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Kenneth Lawrie, Geoscience Australia (Australia)
Colin Pain, Geoscience Australia (Australia)
Steve Rogers, CRC LEME (Australia)
Richard Creswell, CSIRO Land and water (Australia)
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The geosciences are playing an increasingly important role in providing geospatial data and knowledge to underpin evidence-based decision making across a range of natural resource management (NRM) issues in Australia. A multi-disciplinary, multi-scale systems approach has been developed to tackle these issues. The approach maps and characterises key biophysical components of the hydrogeological system critical to the movement of water, salts and other solutes and nutrients in the landscape. Fundamental to this approach has been consideration of the different scales at which landscapes function geomorphologically and hydrogeologically. This approach helps determine the appropriate scale at which remotely sensed data and field calibration data should be acquired.
In depositional landscapes, airborne electromagnetic (AEM) datasets, integrated with other remotely sensed datasets (digital elevation models, airborne magnetics, airborne gamma ray radiometrics, SPOT imagery, ASTER, Landsat and MODIS) to map landscapes and groundwater systems in 4-D. These constructs provide a framework within which detailed process studies can be considered, and management strategies and actions developed. The derived products provide a basis for the application of stable isotope geochemistry, whole rock geochemistry, hydrogeochemistry, and DNA techniques to the study of soil-water, regolith-water, and plant-water interactions and dynamics. These studies are transforming our understanding of the biogeochemical functioning of regolith landscapes, including a much better appreciation of the depths and extent to which these interactions occur. These studies have led to the development of a range of new salinity hazard and risk assessment products, and salinity and acid drainage management intervention strategies. This methodology has also led to the delineation of new groundwater resources, and improved hydrogeological frameworks for their management.
Ground and airborne EM-based products have been successfully used to for more effective targeting of salinity interception schemes, locating water storage facilities, designing salinity disposal strategies, informing irrigation re-zoning, and in understanding the spatial patterns of salt accumulation in the River Murray floodplain. AEM-derived products have also been used to underpin strategies to target environmental water flows for sustaining Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems as part of the Living Murray Initiative, and to delineate new groundwater resources.
Overall, this multi-disciplinary, multi-scale approach has provided the conceptual framework for demonstrating the relevance of geoscience datasets and approaches, notably the perceived value and relevance of geophysics and other remotely sensed data and regolith studies in NRM applications. This approach underpins development of appropriate salinity groundwater management strategies and management actions.
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