Strontium isotopes in the atmosphere, geosphere and hydrosphere: Developing a systematic "fingerprinting" framework of rocks and water in sedimentary basins in eastern Australia.

Understanding the connection between aquifers, aquitards, and groundwater-dependant ecosystems remains a key challenge when developing a conceptual hydrogeological model. The aim of this study was to develop a systematic strontium isotope (Sr/Sr) fingerprinting framework of rocks and water within the sedimentary Surat and Clarence-Moreton basins (SCM basins) in eastern Australia - an area of extensive coal seam gas development and high potential for aquifer and groundwater-surface water connectivity. To do this, new groundwater samples (n = 298) were collected, analyzed and integrated with published data (n = 154) from the basins' major sedimentary, volcanic and alluvial aquifers, including the major coal seam gas target, the Walloon Coal Measures.

Australian gridded chloride deposition-rate dataset.

Chloride deposition-rate measurements at points within Australia are upscaled to the entire continent on a regular 0.05° grid. The upscaling uses a double-exponential correlation between deposition rate and distance to the coast, where the parameters in the double-exponential are spatially varying.

Using 3D geological modelling and geochemical mixing models to characterise alluvial aquifer recharge sources in the upper Condamine River catchment, Queensland, Australia.

The influence of mountain front recharge on the water balance of alluvial valley aquifers located in upland catchments of the Condamine River basin in Queensland, Australia, is investigated through the development of an integrated hydrogeological framework. A combination of three-dimensional (3D) geological modelling, hydraulic gradient maps, multivariate statistical analyses and hydrochemical mixing calculations is proposed for the identification of hydrochemical end-members and quantification of the relative contributions of each end-member to alluvial aquifer recharge. The recognised end-members correspond to diffuse recharge and lateral groundwater inflows from three hydrostratigraphic units directly connected to the alluvial aquifer.

Assessment of groundwater-surface water interaction using long-term hydrochemical data and isotope hydrology: Headwaters of the Condamine River, Southeast Queensland, Australia.

A spatial analysis of hydrochemical data of groundwater and surface water was undertaken to identify groundwater-surface water connectivity in the headwaters of the Condamine River catchment, Southeast Queensland, Australia. An assessment of long-term hydrochemical and water level data supplemented by stable- and radioisotope measurements following a prolonged dry period dominated by baseflow, helped in determining patterns of interaction in different tributaries of the upper Condamine catchment. A conceptual hydrological model representing the major hydrochemical processes and their implications for stream-aquifer connectivity was developed and tested using multiple lines of evidence.

Hydrochemical evolution and groundwater flow processes in the Galilee and Eromanga basins, Great Artesian Basin, Australia: a multivariate statistical approach.

The Galilee and Eromanga basins are sub-basins of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB). In this study, a multivariate statistical approach (hierarchical cluster analysis, principal component analysis and factor analysis) is carried out to identify hydrochemical patterns and assess the processes that control hydrochemical evolution within key aquifers of the GAB in these basins. The results of the hydrochemical assessment are integrated into a 3D geological model (previously developed) to support the analysis of spatial patterns of hydrochemistry, and to identify the hydrochemical and hydrological processes that control hydrochemical variability.