Ord Valley AEM Interpretation Project - GIS

In 2008, the Ord Irrigation Cooperative commissioned an airborne electromagnetics (AEM) survey of the ORIA Stage 1 and 2 areas to identify, quantify and understand any potential salinity risks in the current Ord irrigation area and the parts of the catchment that have been identified as potential future irrigation sites or potentially impacted by future irrigation. The project has been funded by the Australian and Western Australian governments through the National Action Plan for Salinity and Water Quality. Geoscience Australia and CSIRO were contracted to carry out the analysis and interpretation of the AEM dataset, and produce customised interpretation products. Some of the more specific questions it was hoped to address included: - Are we at risk of salinity in the Ord Catchment? - If so what areas are at the greatest risk? - Where can we target management to reduce this risk? - How can we plan future development to minimise salinity risk and maximise longevity of projects? The areas surveyed include the current Stage 1 Ord Irrigation Area, Stage 2 Irrigation Area (including Weaber and Knox Plains and Carlton Hill - Parry's Lagoon Conservation Area. The inclusion of undeveloped land in this survey is because the technology provides the opportunity to ensure any future irrigation development is guided by the best available information on soil type, aquifer quality and location and salinity risk. The information generated by this project will be publicly available and can be used for such things as: - Identifying leaky areas in the landscape that may require more concentrated management or can be designated for more suitable land use; - Where salt is stored in the landscape and at what depth, and where in the landscape it may influence plant growth; - Provide new constraints on the connectivity of aquifer systems in 3D across the ORIA and enable the construction of more realistic hydrogeological models to improve surface and groundwater management.