Groundwater Exploration Using AEM in Structurally Complex, Inverted Sedimentary Basins and Paleovalleys, Kimberley Regio
K.C. LawrieNeil SymingtonNiels B. ChristensenEldad HaberDavid MarchantTheodore R. Brandt David W. Moore Kyle E. MurrayLarysa HalasKok Piang TanRoss C. BrodieChris Harris-PascalLaura GowN. Neumann
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Summary Airborne electromagnetics (AEM) has successfully mapped and characterised groundwater systems in a range of landscapes and geological settings in the East Kimberley Region of north-western Australia. The AEM data enabled rapid imaging of key elements of hydrogeological systems in near-surface Cenozoic paleovalley, alluvial fan and colluvial sediments, and in underlying tectonically-inverted sedimentary basins. Rapid mapping and assessment of groundwater systems, MAR targets and salinity hazards involved the integration of AEM data with Ground Magnetic Resonance (GMR), seismic reflection, drilling and pump tests, borehole geophysics, soils, regolith, geological and structural mapping, and hydrogeological and hydrochemical investigations. AEM survey design was aided by the use of spatio-temporal analysis of Landsat data to identify areas of potential surface-groundwater interaction. A suite of equivalent 1D AEM inversion models produced comparable images of the sub-surface hydrostratigraphy and faults. However, 2.5D inversions produced different solutions in key locations. 3D inversions were subsequently performed, and drilling and tectonic analysis was used to assess all AEM inversion models. Recognising zones of structural complexity was important in the successful development of appropriate AEM inversion strategies and models. Overall, the success of groundwater system mapping has been due to the use of AEM within a broader, inter-disciplinary, multi-physics project framework.Keywords:
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The use of TDEM data for hydrogeological studies has increased substantially in the last few years owing to its versatility and sensitivity, which helps to determine conductor layers in the subsurface.
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Abstract The porosity of the upper layers of regolith is key to the interaction of an airless planetary body with precipitating radiation, but it remains difficult to characterize. One of the effects that is governed by regolith properties is Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) emission in the form of reflected and neutralized solar wind protons. We simulate this process for the surface of the Moon by implementing a regolith grain stacking in the ion‐solid‐interaction software SDTrimSP‐3D, finding that proton reflection significantly depends on the regolith porosity. Via comparison with ENA measurements by Chandrayaan‐1, we derive a globally averaged porosity of the uppermost regolith layers of . These results indicate a highly porous, fairy‐castle‐like nature of the upper lunar regolith, as well as its importance for the interaction with impacting ions. Our simulations further outline the possibility of future regolith studies with ENA measurements, for example, by the BepiColombo mission to Mercury.
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Abstract The production, distribution, and evolution of lunar regolith are critical in deciphering the lunar bombardment history and comprehending the transport of materials across the lunar surface, which are still not well understood. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive investigation of factors influencing the production and distribution of lunar regolith by individual simple craters. Combining our results for the impact‐generated regolith volume with a lunar production function, we developed an analytical model to describe the regolith growth process. We found that the strength of bedrock significantly affects the crater size and hence the volume of regolith produced especially for subdecameter impactors. The regolith volume produced by an individual impact crater is quantitatively characterized as a function of crater diameter and preimpact regolith thickness. This regolith production is primarily determined by how much bedrock is shattered, followed by the impact‐induced volume change of target material and lastly by the regolith volume created by secondary cratering processes. When a single crater forms, preimpact regolith thickness greatly affects the regolith distribution pattern; a larger fraction of the regolith will be distributed outside the crater rim for a deeper preimpact regolith layer. Our regolith evolution model can serve as a good first‐order estimation of the regolith growth process that provides better constraints on the regolith buffering trend than previous studies. This model also suggests that, when ignoring the contribution from large, distant impacts, the regolith growth process is dominated by impact craters at scales from a meter to a few hectometers.
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