Three-dimensional mapping of salt stores in the Murray-Darling Basin,Australia: 2. Calculating landscape salt loads from airborne electromagnetic and laboratory data

Salt is widespread in the Australian landscape – in soil, regolith and groundwater – leading to concerns that land management practices may be putting much agricultural land and important water resources at risk of salinisation. Defining the location and nature of salt stores is an important first step in understanding the processes leading to salinity of soils, streams and groundwater resources, and predicting areas that may be at risk. Airborne geophysics can define subsurface salt stores and mobilisation pathways. Airborne electromagnetics (AEM) can map the three-dimensional conductivity structure of the landscape but does not, intrinsically, quantify the amount of salt. Salinity, moisture content, porosity and mineralogy all contribute to the electromagnetic signal, and each can vary significantly throughout the landscape.In the Lower Balonne catchment, Queensland, the relationship between AEM and the amount of salt in the landscape was quantified using laboratory analyses of pore fluids from core samples. A general statistical relationship was established between AEM conductivity and salt load (defined as the product of pore fluid salinity, porosity and moisture content)—with a significant positive correlation although data were generally widely dispersed. Comparison of calculated salt load with borehole electromagnetic logs gives insight into the factors contributing to dispersion in the AEM data.The relationship transforms bulk conductivity to salt load in 5 m layers, allowing the generation of a three-dimensional map of the salt load. This is a powerful tool for identifying areas that may require monitoring and management interventions to reduce salinity risk. An example is given of salt loads beneath an established irrigation area in the Lower Balonne catchment, Queensland.