Monitoring groundwater flows in the Great Artesian Basin

The Great Artesian Basin is one of the world's largest groundwater aquifers and supports a number of wetlands fed by artesian springs, bores and waterholes.

Scientists from DEWNR and the University of Adelaide have been involved in a study showing the use of wetland area, acquired from analysis of high-resolution satellite imagery as an indicator of groundwater flow from springs in the Great Artesian Basin.

Professor Megan Lewis from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute was one of four researchers involved in a research article published in Ecological Indicators entitled, "A generalizable NDVI-based wetland delineation indicator for remote monitoring of groundwater flows in the Australian Great Artesian Basin".

The method developed by the scientists was tested on three spring groups in South Australia and showed strong linear relationships between spring flow rates and wetland areas, providing an approach that can be used to monitor water extraction, climate change and land use impacts for artesian spring flows.

Read the full article.

Image source: theconversation.com