title: Developing a 3D hydrogeological framework for Australia
Creators: name: U., Czarnota
name: N., Rollet
name: J., Vizy
name: C., Norton
name: C., Hannaford
name: A., McPherson
name: N., Symington
name: T., Evans
name: E., Nation
name: M., Peljo
name: C., Bishop
name: A., Boronkay
name: Z., Ahmad
name: M., Szczepaniak
name: B., Bradshaw
name: J., Wilford
name: S., Wong
name: M., Bonnardot
name: J., Hope
Publisher: name: Commonwealth of Australia (Geoscience Australia)
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: National Groundwater Systems
subject: national geological framework
subject: chronostratigraphy
subject: national groundwater datasets
subject: Stratigraphy
subject: hydrogeological surfaces
subject: Australian Borehole Stratigraphic Units Compilation
subject: 3D models
subject: principal aquifers
subject: Stratigraphy (incl. biostratigraphy
subject: sequence stratigraphy and basin analysis)
subject: Published_External

description: <strong>Output Type:</strong> Exploring for the Future Extended Abstract<br><strong>Short abstract: </strong>Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth and relies heavily on groundwater to support communities, industries, ecosystems and cultural values. Despite groundwater resources transcending state and territory boundaries, each jurisdiction operates under different legislative frameworks, policies and water management approaches, and accordingly coordination between jurisdictions is crucial to achieving the common goal of water security. Improving the alignment of water strategies between states and territories requires a national coordination of data collation with common standards and integration of subsurface geology, using a consistent and up-to-date 3D hydrogeological framework for better understanding of groundwater systems and flow pathways at regional to national scales. Despite ever increasing data availability in each jurisdiction there is a lack of comprehensive knowledge regarding cross-jurisdictional sedimentary architecture, aquifer extents and hydraulic connections. Geoscience Australia, through the Exploring for the Future program, is developing a consistent national chronostratigraphic framework to underpin the development of 3D (hydro)geological models which can be used to standardise hydrogeological classifications, update borehole stratigraphy and provide a basis for integrating diverse geoscientific datasets. By collaborating with jurisdictions to harmonise 3D geology nationally through correlation with the geological time scale, aquifer boundaries can be updated and shared with other collaborators such as the Bureau of Meteorology to ensure that national groundwater datasets are updated with the latest geological knowledge. This chronostratigraphic method is suitable for sedimentary basins and provides a consistent platform to support effective resource assessment and management, infrastructure planning, and environmental impact assessment at regional and national scales.<br><strong>Citation: </strong>Rollet, N., Vizy, J., Norton, C.J., Hannaford, C., McPherson, A., Symington, N., Evans, T., Nation, E., Peljo, M., Bishop, C., Boronkay, A., Ahmad, Z., Szczepaniak, M., Bradshaw, B., Wilford, J., Wong, S., Bonnardot, M.A. &amp; Hope, J., 2024. Developing a 3D hydrogeological framework for Australia. In: Czarnota, K. (ed.) Exploring for the Future: Extended Abstracts, Geoscience Australia, Canberra, https://doi.org/10.26186/149418