Browsing by Author "Weaver, TR"

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    Constraining groundwater flow, residence ties, interaquifer mixing and aquifer properties using environmental isotopes in the southeast Murray Basin, Australia
    (Elsevier B.V., 2012-09-01) Cartwright, I; Weaver, TR; Cendón, DI; Fifield, LK; Tweed, SO; Petrides, B; Swane, IC
    Environmental isotopes (particularly δ18O, δ2H, and δ13C values, 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and a14C) constrain geochemical processes, recharge distribution and rates, and inter-aquifer mixing in the Riverine Province of the southern Murray Basin. Due to methanogenesis and the variable δ13C values of matrix calcite, δ13C values are highly variable and it is difficult to correct 14C ages using δ13C values alone. In catchments where δ13C values, 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and major ion geochemistry yield similar a14C corrections, ∼15% of the C is derived from the aquifer matrix in the silicate-dominated aquifers, and this value may be used to correct ages in other catchments. Most groundwater has a14C above background (∼2 pMC) implying that residence times are <30 ka. Catchments containing saline groundwater generally record older 14C ages compared to catchments that contain lower salinity groundwater, which is consistent with evapotranspiration being the major hydrogeochemical process. However, some low salinity groundwater in the west of the Riverine Province has residence times of >30 ka probably resulting from episodic recharge during infrequent high rainfall episodes. Mixing between shallower and deeper groundwater results in 14C ages being poorly correlated with distance from the basin margins in many catchments; however, groundwater flow in palaeovalleys where the deeper Calivil–Renmark Formation is coarser grained and has high hydraulic conductivities is considerably more simple with little inter-aquifer mixing. Despite the range of ages, δ18O and δ2H values of groundwater in the Riverine Province do not preserve a record of changing climate; this is probably due to the absence of extreme climatic variations, such as glaciations, and the fact that the area is not significantly impacted by monsoonal systems. © 2020 Elsevier B.V
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    Environmental isotopes as indicators of aquitard effectiveness, Murray Basin, Australia
    (CRC Press, 2010) Cartwright, I; Weaver, TR; Cendón, DI; Swane, IC
    The distribution of δ¹³C values,⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, and¹⁴C activities (a¹⁴C) show that considerable inter-aquifer flow occurs in the Wimmera Region of the Murray Basin, southern Australia. Many of the potential aquitards, (e.g., Bookpurnong Beds and Ettrick Marl) are ineffective barriers to groundwater flow; only the Geera Clay forms an effective aquitard and restricts inter-aquifer leakage between the Loxton-Parilla Sands and/or the Murray Group and the underlying Renmark Formation. This study illustrates the utility of environmental isotopes in determining inter-aquifer flow and aquitard effectiveness in regions where direct studies of aquitards is lacking.
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    Environmental isotopes as indicators of inter-aquifer mixing, Wimmera region, Murray Basin, Southeast Australia.
    (Elsevier, 2010-10-20) Cartwright, I; Weaver, TR; Cendón, DI; Swane, I
    Complex groundwater flow systems in confined aquifers that result from geological structures, stratigraphic changes, or the absence of efficient aquitards are difficult to constrain using physical parameters alone. Despite a relatively simple aquifer configuration, the distribution of groundwater total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations, δ13C values, 87Sr/86Sr ratios, and 14C activities (a14C) in groundwater in the Wimmera region of the southern Murray Basin implies that considerable inter-aquifer flow has occurred. Given the presence of both silicate and carbonate aquifers, δ13C values and 87Sr/86Sr ratios are the key parameters that demonstrate inter-aquifer flow. Locally, between 40 and 95% of water from one aquifer has infiltrated the underlying aquifer homogenising many aspects of the groundwater geochemistry. Groundwater residence times estimated from a14C range from modern to > 30 ka and the distribution of 14C residence times confirm that inter-aquifer flow is regional scale and long term. Recharge of the deepest aquifers occurs across a broad region and not solely at the basin margins. Vertical leakage rates are ~ 6–10 × 10−3 m/year and long-term recharge rates 0.1–0.2 mm/year (< 1% of annual rainfall). Groundwater from this region is a locally valuable resource and failure to recognise that inter-aquifer flow occurs threatens the sustainability of this resource. © 2010, Elsevier Ltd.
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    Physical hydrogeology and environmental isotopes to constrain the age, origins, and stability of a low-salinity groundwater lens formed by periodic river recharge: Murray Basin, Australia.
    (Elsevier, 2010-01-15) Cartwright, I; Weaver, TR; Simmons, CT; Fifield, LK; Lawrence, CR; Chisari, R; Varley, S
    A low-salinity (total dissolved solids, TDS, <5000 mg/L) groundwater lens underlies the Murray River in the Colignan–Nyah region of northern Victoria, Australia. Hydraulic heads, surface water elevations, δ18O values, major ion geochemistry, 14C activities, and 3H concentrations show that the lens is recharged from the Murray River largely through the riverbank with limited recharge through the floodplain. Recharge of the lens occurs mainly at high river levels and the low-salinity groundwater forms baseflow to some river reaches during times of low river levels. Within the lens, flow through the shallow Channel Sands and deeper Parilla Sands aquifers is sub-horizontal. While the Blanchetown Clay locally separates the Channel Sands and the Parilla Sands, the occurrence of recently recharged low-salinity groundwater below the Blanchetown Clay suggests that there is considerable leakage through this unit, implying that it is not an efficient aquitard. The lateral margin of the lens with the regional groundwater (TDS >25,000 mg/L) is marked by a hectometer to kilometer scale transition in TDS concentrations that is not stratigraphically controlled. Rather this boundary represents a mixing zone with the regional groundwater, the position of which is controlled by the rate of recharge from the river. The lens is part of an active and dynamic hydrogeological system that responds over years to decades to changes in river levels. The lens has shrunk during the drought of the late 1990s to the mid 2000s, and it will continue to shrink unless regular high flows in the Murray River are re-established. Over longer timescales, the rise of the regional water table due to land clearing will increase the hydraulic gradient between the regional groundwater and the groundwater in the lens, which will also cause it to degrade. Replacement of low-salinity groundwater in the lens with saline groundwater will ultimately increase the salinity of the Murray River reducing its utility for water supply and impacting riverine ecosystems. © 2010, Elsevier Ltd.