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Current research projects: Groundwater resources & environment
Projects on water supply, water quality, management support, catchment and coastal settings.
Combining hydrochemical and isotopic techniques to define river – alluvium – bedrock hydrological connectivity in a South–East Queensland catchment
Project details Scholarship: Endeavour Award (Australian Government, DEEWR) Post graduate researcher: Clément Duvert Project Supervisors: Mal Cox, Matthias Raiber, Mauricio Taulis, Herve Jourde Project Summary The aim of the research project is (i) to characterise the physical framework of the Teviot Brook catchment, and (ii) to determine the hydrological interactions within and between its components. The Teviot Brook catchment, a tributary of the Logan River, is among the areas that have been recently targeted for CSG exploration. The Jurassic sedimentary sequence of the Walloon Coal Measures (WCM) forms the bedrock in the catchment; of consideration is the brackish character of the groundwater contained in the WCM. Groundwater of elevated salinity has also been measured in sections of the overlying alluvial aquifer as well as in the stream, indicating that the different components in this catchment are likely to be hydraulically connected. It is unknown whether groundwater salinity in the alluvium is further compounded by water abstraction, and whether it is a reversible process. Gaining further insights into the hydrological processes occurring in the Teviot Brook catchment is therefore essential to provide a detailed understanding of how these systems function, especially when subject to intensive use and climate variability. Of major significance is the degree to which hydrological connectivity occurs between the three components, i.e. groundwater contained in the bedrock, the alluvial aquifer and the streamwater. 
Groundwater/Surface Water Conceptual, Hydrological and Water Quality Models: mid-Brisbane River and subcatchments
Project details Funded by Seqwater Chief Investigator (CI): Mal Cox, Matthias Raiber GSR researchers: Amy Hawke, Allan James Project Summary This project aims to compile available information on the hydrogeology and surface water systems of the mid-Brisbane River and linked sub-catchments, and their chemical character and quality to provide an understanding of controls over stream physio-chemical character. Visualisation is a key method for presenting this information. 
The Cressbrook Creek alluvial aquifer system, southeast Queensland: conceptual hydrogeological model, hydrological processes and response to flood events
Project details Funded by the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) Chief Investigator (CI): Malcolm Cox Postgraduate researcher: Adam King Project Summary Hydrological processes will be assessed using hydrochemical data, isotopes, hydrographs (water level fluctuations) and a 3D geological model of the alluvium. Pressure transducers captured water level fluctuations over an eighteen month period, including the January 2011 flood event that devastated this catchment and much of south east Queensland. These physical and chemical data sets will be assessed and integrated into a conceptual hydrogeological model of the alluvial aquifer system, with a focus on hydrological processes, such as recharge from surface water and direct recharge via infiltration of rainwater. |
