1887
ASEG2004 - 17th Geophysical Conference
  • ISSN: 2202-0586
  • E-ISSN:

Abstract

In the Riverland region, the South Australian Salinity Mapping and Management Support Project used the helicopter-borne RESOLVE EM system to map conductive fine textured materials (the Blanchetown Clay) in the unsaturated zone as a basis for groundwater recharge modelling. Ground validation of the AEM data included 14 boreholes, which target various observed conductivity responses that were present in the 106 kHz and 25 kHz apparent conductivity images. Evidence from down-hole induction logs, measurements of water and chloride content and texture from drill core, indicates that conductivity can be used to map near surface clay. However, ambiguity arises due to the presence of shallow conductive saline groundwater, which can be confused with the presence of clay.

A "Clay thickness map", produced from the constrained inversion of the HEM data effectively depicts the spatial distribution and thickness of clay, and eliminates problems of separating areas of clay from areas of conductive groundwater.

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/content/journals/10.1071/ASEG2004ab146
2004-12-01
2026-01-23
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References

  1. Brodie, R., Green, A. and Munday, T., 2004, Constrained inversion of helicopter AEM data for mapping the Blanchetown Clay: Extended Abstracts ASEG 17th Geophysical Conference and Exhibition, Sydney 2004.
  2. Brown, C. and Stephenson, A. 1991, Basin, Southeastern Australia, 429.
  3. Cook, P. and Kilty, S., 1992, A helicopter-borne electromagnetic survey to delineate groundwater recharge rates: Water Resources Research, 28, 2953-2961.
  4. Cowey, D., Game, D. and Tovey, A., 2003, Riverland and Tintinara, South Australia, RESOLVE Geophysical Survey, acquisition and processing report. Report to the Bureau of Rural Sciences, available from Geoscience Australia.
  5. Green, A., Brodie, R. and Munday, T., 2004, Interpretation of helicopter AEM data of the Riverland Area, South Australia: Extended Abstracts ASEG 17th Geophysical Conference and Exhibition, Sydney 2004.
  6. Rhoades, J.D., Raats, P.A.C. and Prather, R.S. 1976, Effects of liquid-phase electrical conductivity, water content, and surface conductivity on bulk soil electrical conductivity: Soil Science Society of America Journal, 40, 651-665.
/content/journals/10.1071/ASEG2004ab146
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Blanchetown Clay; groundwater recharge; HEM; Murray Basin; validation
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