River Murray Corridor

AEM Salinity Mapping Project

Maps produced by Kristen Cullen, Heike Apps, Larysa Halas, K.P.Tan, Colin Pain, Ken Lawrie, Jonathan Clarke, David Gibson, Ross C Brodie

and Vanessa Wong

© Commonwealth of Australia 2008This work is copyright. Apart from any fair dealings for the purpose of study, research, criticism, or review, as

permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.Copyright is the responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer, Geoscience Australia. Requests and enquiries should

be directed to the Chief Executive Officer, Geoscience Australia, GPO Box 378 Canberra ACT 2601.Geoscience Australia has tried to make the information in this product as accurate as possible. However, it does

not guarantee that the information is totally accurate or complete. THEREFORE YOU SHOULD NOT RELYSOLELY ON THIS INFORMATION WHEN MAKING A COMMERCIAL DECISION.

GEOCAT # 68781

ATLAS - NANGILOC TO COLIGNAN

The Boiler at entrance to Chalka Creek. Photo taken by Jonathan Clarke

© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2008

River Murray Corridor - AEM Salinity Mapping Project

NANGILOC TO COLIGNAN

FOREWARD

The River Murray Corridor (RMC) Salinity Mapping Project In 2007, the Australian Government funded an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey and complementary drilling, laboratory analysis and interpretation servicesto provide information in relation to salinity management issues along a 450km reach of the Murray River in Victoria and New South Wales, from Torrumbarry Weirin the east, westward to the South Australian border. The ‘River Murray Corridor (RMC) Salinity Mapping Project’ was undertaken underthe auspices of the Community Stream Sampling and Salinity Mapping Project(CSS&MP), administered through the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry(DAFF) and managed by the Bureau of Rural Sciences (BRS). The Project was establishedin line with the scientific and technical standards established for salinity mapping in theAustralian landscape context by the Joint Academies of Science (Spies and Woodgate, 2005). The project area contains iconic wetland areas, national and state forest parks, irrigationand dryland farming assets and the Murray River, significant areas of which are at riskfrom increasing salinisation of the River, the floodplain, and underlying groundwaterresources.The project area is divided into 7 sub-areas to assist with handling the large datasetsizes and to reflect changes in landscapes and salinity management issues withinthe overall project area. The 7 project sub-areas (from west to east) are: 1.Lindsay-Wallpolla/Lake Victoria Anabranch 2.Nangiloc to Colignan (including Hattah Lakes) 3.Liparoo to Robinvale 4.Robinvale to Boundary Bend 5.Boundary Bend to Nyah 6.Speewa Irrigation District 7.Barr Creek to Gunbower Island Geoscience Australia (GA) was sub-contracted to provide geophysical contractmanagement and AEM inversion services for the RMC project, while the CooperativeResearch Centre for Landscape Environments and Mineral Exploration (CRC LEME)was sub-contracted to GA for the provision of geomorphic and surface materialsmapping, and AEM salinity mapping and interpretation services. AEM data acquisition,drilling services, the geological description of borehole materials, and boreholegeophysical logging services were carried out by private contractors, and manageddirectly by BRS. The laboratory analysis of pore fluids from drillcore materials wascarried out by BRS, who also produced new water table maps for the project area. This atlas, for Nangiloc to Colignan is one in a series of 7 sub-area atlas products forthe RMC project area. The atlas contains representative map interpretation products that are provided in full within the complementary GIS for each area (Apps et al., 2009a-f).

© Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia) 2008

River Murray Corridor - AEM Salinity Mapping Project

NANGILOC TO COLIGNAN

Contents

1. Project Area 27. Groundwater Recharge

2. Satellite Imagery 28. Lateral Recharge

3. Topographic Information 29. Vertical Recharge

4. Pre-existing Hydrogeology 30. Near Surface Resistive Zones

5. Borehole Locations 31. Near Surface Conductive Zones

6. Stratigraphy & Structure 32. Conductive Groundwater

7. Landforms 33. Conductive Soils

8. Surface Materials 34. Unsaturated Salt Store (Above Regional Watertable)

9. Vegetation Structure 35. Saturated Salt Store (0-30m Below Regional Watertable)

10. NDVI Difference 36. Sub-Surface Salinity Hazard

11. Regional Watertable 37. Surface Salinity

12. Gamma Ray Spectrometry 38. Surface Salinity Hazard

13. Low Resolution Aeromagnetics 39. Thickness of Woorinen Formation

14. High Resolution Aeromagnetics 40. Thickness of Quaternary Alluvium

15. SRTM Digital Elevation Model 41. Thickness of Blanchetown Clay

16. Digital Elevation Model (10m) 42. Depth to Top of Blanchetown Clay

17. AEM Flight Survey Lines 43. Thickness of Loxton Parilla San ds

18. AEM Cross Sections 44. Depth to Top of Loxton Parilla Sands

19. AEM Slices (-5 to -10 & -15 to -20m) 45. Strandlines

20. AEM Slices (-25 to -30 & -35 to -40m) 46. Extent of Stratigraphic Units (+20 to +2m)

21. Flush Zone Cross Sections 47. Extent of Stratigraphic Units (+2 to -16m)

22. Flush Zone Thickness 48. Extent of Stratigraphic Units ( -16 to -45m)

23. Flush Zone Conductivities ( -5 to -10 & -10 to -15m) 49. Reliability of Stratigraphic Units (+30 to 0m)

24. Flush Zone Conductivities ( -15 to -20 & -20 to -25m) 50. Reliability of Stratigraphic Units (0 to -30m)

25. Extent of Flush Zones (-2 to -12m) 51. Reliability of Stratigraphic Units

26. Extent of Flush Zones (-12 to -25m)

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