Abstract:
The HARSD method (Hydrogeomorphic
Analysis of Regional Spatial
Data) was applied for salinity assessment
of the 1,075 km2 Little River Catchment,
Macquarie Valley, NSW. Automated
terrain classification was performed using
a 25 m resolution Digital Elevation Model
(DEM) and potential groundwater
discharge sites were identified from a
regional-scale hydraulic head surface
(HHS) constructed from sparselydistributed
borehole data using GIS and
hydrologic techniques. These sites
compared favourably with mapped
salinity in the southern area, but less so
elsewhere. Transmissivity, spatially
distributed recharge and the HHS formed
input to Flownet Analysis Software
(FAS), a steady-state groundwater model
associated with HARSD, to provide
preliminary groundwater and, by
inference, salt flux estimates for the 735
km2 Buckinbah Creek subcatchment.
Phase-II work will investigate salinity in
a high-risk subcatchment of Buckinbah
Creek, using hydrological, hydroecological
and remote sensing techniques.
