Analysis of subsurface mound spring connectivity in shale of the western margin of the Great Artesian Basin, South Australia

Mound springs provide the primary discharge mechanism for waters of the western margin of the Great Artesian Basin (GAB), Australia. Though these springs are an important resource in an arid environment, their hydraulics as they discharge from shale are poorly defined. The springs can include extensive spring tails (groundwater-dependent wetlands) and hundreds of springs in a given spring complex. Electrical resistivity imaging (ERI) was used to evaluate spring subsurface hydraulic-connectivity characteristics at three spring complexes discharging through the Bulldog Shale. The results demonstrate that fresher GAB water appears as resistors in the subsurface at these sites, which are characterized by high-salinity conditions in the shallow subsurface. Using an empirical method developed for this work, the ERI data indicate that the spring complexes have multiple subsurface connections that are not always easily observed at the surface. The connections are focused along structural deformation in the shale allowing fluids to migrate through the confining unit. The ERI data suggest the carbonate deposits that the springs generate are deposited on top of the confining unit, not precipitated in the conduit. The data also suggest that spring-tail ecosystems are not the result of a single discharge point, but include secondary discharge points along the tail.