End of year message
2021 has been a busy year for us, as we look to take the NCGRT into the next phase. This year we welcomed new partners, Rio Tinto, Charles Darwin University, Queensland University of Technology, and RMIT to the Centre. Our network amongst groundwater researchers in Australia is building, with regular online meetings and discussions. Our national cohort of PhD students are connecting via monthly online meetings, and they have benefited from great presentations from our partners and friends such as Bureau of Meteorology, Department for
Environment and Water SA, Rio Tinto, EMM Consulting and from our valued Alumni network.
Researchers have been working together in consultation with the groundwater community on a position paper analysing some of the major challenges that we need to tackle to improve the way we manage groundwater resources. We hope to have this published next year.
We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that 22 March 2022 is World Water Day, and the theme is "Groundwater: making the invisible visible". We will be doing our bit to further raise the profile of groundwater and you will be hearing more on this soon. In the meantime, we would like to thank everyone for their support through 2021, and wish you all a very Merry Christmas and safe holiday season.
Best wishes,
Peter and Fiona
Completing PhD Students
Ajiao Chen - Flinders University
Completed Sept 2021
Thesis:
GRACE-based investigation of large-scale land-atmosphere interactions
Career Aspirations:
University position
Peter Reeve - Flinders University
Completion Feb-Mar 2022
Thesis: The Removal of Organic Chemicals from Water by Aquifer Filtration in Managed Aquifer Recharge Schemes
Career Aspirations:
Research, Government or Industry
Lisa Bagger Gurieff - Queensland University of Technology
Completion Feb 2022
Thesis: An integrated approach to characterising the groundwater flow and groundwater footprint at Tamborine Mountain.
Career Aspirations:
Research, Government or Industry
NCGRT/IAH Dryland salinity after the millennium drought
Thankyou to all those who attended the Dryland Salinity forum and to our presenters Peter Cook, Steve Barnett, Richard George, Phil Dyson and Allan Nicholson for insightful presentations. For those who missed the forum you can view the recording below.
Industry Training
Australian Groundwater School
The Australian Groundwater School (AGS) has a long history of providing a fundamental introduction to groundwater science and management. Coordinated by NCGRT this 5 day course is part of the Flinders University Groundwater Hydrology Postgraduate Courses.
The course is ideal for scientific, policy and management personnel who want to gain a solid understanding of groundwater. Dates: 21-26 Feb and 4-8 July 2022
Online
Field Methods School
Become familiar with a range of hydrogeological field techniques that you will be able to confidently implement in your daily work.
This hands-on course will provide participants with practical experience in designing and executing aquifer pumping tests, groundwater sampling campaigns and techniques to obtain groundwater samples for a range of routine and novel analyses. An introduction is provided on
drilling methods and down-hole geophysics. Morning classroom lectures will provide participants with the background theory that underpins the afternoon field exercises.
Dates: 11-13 April 2022
Adelaide
Accessing Australia Groundwater Data
There is limited data on groundwater quality across NSW. To address this, the NSW Department of Industry Planning and Environment completed this year the largest ever project to acquire state-wide data on groundwater quality, at a cost of $3.4M. Visiting approximately 10% of monitoring bores in NSW, this one year-study visited 588 bores and collected 957 samples. DPIE contractors travelled 100,000 kilometres and spent 10,000 hours in the field for this project. Staff faced challenges like floods, COVID-19 restrictions and navigating a mouse plague, but despite this, 95 per cent of planned locations were visited, and samples were collected at those that were accessible (80 per cent). The analytical data include major ions, metals and a range of isotopes. Stable isotopes of Oxygen and Hydrogen were collected and analysed for all samples and Carbon 14, Tritium and Chlorine 36 samples were collected and analysed for selected samples to provide information on groundwater age and residence time. This will be a significant dataset to support project and future research, including enhancing our understanding of groundwater recharge and flow processes. The results will also help with resource management, aquifer characterisation, understanding of recharge and provide confidence to decision makers. This work would not be possible without partnerships with Water NSW, ALS and ANTO. The data is available for any stakeholder through WaterNSW.
Update and revamp of the Australian Groundwater Explorer
The Bureau of Meteorology's Australian Groundwater Explorer provides online access to a nationally consistent groundwater dataset that is essential to groundwater management, analysis and research in Australia. With the latest release, customers can access a comprehensive and up-to-date groundwater dataset, made possible by a significant uplift to the processes and technology used at the Bureau to manage groundwater data. This release includes updates to bore, borehole log, groundwater level, salinity and hydrochemistry data as well as a new 3D aquifer visualisation for the Gippsland Basin, developed in collaboration with the Geological Survey of Victoria, and two new base maps—topography and satellite imagery.
Some of the Explorer data is now also available as spatial Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) through the Australian Water Data Service (AWDS), giving customers a live connection to the Bureau's groundwater data.
Take a look at the new data in the Explorer and AWDS, and contact water@bom.gov.au for further information!
News and Updates
Calls for more groundwater experts in the field
Organisations across Australia are reporting difficulties in recruiting groundwater scientists and engineers. NCGRT has recently published a media release highlighting the need for more groundwater experts.
NCGRT Biennial Report
The Centre has moved to producing a biennial report highlighting our contribution to advancing groundwater science and education over the past two years and I think you will agree, the team has been busy!
eGroundwater Project
The EU eGroundwater Project is a citizen science and ICT-Based enhanced information systems for groundwater assessment, modelling and sustainable participatory management and is coordinated by IIAMA - Universitat Politècnica de València (SPAIN). It aims to implement advanced information systems to improve groundwater management.
UN World Water Day 2022
“Groundwater: making the invisible visible”
Every year, the World Water Day highlights a specific aspect of freshwater. The theme also sets the focus for the annual World Water Development Report. An annual theme is proposed by UN-Water Members and Partners two to three years in advance. “Groundwater: making the invisible visible” – proposed by IGRAC – will be the theme for the World Water Day 2022.
Conferences
22-24 March - International Conference on Water Resources Management and Sustainability: Solutions for Arid Regions hosted by UAE University and the Australian Pavilion at Expo 2020
11-15 April - 11th International Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (ISMAR11)
10-12 May - Australian Water Association - Oz Water '22 - Brisbane
18-23 September - 49th IAH Congress, China
21-23 November - IAH Australasian Groundwater Conference - Perth
