Continent-scale groundwater models: constraining flow pathways across eastern Australia

Tue, 12 Jul 2022 18:00:00 +1000

Constraining the response of continental-scale groundwater flow to climate change

Sun, 13 Mar 2022 15:22:37 +1000

Plain Language Summary

Groundwater is one of Australia’s most vital resources, yet understanding how it flows through deep underground aquifer systems — especially over large distances and long timescales — remains a major challenge. This study develops a new computational framework to model groundwater flow at the continental scale, capturing both the broad flow patterns from inland to coast and the intricate local pathways through deep aquifers.

Applied to the Sydney–Gunnedah–Bowen Basin, one of Australia’s largest aquifer systems, the model reveals a stark contrast between coastal and inland groundwater. Coastal aquifers have relatively fast flow rates and water that is only about 2,000 years old, while inland aquifers move 60 times more slowly, with water that has been underground for roughly 400,000 years.

When the model is adjusted to account for the decline in borehole water levels observed since 2000, the results show that inland flow pathways shift significantly as groundwater is drawn further from recharge zones in a drying climate. This suggests that increasing water extraction from inland aquifers during drought could permanently redirect long-range underground flow paths — a finding with important implications for sustainable water management across Australia.

Constraining the response of continental-scale groundwater flow to climate extremes

Fri, 01 Oct 2021 12:40:00 +1000

Craig O'Neill | Ben Mather

Continent-scale groundwater models: constraining flow pathways across eastern Australia

Constraining the response of continental-scale groundwater flow to climate change

Plain Language Summary

Constraining the response of continental-scale groundwater flow to climate extremes