Improving water quality modelling by better understanding solute transport. Poor stream water quality is a critical problem in Australia and globally. Stream water quality depends directly on pathways and time taken for water to transport pollutants through catchments. Predicting these pathways is highly challenging and currently requires specialised data. This project aims to better model the movement of water from rainfall to streams, enable greatly improved use of water quality data routinely ....Improving water quality modelling by better understanding solute transport. Poor stream water quality is a critical problem in Australia and globally. Stream water quality depends directly on pathways and time taken for water to transport pollutants through catchments. Predicting these pathways is highly challenging and currently requires specialised data. This project aims to better model the movement of water from rainfall to streams, enable greatly improved use of water quality data routinely collected in Australia's catchments and thereby better predict water quality behaviour. Proposed field studies aim to support this development. The outcomes sought are improved planning and management of water quality in our rivers, lakes and estuaries, improved health of these water bodies and improved water supplies.Read moreRead less
Efffective Management of Water Resources in Semiarid Regions Using Remote Sensing. Due to the vast expense and difficulties to access many areas from the ground, there is currently no effective system for assessing and managing water resources over many large semi-arid regions of the world. Through the study of two complementary Basins - The Murray and Lake Chad Basins - we propose a new approach based on satellite imagery to provide regular and detailed information on the state of our water res ....Efffective Management of Water Resources in Semiarid Regions Using Remote Sensing. Due to the vast expense and difficulties to access many areas from the ground, there is currently no effective system for assessing and managing water resources over many large semi-arid regions of the world. Through the study of two complementary Basins - The Murray and Lake Chad Basins - we propose a new approach based on satellite imagery to provide regular and detailed information on the state of our water resources in these areas. These innovative techniques will yield new information on critical water issues: water availability, salinity, groundwater/surface water interactions, climate and land use change impact. This project provides the basis for sustainable water use in regional Australia.Read moreRead less
Connected Water in Semi Arid Environments. Water is undoubtedly our most valuable resource, and continued economic and social development is critically dependant on water resources. Ephemeral rivers in semi-arid areas that lie above the water table commonly recharge the underlying aquifers. In much of the Murray Basin of southeast Australia, river recharge has provided rare fresh groundwater that is both a potential source of water for irrigation and domestic supply and a buffer to saline region ....Connected Water in Semi Arid Environments. Water is undoubtedly our most valuable resource, and continued economic and social development is critically dependant on water resources. Ephemeral rivers in semi-arid areas that lie above the water table commonly recharge the underlying aquifers. In much of the Murray Basin of southeast Australia, river recharge has provided rare fresh groundwater that is both a potential source of water for irrigation and domestic supply and a buffer to saline regional groundwater entering the rivers as baseflow. This project will allow the risk to these groundwater lenses from landuse changes and river regulation to be quantified as well as constraining whether the water resources may be used sustainably. Read moreRead less
Salinity processes in Lake Eyre Basin rivers. The unregulated rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) provide a unique opportunity to study natural salinisation processes at multiple scales, in systems that have hydrological and biological similarities with dryland rivers in the Murray Darling Basin (MDB) and elsewhere. The rivers of the LEB maintain a high quality of ecological health despite salinity levels that can vary over two orders of magnitude with changing flow conditions. This project wil ....Salinity processes in Lake Eyre Basin rivers. The unregulated rivers of the Lake Eyre Basin (LEB) provide a unique opportunity to study natural salinisation processes at multiple scales, in systems that have hydrological and biological similarities with dryland rivers in the Murray Darling Basin (MDB) and elsewhere. The rivers of the LEB maintain a high quality of ecological health despite salinity levels that can vary over two orders of magnitude with changing flow conditions. This project will study salinity processes in the unregulated rivers of LEB and identify the dynamics of stream salinity using a combination of novel tracer and hydrological measurements and modelling.Read moreRead less
Measuring tree water use and calculating stand water use. The national benefit of this project is significant. Woodlands and forests transpire vast amounts of water into the atmosphere and this water is thus lost to human consumptive use. Given large variation in rainfall between years and between seasons, it is vital that water and catchment resource managers are able to estimate how much water is lost through trees. This allows estimation of the amount of water available for irrigation, drinki ....Measuring tree water use and calculating stand water use. The national benefit of this project is significant. Woodlands and forests transpire vast amounts of water into the atmosphere and this water is thus lost to human consumptive use. Given large variation in rainfall between years and between seasons, it is vital that water and catchment resource managers are able to estimate how much water is lost through trees. This allows estimation of the amount of water available for irrigation, drinking, other industrial uses or maintaining ecosystem health. This project will be the first to generate a mechanistic understanding thereby allowing estimates of water use across a range of woody ecosystems in Australia.Read moreRead less
Water exchange and mixing at the aquifer-ocean interface. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGWD) has been identified by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme as an important contamination source for coastal marine and estuarine environments. Nutrient input associated with SGWD is threatening the Great Barrier Reef. Water exchange driven by tides/waves at the shore contributes to SGWD significantly. However, no data of the water exchange rates exist. This project will measure time-varying g ....Water exchange and mixing at the aquifer-ocean interface. Submarine groundwater discharge (SGWD) has been identified by International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme as an important contamination source for coastal marine and estuarine environments. Nutrient input associated with SGWD is threatening the Great Barrier Reef. Water exchange driven by tides/waves at the shore contributes to SGWD significantly. However, no data of the water exchange rates exist. This project will measure time-varying groundwater flow and salinity distribution in the intertidal zone at two beaches to study near-shore water exchange and mixing. These unique data, providing basis for developing SGWD models, will improve the understanding and quantification of subsurface chemical fluxes to coastal waters.Read moreRead less
Airborne electromagnetic estimation of groundwater quality and distribution in the top 100m of the earth. This research will develop processing methodology to predict groundwater concentration and quality in the top 100m of the earth, using continuously sampled airborne electromagnetic data. The method to be developed will process received responses to separate and identify propagation delays, distinct from the usual diffusive delays caused by shallow conductive materials. The extracted propagat ....Airborne electromagnetic estimation of groundwater quality and distribution in the top 100m of the earth. This research will develop processing methodology to predict groundwater concentration and quality in the top 100m of the earth, using continuously sampled airborne electromagnetic data. The method to be developed will process received responses to separate and identify propagation delays, distinct from the usual diffusive delays caused by shallow conductive materials. The extracted propagation delays then predict ground moisture content. With proposed changes to transmitter hardware, we can also achieve improved shallow resolution of conductive structures, such as shallow saline groundwater layers. However, the new method will pioneer the remote detection of fresh waters.Read moreRead less
Managing Fresh-Water Resources in Saline Environments. Australian industry and urban developments often rely on a secure supply of fresh water. In many situations, the fresh water occurs adjacent to large expanses of saline water. This poses special constraints on how the fresh water can be recovered. This project undertakes careful mathematical modelling of fresh water recovery from reservoirs and from within islands (where it may be the only practical source of drinking water). The injecti ....Managing Fresh-Water Resources in Saline Environments. Australian industry and urban developments often rely on a secure supply of fresh water. In many situations, the fresh water occurs adjacent to large expanses of saline water. This poses special constraints on how the fresh water can be recovered. This project undertakes careful mathematical modelling of fresh water recovery from reservoirs and from within islands (where it may be the only practical source of drinking water). The injection and extraction of ground water in novel "mineral leaching" mining technology will also be investigated.Read moreRead less
Tidal dynamics of a subterranean estuary: Processes and functions. Coastal environments and resources are of great significance for Australia economically and socially. Water pollution in many coastal areas is a serious environmental problem, threatening marine and estuarine ecosystems. High nutrient levels in coastal waters are causing alarming damage to the Great Barrier Reef. The proposed project investigates an important mechanism underlying the chemical transfer from the aquifer to the ocea ....Tidal dynamics of a subterranean estuary: Processes and functions. Coastal environments and resources are of great significance for Australia economically and socially. Water pollution in many coastal areas is a serious environmental problem, threatening marine and estuarine ecosystems. High nutrient levels in coastal waters are causing alarming damage to the Great Barrier Reef. The proposed project investigates an important mechanism underlying the chemical transfer from the aquifer to the ocean. It will provide better understanding of the pathway of land-derived nutrients and contaminants entering coastal waters, leading to (1) improvement of strategies for sustainable coastal resources management and development and (2) integration of upland and lowland catchments management.Read moreRead less
Spatially integrated estimates of landscape water fluxes at several contrasting sites. Woodlands transpire large amounts (> 80 % of rainfall) of water into the atmosphere and this water is lost from the catchment. Australia experiences large annual and seasonal variations in rainfall. Water and catchment managers need to estimate how much water is transpired, especially as climate and land-use practices change, as this determines how much water is available for drinking, use in mining, forestr ....Spatially integrated estimates of landscape water fluxes at several contrasting sites. Woodlands transpire large amounts (> 80 % of rainfall) of water into the atmosphere and this water is lost from the catchment. Australia experiences large annual and seasonal variations in rainfall. Water and catchment managers need to estimate how much water is transpired, especially as climate and land-use practices change, as this determines how much water is available for drinking, use in mining, forestry, irrigation, and for ecosystem health purposes. This project is the first to combine the use of scintillometry to compare spatially averaged rates of water use with development of a model to predict landscape water use. By using 4 contrasting ecosystems we shall provide a deep understanding of the controls of vegetation water use.Read moreRead less