Menu
Research Questions/Objectives:
Brief Description of the Project: Chemistry and geochemistry are immensely important in understanding groundwater, a vital resource for a variety of things such as human consumption, agriculture, and livestock. This is true not only at the scale of these generalized scenarios, but also when considering specific applications of groundwater chemistry, for example assessing salination and/or heavy metals concentration, monitoring for environmental impact in proximity to industrial activities, and for other future potential uses.
Drought and floods can significantly modify water quality parameters and ion contents of aquifers, which in turn can have severe knock-on effects where waters are used for human, animal, and plant consumption. For example, over-salination of water can render it unsuitable for such purposes and increased major cation and trace metal contents can lead to enhanced fouling of water supply chains. Therefore, it is paramount to be able to accurately constrain water quality and analyte metrics, and for this data to be directly comparable across catchments, regions and at the national level.
While this importance is acknowledged, standardization of groundwater sampling and comparative analytics between sampling protocols is scarce. The effects of different sampling protocols, equipment and common consumables on water parameters (e.g. pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, salinity), as well as on inherent analyte concentrations (e.g. major cations, trace metals) has to date been poorly explored, quantified and compared in an internally consistent manner.
Therefore, the overarching goal of this research project is to systematically interrogate common variables in groundwater sampling (e.g. consumables used, pump flow and type, filtration methods, etc.) and to constrain the effects of these variables on important water metrics collected in both the field and lab, especially those relevant to drought, climate and environmental impact studies.
This project is a collaboration between the JCU IsoTropics Laboratory and AGE Consulting (Townsville), a field-leading expert in consulting and fieldwork associated with groundwater. Importantly, AGE has immense experience and expertise in various conventional groundwater sampling techniques and has at their disposal an array of sampling equipment. JCU also has extensive and growing experience in groundwater sampling and has developed its own rigorous sampling and analytical protocols. This project will leverage both in order to provide an academic perspective to the results and outcomes, while also being ever mindful of the utility and accessibility of this information to consulting and other industries.
Background and Significance of the Research Question to drought risk, vulnerability, preparedness, or resilience: The significance—especially now—of groundwater research is that the severe negative impacts of drought on water quality have been confirmed many times over. Reduction in rainfall impacts river flows and therefore the mobility and dilution of contaminants. The inevitable increase in droughts over summer and flash flooding in wet seasons lead to uncontrolled discharge from urban areas into receiving water courses and eventually into groundwater reservoirs. Increased residence times and lack of cycling of groundwater in drought leads to toxic and decreased dissolved oxygen levels, meanwhile increased organic carbon leads to necessary water treatment to prevent toxic by-products in water supply, and this present both human/animal health risks as well as municipal/regional economic burden and a strain on existing water supply infrastructure. Water volume decreases in drought also lead to increased salinity.
There is a plethora of research into the impact of drought on water quality particularly going into future climate change scenarios, all calling out for long-term water quality monitoring programmes. These programs need an appropriate and uniform methodology to achieve accurate, consistent and comparable data reporting across catchments to inform management methods and flag poor quality sites. Without a baseline sampling method, particularly pertinent in the adverse climate of North Queensland, effective management and further research can simply not take place – it is imperative that we work towards unified, standardized practices so that we can collectively assess water quality as we move into an uncertain future that may hold more severe droughts and flooding events (along with increased urbanization and therefore risk exposure).
Academic and research experience relevant to the honours project: I have undertaken in my JCU Bachelor of Geology a Special Topic SC3902 receiving a Distinction, where I have gained research, lab testing and report writing experience. This has solidified my interest in further research past my undergraduate degree. I also currently work as a graduate consultant at Alluvium where my work consists of surface water management and interventions as part of a research team. This experience has provided me with a vast skillset in many different programs and expanded my knowledge in water sampling substantially and has given me a solid foundation and appreciation for this research field, and a level of research maturity beyond that generally achieved within a BSc. I also plan on undertaking further training in the new year to expand my skillset and knowledge base specifically in groundwater management.
Principal Supervisor’s skills and experience in relation to this project topic: My Honours Supervisor, Dr. Brandon Mahan, is an expert in analytical chemistry, trace element and isotope geochemistry, and the application of these skillsets to hydrogeochemical research, especially in groundwater. He is the Operational Manager of the IsoTropics Geochemistry Laboratory at JCU and works closely with the JCU Advanced Analytical Centre towards developing tailored analytical techniques for major/trace element and isotope analyses in natural water samples (namely groundwater). As such, he is very well placed to supervise this project and assist me in developing and executing the planned research. Additionally, I will be in part supervised by the research team at AGE Consulting, especially as regards field sampling techniques. Cumulatively, this supervision structure generates an immensely well-suited platform for undertaking the project and research as described above.
Update to be provided.
Update to be provided.
