Abstract
Groundwater samples were obtained from the Cooper Basin, Eromanga Basin and Lake Eyre Basin as part of Stage 3 of the Cooper GBA project. The Eromanga Basin is a part of the Great Artesian Basin. Evans et al. (2020) and Holland et al. (2020) provide detail on hydrogeology of the Cooper GBA region. In total 39 samples were collected from a range of hydrogeological settings in two field campaigns. One field campaign focussed on obtaining groundwater samples from bores drawing groundwater from Eromanga Basin and overlying Lake Eyre Basin (LBWCo (2020), Dataset 1). Reservoir water samples were collected by petroleum companies on behalf of the GBA program (Dataset 2). Where possible the samples were clustered to provide hydrochemical information at various depths. The locations of bores that were sampled are outlined in Figure 3. The sample dataset (Dataset 3, and Dataset 4) is comprised of: – Sixteen from shallow sub-artesian aquifers either the Winton Formation or the Cenozoic Lake Eyre Basin (bores less than 100 m deep). – Thirteen deep GAB bores (sample depths from 1100 to 2070 m). – Ten samples from petroleum wells producing from deep hydrocarbon reservoirs in the Cooper and Eromanga basins. Hydrochemical analyses include: field parameters, major and minor ions, hydrocarbons, as well as environmental groundwater tracers. Environmental groundwater tracers include; Strontium isotopes, noble gases including 4He, stable isotopes of water, stable isotopes of hydrogen and carbon from methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), as well as radioactive tracers - tritium (3H), Carbon 14 (14C) and Chloride 36 (36Cl). Further infromation can be found in the fact sheet 10 available from https://www.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/gba.
Attribution
Geological and Bioregional Assessment Program
History
Sampling of aquifers in Eromanga Basin (GAB) and Lake Eyre Basin (Cenozoic) was undertaken by a contractor (LBWCO Pty Ltd) in October 2020. CSIRO sampled 6 GAB bores in November 2019. Samples from production wells were collected by companies on behalf of GBA.
