Constraining probabilistic chloride mass-balance recharge estimates using baseflow and remotely sensed evapotranspiration: the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer in northern Australia

Crosbie, Russell; Rachakonda, Praveen Kumar

doi:10.1007/s10040-021-02323-1

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Deeper groundwater discharge and extensive groundwater transpiration may both contribute to the increase in groundwater salinity observed in parts of the Mataranka Springs Complex. Whilst springs are the more obvious groundwater discharge feature in the landscape, there is significant groundwater evapotranspiration throughout the complex, consistent with a net annual evaporative flux estimated by remote sensing (~ 250 mm year –1 ) 27 . This net evaporative flux would tend to increase the salinity of shallow groundwater, as is commonly observed in other regional groundwater discharge zones in arid environments 28 , 29 .…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Groundwater sources for the Mataranka Springs (Northern Territory, Australia)

Lamontagne

Suckow

Gerber

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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The Mataranka Springs Complex is the headwater of the iconic Roper River of northern Australia. Using environmental tracers measured in springs and nearby boreholes, the origin of groundwater contributing to the springs was evaluated to help assess the impact of proposed groundwater extraction in the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer (CLA) for irrigation agriculture and for hydraulic fracturing in the Beetaloo Sub-basin (an anticipated world-class unconventional gas reserve). Major ions, Sr, 87Sr/86Sr, δ18O-H2O, δ2H-H2O, 3H, 14C-DIC were consistent with regional groundwater from the Daly and Georgina basins of the CLA as the sources of water sustaining the major springs (Rainbow and Bitter) and one of the minor springs (Warloch Pond). However, 3H = 0.34 TU in another minor spring (Fig Tree) indicated an additional contribution from a young (probably local) source. High concentrations of radiogenic 4He (> 10–7 cm3 STP g–1) at Rainbow Spring, Bitter Spring and in nearby groundwater also indicated an input of deeper, older groundwater. The presence of older groundwater within the CLA demonstrates the need for an appropriate baseline characterisation of the vertical exchange of groundwater in Beetaloo Sub-basin ahead of unconventional gas resource development.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Groundwater sources for the Mataranka Springs (Northern Territory, Australia)

Lamontagne

Suckow

Gerber

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…Chloride concentrations in groundwater are widely available or can be reliably estimated from total dissolved solids or electrical conductivity measurements (e.g., Cartwright et al 2017b), and values of long‐term average precipitation are generally widely available and/or simple to obtain (at least over the period of climate records). Cl P concentrations are more challenging to determine (Guan et al 2010; Barua et al 2021; Crosbie and Rachakonda 2021). Hutton (1976) developed an empirical formula to estimate Cl P as a function of distance from the coastline and Guan et al (2010) attributed 70% of the variation of Cl P in their study of the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia to distance from the coastline.…”

Section: Chloride Mass Balance Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given its simple implementation and modest data requirements, the CMB method is the most widely used recharge estimation technique in Australia (Crosbie et al 2010; Davies and Crosbie 2018) and has been used across a broad range of geographical locations and climates (e.g., Harrington et al 2002; Cartwright et al 2007; Guan et al 2010; Ordens et al 2012; Love et al 2013; Harrington 2015; Groundwater Resource Management 2018; Barua et al 2021; Crosbie and Rachakonda 2021).…”

Section: Chloride Mass Balance Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The CMB method is widely used to estimate long‐term average groundwater recharge. Despite the simplicity of the CMB method, obtaining reliable estimates of the long‐term chloride concentration in rainfall is a key source of uncertainty in its application (Guan et al 2010; Barua et al 2021; Crosbie and Rachakonda 2021). To address this limitation, Davies and Crosbie (2018) produced a chloride deposition map of the Australian continent to facilitate the selection of appropriate parameters for the application of the CMB method, following similar studies in Australia (e.g., Guan et al 2010) and Europe (e.g., Delalieux et al 2006; Alcalá and Custodio 2008).…”

Section: Chloride Mass Balance Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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CMBEAR: Python‐Based Recharge Estimator Using the Chloride Mass Balance Method in Australia

Irvine

Cartwright

2021

Groundwater

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The chloride mass balance (CMB) method is widely used to estimate long-term rates of groundwater recharge. In regions where surface water runoff is negligible, recharge can be estimated using measurements of chloride concentrations of groundwater and precipitation, and an estimate of long-term average rainfall. This paper presents the Chloride Mass Balance Estimator of Australian Recharge (CMBEAR), a Jupyter (Python) Notebook that is set up to rapidly apply the CMB method using gridded maps of chloride deposition rates across the Australian continent. For an Australian context, the chloride deposition rate and rainfall maps have been provided. Thus, CMBEAR requires only a spreadsheet with the groundwater chloride concentration, the latitude and longitude of the sample location, and some simple user inputs. CMBEAR may be easily applied in other regions, providing that a gridded chloride deposition map is available. Recharge estimates from CMBEAR are compared against published applications of the CMB method. CMBEAR is also applied to a large dataset from the Northern Territory and is used to produce a gridded map of recharge for western Victoria. CMBEAR provides a reproducible and straightforward approach to apply the CMB method to estimate groundwater recharge.

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“…chloride mass balance) to a regular grid across regional study areas using regression kriging (e.g. Crosbie et al, 2018, and Crosbie and Rachakonda, 2021.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A high-resolution map of diffuse groundwater recharge rates for Australia

Lee,

Irvine,

Duvert

et al. 2024

Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci.

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Abstract. Estimating groundwater recharge rates is important to understand and manage groundwater. Numerous studies have used collated recharge datasets to understand and project regional- or global-scale groundwater recharge rates. However, recharge estimation methods all have distinct assumptions, quantify different recharge components and operate over different temporal scales. We use over 200 000 groundwater chloride measurements to estimate groundwater recharge rates using an improved chloride mass balance (CMB) method across Australia. Groundwater recharge rates were produced stochastically using gridded chloride deposition, runoff and precipitation datasets. After filtering out groundwater recharge rates where the assumptions of the method may have been compromised, 98 568 estimates of recharge were produced. The resulting groundwater recharge rates and 17 spatial datasets were integrated into a random forest regression algorithm, generating a high-resolution (0.05°) model of groundwater recharge rates across Australia. The regression reveals that climate-related variables, including precipitation, rainfall seasonality and potential evapotranspiration, exert the most significant influence on groundwater recharge rates, with vegetation (the normalised difference vegetation index or NDVI) also contributing significantly. Importantly, the mean values of both the recharge point dataset (43.5 mm yr−1) and the spatial recharge model (22.7 mm yr−1) are notably lower than those reported in previous studies, underscoring the prolonged timescale of the CMB method, the potential disparities arising from distinct recharge estimation methodologies and limited averaging across climate zones. This study presents a robust and automated approach to estimate recharge using the CMB method, offering a unified model based on a single estimation method. The resulting datasets, the Python script for recharge rate calculation and the spatial recharge models collectively provide valuable insights for water resource management across the Australian continent, and similar approaches can be applied globally.

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Constraining probabilistic chloride mass-balance recharge estimates using baseflow and remotely sensed evapotranspiration: the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer in northern Australia

Cited by 15 publications

References 68 publications

Groundwater sources for the Mataranka Springs (Northern Territory, Australia)

Groundwater sources for the Mataranka Springs (Northern Territory, Australia)

CMBEAR: Python‐Based Recharge Estimator Using the Chloride Mass Balance Method in Australia

A high-resolution map of diffuse groundwater recharge rates for Australia

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