and persistent questions on water sustainability in the Lower Burdekin Delta, Queensland, where groundwater pumping to irrigate sugarcane has been supplemented by artificial recharge for over 50 years. This project expects to deliver new knowledge of critical aquifer processes to inform the scheme operation, the largest in the country. Expected outcomes include ground-breaking management plans for the aquifer-replenishment scheme. Anticipated benefits involve balancing the needs of agriculture and the protection of pristine environments, including groundwater discharge to the Great Barrier Reef.
Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE220100907
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$434,107.00
Summary
Tracking groundwater variations via 4-dimensional seismic imaging. This project aims to develop an advanced seismic framework to sense subtle subsurface changes related to groundwater variations beneath the Great Artesian Basin. Groundwater storage is subject to climatic and anthropogenic forcing, but modern monitoring tools are not sufficient to capture its detailed response in both time and space. Using novel techniques and extensive seismic recordings, this project expects to generate time-la ....Tracking groundwater variations via 4-dimensional seismic imaging. This project aims to develop an advanced seismic framework to sense subtle subsurface changes related to groundwater variations beneath the Great Artesian Basin. Groundwater storage is subject to climatic and anthropogenic forcing, but modern monitoring tools are not sufficient to capture its detailed response in both time and space. Using novel techniques and extensive seismic recordings, this project expects to generate time-lapse images across the basin in unprecedented resolution to reveal the system's dynamic evolution and a static basin model to aid the interpretation. Potential benefits include improved geophysical techniques for groundwater tracking and enhanced scientific understandings to underpin future groundwater management.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180101518
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$364,200.00
Summary
Aquifers as climate logs: untangling replenishment mechanisms. This project aims to develop methods that use environmental tracers to provide detailed information about groundwater ages and relate the age structure of groundwater systems to past climatic conditions. The impacts of climate change on groundwater resources is an important question in hydrogeological studies. The age of groundwater within an aquifer represents a detailed log of past recharge events. The project will generate methods ....Aquifers as climate logs: untangling replenishment mechanisms. This project aims to develop methods that use environmental tracers to provide detailed information about groundwater ages and relate the age structure of groundwater systems to past climatic conditions. The impacts of climate change on groundwater resources is an important question in hydrogeological studies. The age of groundwater within an aquifer represents a detailed log of past recharge events. The project will generate methods for assessing the past history of groundwater resources, and provide insight into the viability of groundwater in the future. This will improve understanding of how groundwater resources will behave under a changing climate.Read moreRead less
Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate. Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure ....Unsaturated zone functioning in a semi-arid flash flood driven climate. Groundwater is the only perennial water source in arid and semiarid zones, which encompass 1/3 of the global landmass and 70 % of Australia. We still do not fully understand how the unsaturated zone contributes to groundwater recharge in semi-arid zone floodplains. We will study the dynamics of soil moisture, and its contribution to groundwater recharge respective to hydrological regimes and weather patterns. We will measure direct responses to flood events using loggers and compare them to indirect measurements inferred from hydrochemical and isotope tracer models to better understand recharge patterns, evaporative losses, and interactions between surface runoff, floodplains, and aquifers at different positions in the landscape.Read moreRead less
Effect of faults and barriers on groundwater flow and solute transport. This project will address the role of faults and dykes on groundwater flow and solute transport. Faults and dykes can act as barriers to groundwater flow, yet faults can also be conduits for flow through otherwise impermeable layers. Understanding their role is critical to assessing the impacts of mining, unconventional gas and water resource developments. This project expects to develop new methods to quantify groundwater f ....Effect of faults and barriers on groundwater flow and solute transport. This project will address the role of faults and dykes on groundwater flow and solute transport. Faults and dykes can act as barriers to groundwater flow, yet faults can also be conduits for flow through otherwise impermeable layers. Understanding their role is critical to assessing the impacts of mining, unconventional gas and water resource developments. This project expects to develop new methods to quantify groundwater flow through and along faults and dykes by combining geological, hydraulic and geochemical approaches with detailed 3D numerical models. The expected outcome will be an improved understanding of the role of faults and barriers in subsurface hydrology, and an improved ability to model complex groundwater systems.Read moreRead less
Physical and geochemical coupling in a subterranean estuary. This project aims to determine and quantify key mechanisms governing chemical transport and transformation in a tidally dominated subterranean estuary. The project will be the first attempt worldwide to measure simultaneously the temporal and spatial variability of coupled physical and geochemical processes in the intertidal zone of a subterranean estuary. The project will generate much-needed understanding of the role of subterranean ....Physical and geochemical coupling in a subterranean estuary. This project aims to determine and quantify key mechanisms governing chemical transport and transformation in a tidally dominated subterranean estuary. The project will be the first attempt worldwide to measure simultaneously the temporal and spatial variability of coupled physical and geochemical processes in the intertidal zone of a subterranean estuary. The project will generate much-needed understanding of the role of subterranean estuaries in controlling fluxes of land-derived chemicals to the ocean via submarine groundwater discharge. The outcomes will have important implications for assessing and minimising the impact of groundwater contamination on the coastal zone. It will provide better understanding of the pathway of land-derived nutrients and contaminants entering coastal waters, leading to improvement of strategies for sustainable coastal resources management and development, and integration of upland and lowland catchments management.Read moreRead less
Hydrogeological drivers and fate of spring flow in a semi-arid setting. In arid and semi-arid climates, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems often rely on groundwater springs. Spring hydrology depends on complex relationships between underlying aquifers and surface conditions, leading to high uncertainties in understanding aquifer-spring-wetland hydrology, which is critical for spring ecosystem protection and to inform management of relevant groundwater-affecting activities. This project will appl ....Hydrogeological drivers and fate of spring flow in a semi-arid setting. In arid and semi-arid climates, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems often rely on groundwater springs. Spring hydrology depends on complex relationships between underlying aquifers and surface conditions, leading to high uncertainties in understanding aquifer-spring-wetland hydrology, which is critical for spring ecosystem protection and to inform management of relevant groundwater-affecting activities. This project will apply novel hydrogeophysical and hydrochemical methods, and computer modelling, to investigate the source aquifer of, and fate of discharge from the Doongmabulla Springs Complex (DSC), located in an area of future development. Project results will inform spring vulnerability to development pressures and climate effects.Read moreRead less
New Stratigraphy and Geostatistics for Gas and Water Resources . Management of gas and water resources is of significant importance to the Australian economy and society. Industry and government use digital modelling to assist in resources management. The first step in modelling is to correlate geological data and then use geostatistics to estimate properties in areas without data. This project aims to produce a new geological framework for the Surat Basin underpinned by new zircon ages and ages ....New Stratigraphy and Geostatistics for Gas and Water Resources . Management of gas and water resources is of significant importance to the Australian economy and society. Industry and government use digital modelling to assist in resources management. The first step in modelling is to correlate geological data and then use geostatistics to estimate properties in areas without data. This project aims to produce a new geological framework for the Surat Basin underpinned by new zircon ages and ages of fossils in sediments and a new geostatistical methodology to better represent flow properties in coal seams and aquifers. This is expected result in a more accurate modelling methodology that can be used by industry and government for modelling resources, including in other basins in Australia and worldwide.Read moreRead less
Identifying how a non-stationary environment affects species persistence. This project aims to achieve the first application of new ecological theory that accounts for environmental change and species’ ability to respond to that change, using caddisflies that lay eggs on rocks in rivers as a case study. Long-term change in climate has always occurred but is often not accounted for when estimating future population sizes and extinction risk in species. Outcomes will include new knowledge on chang ....Identifying how a non-stationary environment affects species persistence. This project aims to achieve the first application of new ecological theory that accounts for environmental change and species’ ability to respond to that change, using caddisflies that lay eggs on rocks in rivers as a case study. Long-term change in climate has always occurred but is often not accounted for when estimating future population sizes and extinction risk in species. Outcomes will include new knowledge on changing habitat availability, species’ ability to move in the landscape and successfully lay and hatch eggs, while creating a general template for use in other species. This will lead to significant benefits for conservation efforts worldwide, via the template’s inclusion in accepted extinction assessment protocols.Read moreRead less