It’s the most wonderful time of the year — time for the National and Western Australian chapter’s annual general meeting and student night. Come along and devour a delicious free meal, learn about what’s been going on last year and prospects for 2013, vote for next year’s officers, and be entertained and educated by research presentations.
The event will be on Monday 26 November 2012 from 5:15 pm to 8 pm. The venue is City West Reception Centre, 45 Plaistowe Mews, West Perth, 6005. A map is shown below; free parking permits are available on the night for parking underneath City West / Scitech.
Please see the attached AGM and Student Night Agenda 2012.
To register, please email Mariajose Romero-Segura at iah.wa.chapter@gmail.com to ensure your place at the table.
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Abstracts for Student Presentations:
Mike Bartlett, UWA MSc Hydrogeology: Water and Salt Dynamics in Arid Zone Soils Using HYDRUS‑1D
This study investigates the unsaturated/saturated water and salt dynamics of soil profiles of various material types typically found in arid zone environments such as the Wheatbelt of Western Australia. HYDRUS-1D modelling software was used to simulate the water storage and salt accumulation characteristics of various soil materials in response to various stimuli including precipitation, evaporation, evapotranspiration, plant root uptake and freshwater inundation events.
The study investigates the comparative plant root zone salt accumulation for various soil types (sand, silty loam, sandy clay and clay) in response to simulated prolonged current climatic conditions. The relative improvement in root zone salt concentrations in response to freshwater surface inundation and subsequent flushing of the salt affected profile is also investigated. Finally the effect of salt diffusion between saline and fresh water in the saturated profile was investigated using a literature derived value for the salt diffusion coefficient.
The results of this study indicate that the accumulation of salt in the root zone is much greater for the sand and silty loam profile than for the sandy clay and clay profiles. Modelling results also indicate that the improvement in root zone salt concentrations following a freshwater surface inundation event are much greater for the sand and silty loam profiles than for the sandy clay and clay profiles. The results of salt diffusion modelling indicate that soil type does not significantly affect the degree to which underlying saline groundwater will diffuse salt into overlying freshwater. Therefore this process is unlikely to influence the effectiveness of salt flushing achieved by freshwater inundation.
Michael Carroll, UWA MSc Hydrogeology: The influence of palaeochannel morphology on the hydrogeology of the Solomon CID – a spatial analysis application
The Solomon CID is a palaeochannel aquifer system coincident with an iron ore mine under construction. The aquifer will be dewatered, and this research aimed to develop new tools for analysing this type of aquifer system.
Surfaces representing the top of bedrock, Lower CID and Upper CID were generated from resource exploration data. Spatial analysis of the surfaces resulted in mathematical equations representing the morphological features of the channel’s aquifers. The influence of channel morphology on hydraulic conductivity was tested. No clear correlations were determined from the study, although the techniques developed have potential for discrete modelling of water balance components within a palaeochannel or strip aquifer system.
