On the hydrology of the bauxite oases, Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Leblanc, Marc; Tweed, Sarah; Lyon, Barry J.; Bailey, Joel; Franklin, Craig E.; Harrington, Glenn A.; Suckow, Axel

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.06.001

Cited by 13 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…This flow recharges local aquifers which are confined by the impermeable sandstone and/or the underlying Cretaceous sediments of the Winton formation. Under this mechanism the lag between recharge and discharge is probably in the order of decades (Leblanc et al ., ). These aquifers are exposed through erosion at the edge of the Tertiary land surface, and most springs (75%) occur at the base of escarpments in gorges or incised gullies (Figure ).…”

Section: Overview and Hydrogeologymentioning

confidence: 97%

Obscure oases: natural, cultural and historical geography of western Queensland's Tertiary sandstone springs

Silcock

MacDermott

Laffineur

et al. 2016

Geographical Research

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The distribution of surface water dictates human and animal activity in arid zones. Although typically small, hidden, and inaccessible, springs and wells fed by local aquifers were the only sources of reliable water across vast areas of inland Australia until the last century. Compared to larger, more accessible water sources such as riverine waterholes and Great Artesian Basin discharge springs, their history is sketchy and poorly documented, although rich in intrigue and mythology. Since the expansion of artificial waters and motorised transport, many of these small oases have been forgotten, and their location and permanence are now less well-known than for thousands of years. We examine the distribution, hydrogeology, cultural history, and biological values of Tertiary sandstone springs in western Queensland based on a review of historical literature, interviews with long-term residents, and extensive field surveys. One hundred and sixty springs were documented, and nearly 40% of these have declined in flow or become inactive since pastoral settlement for reasons that are not well understood. While their decline in some areas seems related to shallow bores sunk into their local aquifers, it is possible that some smaller springs owed their existence to regular human maintenance. Others are probably naturally dynamic over decadal time scales. This study documents an almost-forgotten aspect of Queensland's natural and cultural history.

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Section: Overview and Hydrogeologymentioning

confidence: 97%

Obscure oases: natural, cultural and historical geography of western Queensland's Tertiary sandstone springs

Silcock

MacDermott

Laffineur

et al. 2016

Geographical Research

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“…The landscape is characterised by elevated bauxite plateaux, dominated by tall, dense savanna, interspersed between low-lying plains, dominated by open savanna, and river tributaries. The bauxite plateaux absorb large quantities of water during the wet season, which gets slowly released through springheads during the dry season, flowing down channels into the surrounding landscape (Specht et al 1977;Leblanc et al 2015). This hydrology allows for the formation of tall savannas with high tree biomass and a dense understorey (Bowman and Fensham 1991).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat structure facilitates coexistence of native and invasive mesopredators in an Australian tropical savanna

et al. 2023

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Context. The introduction of the cat (Felis catus) to Australia has been a key driver of the decline and extinction of the continent's endemic mammals. Currently, there is no clear long-term solution to controlling feral populations of cats at a landscape scale. As such, understanding how environmental conditions and habitat attributes can mediate the coexistence between introduced predators and native mammals can improve management outcomes for threatened species. Aim. We sought to compare the differences in habitat use by feral cats and a remnant population of the endangered northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) to understand what environmental variables allow these two mesopredators to coexist in tropical savanna of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Methods. We deployed grids of motion-activated cameras three times per year over a 3-year period, across Eucalyptus tetrodonta-dominated plateaux known to be inhabited by feral cats and northern quolls. We modelled the spatial variation in the frequencies of detection of feral cats and northern quolls (referred to as 'habitat use'), as a function of biotic and abiotic environmental variables by using a generalised linear model for consistent variables and a generalised linear mixed-effect model for fluctuating variables. Key results. Habitat use by feral cats was most frequent in areas with high fire frequencies and low tree basal area, whereas habitat use by northern quolls was most frequent in areas of high basal area of E. tetrodonta (a commonly used den tree species), topographic ruggedness, and long-unburnt savanna. Conclusions. Frequent fires in tropical savanna promote habitat use by feral cats and can result in a reduction of critical habitat for northern quolls. Implications. We postulate that remnant populations of northern quolls on Cape York Peninsula occur in less frequently burnt refugia, primarily on top of plateaux that support high-biomass tropical savanna dominated by E. tetrodonta. Our findings highlighted that threatened mammals can persist alongside introduced predators in tropical savanna but are dependent on the maintenance of structurally complex habitat.

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“…Castellini et al (2015) Impact of biochar addition on a clay soil Results showed no significant impact of biochar incorporation (5-10-20-30 g per kg −1 soil) on Ks values. Leblanc et al (2015) Hydraulic characterization of bauxite deposits…”

Section: Reference Aim Of Sfh-application Highlights Of Investigationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid and accurate measurement methods for determining soil hydraulic properties: A review

Castellini

Prima

Moret‐Fernández

et al. 2021

Journal of Hydrology and Hydromechanics

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The determination of soil hydraulic properties is important in several environmental sciences but may be expensive and time consuming. Therefore, during the last decades, a great effort has been made in soil sciences to develop relatively easy, robust, and inexpensive methods for soil hydraulic characterization. In this manuscript, we reviewed and discussed different infiltrometer techniques in light of the available experimental applications. More specifically, we considered the simplified falling head (SFH) infiltrometer technique and the single-ring infiltration experiment of the Beerkan type. Concerning this latter method, we considered different algorithms for data analysis: two simplified methods based on the analysis of transient (TSBI) and steady (SSBI) Beerkan infiltration data, and the Beerkan Estimation of Soil pedoTransfer parameters algorithm (BEST), that allows to estimate the soil characteristics curves, i.e., the soil water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity functions. For a given method, after dealing briefly theory and practice, available literature references were reported to account for specific applications in order to provide findings on method validation and application. With the aim to provide practical information on available tools for a simpler application of the reviewed methods, several video tutorials were reported to show i) how to conduct correctly field experiments and ii) how to calculate saturated hydraulic conductivity or soil hydraulic functions using user-friendly tools for data analysis. Finally, details on a new automated single-ring infiltrometer for Beerkan infiltration experiments (i.e., construction, assembly and field use) were presented.

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On the hydrology of the bauxite oases, Cape York Peninsula, Australia

Cited by 13 publications

References 41 publications

Obscure oases: natural, cultural and historical geography of western Queensland's Tertiary sandstone springs

Obscure oases: natural, cultural and historical geography of western Queensland's Tertiary sandstone springs

Habitat structure facilitates coexistence of native and invasive mesopredators in an Australian tropical savanna

Rapid and accurate measurement methods for determining soil hydraulic properties: A review

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