Groundwater Hydrology

The Groundwater Hydrology program uses groundwater hydrology and hydrochemistry with an emphasis on:

• surface and groundwater resource assessment
• development and application of regional groundwater models
• fractured rock aquifers and isotope and tracer techniques
• vegetation and groundwater relationships.

The program comprises 34 research staff.

Skills and expertise

The program's skills and expertise include:

• Qualitative and quantitative models of surface water and groundwater interaction, with emphasis on identifying and quantifying rates of fluid exchange and the associated geometry of groundwater capture and release zones in aquifers
• Quantification of groundwater use by vegetation, recharge to and extraction from groundwater under managed native and plantation forests and identification of groundwater flow pathways in shallow aquifers with mixed vegetation cover
• Regional groundwater and surface water models to assess surface and groundwater resources of the regions and predict the impacts of current and likely future climate and land development on sustainability of these resources and environment.
• Modelling tools to predict the on-site and offsite impacts of integrated plant-based and engineering solutions for lowering saline and hypersaline shallow groundwater systems
• Modelling for the impact of groundwater extraction on stream flow and groundwater dependent ecosystems, and determining the sustainable extraction limits of groundwater and water management for irrigation associated with groundwater

Assets

The programs's assets include Isotope analytical equipment incorporating a range of techniques for tracing and dating groundwater and rates of exchange between groundwater systems. These tools serve to evaluate and improve our conceptual and numerical hydrological models.

Key contact

Andrew Herczeg
Research Program Leader