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GEOPHYSICAL INVESTIGATIONS IN RURAL TOWNS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
- Publisher: European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers
- Source: Conference Proceedings, 19th EEGS Symposium on the Application of Geophysics to Engineering and Environmental Problems, Apr 2006, cp-181-00006
Abstract
Western Australia has serious salinity problems both in the agricultural lands of the WA Wheatbelt and also in Rural Towns which serve the Wheatbelt. A major multi-disciplinary project –<br>Rural Towns – Liquid Assets began in mid 2005 to address salinity and water issues in 16 of the most salt affected towns. Salinity affects the infrastructure (roads, railways, buildings) and also affects the water supply. The project includes work to find more water for these towns and also more uses for the water to encourage new industries. The project includes social surveys, economics, geology and geophysics, hydrogeology, and engineering designs to mitigate the effects of salinity. Geophysics is being used to provide information on the geology of regolith and bedrock. Gravity has been widely used in this project and has proved to be very useful. This is supplemented by other geophysical methods such as time domain electromagnetics, seismic methods and borehole geophysics. This paper includes examples of work done to provide understanding of the geology and hydrogeology in project towns and how this fits in with the total project.