alice springs supersite 2012–2013
TRANSCRIPT
Alice Springs Supersite 2012–2013Ti Tree, NT
UTS:Terrestrial Ecohydrology Research Group (TERG)Plant Functional Biology and Climate Change Cluster (C3)School of the Environment (SoE)
Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN): Australian and New Zealand Flux Research and Monitoring Network (OzFlux) Australian Supersite Network (ASN)National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT)
Activities
• Site descriptions• Infrastructure:
• Upgrade• Construction
• Measurements:• A year of data
• New Analyses:• Footprint• Turbulence• Penman-Monteith
Three foci:Alice Springs Mulga, Ti Tree East, Woodforde River
• DTW: 49 m, (7–8 m), (3–5 m)• Woody Mulga savanna, grassy Mulga+Eucalyptus/Corymbia savanna,
riparian Eucalyptus (gum) forest• EC*, EC, sapflux
GEORGINA RIVER
MACKAY
BURT
TODD RIVER
FINKE RIVERMACKAY
HAYRIVER
AHAKEYEABORIGINAL LAND TRUST
BUSHY PARKNT Por 687
AILERONNT Por 703
PINE HILLNT Por 725
NT Por 6153
NT Por2673
NT Por6152
NT Por2096
WOODGREENNT Por 2673
NT Por3694
NT Por2427
NT Por 3636
NTPor
1802
MOUNT SKINNERNT Por 704
ALCOOTANT Por 4029
NT Por3520
CENTRALAUSTRALIARAILWAY
CENTRALAUSTRALIA RAILWAY
CENTRALAUSTRALIARAILWAY
325000mE 350000mE 375000mE 400000mE
325000mE 350000mE 375000mE 400000mE
325000mE 350000mE 375000mE 400000mE
7550
000m
N75
2500
0mN
7500
000m
N74
7500
0mN
300000mE 325000mE 350000mE 375000mE 400000mE 425000mE
7475
000m
N75
0000
0mN
7525
000m
N75
5000
0mN
7550
000m
N75
2500
0mN
400000mE 425000mE
375000mE
350000mE
325000mE
300000mE
7500000mN
7475000mN
A
B
DISTANCE - kilometres
0 10 20 30 40 453525155
RN
172
73
RN
172
72
RN
172
71
RN
172
70
RN
172
69
RN
172
68
Watertable
EL
EV
AT
ION
(me
tre
s A
HD
)
500
200
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700
400
600
B
500
200
300
800
400
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A800
(See Main Map for Location of Cross-section)
WO
OD
FORD
ERI
VER
STU
AR
TH
IGH
WA
Y
Bedrock (greywacke, siltstone,granite, and metamorphic rocks
Sand, silt & clayTi-Tree Basin Aquifer
Clay, silt, brown coal & minor sand
Ti Tree
Pine Hill
Mt Skinner
Woodgreen
Bushy Park
Gem Fields(Roadhouse)
microwave tower
microwave tower
HIG
HW
AY
STUA
RT
HIG
HW
AY
STUA
RTST
UA
RT
HIG
HW
AY
PLENTY HIGHWAY
HIGHWAY
ROSSNAMATJIRA
DRIVE
TANAMI
ROAD
STUART
HIG
HW
AY
HIG
HW
AY
SA
ND
OVE
R
STUA
RT
SANDOVER
Pinn
acle
Rd
HIGHWAYPLENTY
Road
Adelaide Bore
HIGHWAY
HIG
HW
AY
1000
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RIV
ER
WO
OD
FOR
DE
HANSON
RIVER
RIV
ER
WO
OD
FOR
DE
HANSON
RIVER
WOODFO
RDE
RIVER
RIVER
HANSON
FLOODOUT
FLOODOUT
ALLUNGRA
CK
PLENTY
RIVER
RIVER
RIVER
RIVER
Deering Creek
SANDOVER
HALE
TODD
HA
NS
ON
LANDER
RIVER
LakeLewis
RIVER
Creek
Anira
Athi
nna
Cre
ek
Allungra
Creek
Creek
Gill
en
Edwards
Creek
Creek
Mue
ller
Creek
Mueller
Camerons Dam
RIV
ER
WO
ODFO
RDE
WOODFORDE
RIVER
Creek
Western
HANSON
RIVER
Creek
Stallion
HANSON
RIVER
Creek
Saltbush
Allungra Waterhole
Mulga Waterhole
Ken Soak
Tinarkie Soak
RN 17273
RN 17272
RN 17271
RN 17269
RN 17268
RN 5507
RN 5506
RN 12594
RN 17270
MuellerDam
Bushy ParkDam
25 MileDam
Whitewood Dam
White Hills Tank Elbreda Dam
Whiterock Dam
Unrapa Tank
Yerik Tank
Chiripee Dam
Redcliff Dam
BankDam
G0280010
G0280010
WHITE HILL YARD
TI-TREE BASIN
HALE BASIN
FARM BASIN
WAITE BASIN
WHITCHERRY BASIN
MOUNT WEDGE BASIN
Ti-Tree
Ti-Tree
Ti-Tree
Ti-TreeYuendumu
Mt Liebig
Papunya
Kunparrka(Haasts Bluff)
Hart Range
Hermannsburg
ALICE SPRINGS
BarrowCreek
Nturiya
Pmara Jutunta
Ti-Tree
AdelaideBore
AngulaMulga Bore
C Northern Territory of Australia
Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts
This map was producedon the Geocentric Datum
of Australia 1994 (GDA 94)
5 10 15 kmkm 0
For further information contact:Principal Engineer, Water Resources, Land and Water Division,
Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts.Ph. (08) 8999 3606, Fax. (08) 8999 3666
Goyder Centre, Chung Wah Terrace, Palmerston, Northern Territory of Australia.
Railway
Gas PipelineProperty Boundary
Station Homestead
Principal Road - Sealed
Marginal forHorticulture
Salt TolerantCrops
Stock
Town Boundary
Water Bore
Line of Cross-sectionBA
Limit of Ti-Tree Basin
0
1000
1500
2000
TDS
(m
g/L
)DEPTH TO WATER
Excavated Tank or Dam
Woodgreen
Ti-Tree
Track
Minor Road - Sealed / Unsealed
Limit of Ti-Tree Basin Aquifer
QUEENSLAND
VICTORIA
TASMANIA
NORTHERNTERRITORY
WESTERNAUSTRALIA
SOUTHAUSTRALIA
NEW SOUTHWALES
NORTHERN
TERRITORY
TENNANT CREEK
ALICE SPRINGS
KATHERINE
JABIRU
NHULUNBUYDARWIN
STUDYAREA
MAP LOCALITY
Fenceline
AQUIFER THICKNESS
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80metres
GROUNDWATER SALINITY
DEPTH TO WATER
GROUNDWATERSALINITY & USE
Human Consumptionand Horticulture
0
10
20
40
60
CROSS-SECTION A - B
WATER YEAR
0
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NT
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Y R
AIN
FA
LL
(m
m)
100
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500
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545
555
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550
510
520
515
GROUNDWATER LEVELS and MONTHLY RAINFALL
RN 12594RN 5506
RN 5507
See Main Map forLocation of Observation Bores
RN
’s 5
50
6 &
55
07
RN
12
59
4
WA
TE
R L
EV
EL
(m
etr
es
ab
ove
se
a l
eve
l)
Geology Boundary
LEGEND - CROSS-SECTION
Main Aquifer
Watertable
Standing WaterLevel April 2005
RN
172
68
Bore withRegistered Number
0 5 10 15kilometres
20kilometres5
Black numbered lines are 25000 metre intervals of the Map Grid ofAustralia (MGA) Zone 53 Universal Transverse Mercator Projection
Horizontal Datum: GDA 94 Vertical Datum: AHD (metres)
SALINITY As with most arid zone groundwaters, those in the basin contain moderate amounts of salt(predominantly common salt, sodium chloride). Salinity, expressed as Total Dissolved Solids on the map below variesacross the basin. The salinity is related to how easily water can get into the aquifer. Where recharge is high, salinities arelower but where recharge is low salt becomes concentrated in the soil and sub-soil by evapotranspiration and this iseventually flushed into the groundwater. In places, higher salinities may limit the use of the water.
The nitrate content of the groundwater also limits its use for human consumption over much of the basin. It is natural inorigin and is produced by nitrogen fixing vegetation and termites.
What goes in must eventually come out! D I S C H A R G E usually occurs at low points in the landscape. Inthe map area there are no springs or swamps that could discharge groundwater. Stirling Swamp located near Wilora,60 km north of the basin is thought to be a discharge point for groundwater that leaves the basin via the narrow outleton its northeast side.
Within the basin the main mechanism of discharge is evaporatranspiration. The acacia shrubland that covers the areais capable of tapping the watertable where it is shallow enough. The map below indicates the depth below groundlevel of the water table.
No Record
No Record
No Record
Dep
th -
met
res
AH
D (
Ap
ril 2
005)
5 10 15 kmkm 0
Gauging stationG0280010
WATER LEVELS
REGIONAL SETTINGThe TI-TREE BASIN is one of many small sedimentary basins found across Central Australia. It startedto form around 65 millions years ago when lakes and swamps occupied a depression in the landscape. Initially clayand peat began to fill the basin but later, rivers carried sand, silt and clay, forming the upper portion of the basins fill.
20 40 80 kmkm 0 60
Cainozoic Basin
Limit of Ti-Tree Basin Aquifer
Surfacewater CatchmentMACKAY
HALE BASIN
Groundwater R E C H A R G E is the process where water seepsdown into the aquifer. Due to the low average rainfall (318 mm/year) and itssporadic nature, the aquifer does not receive recharge every year. The abruptrises in groundwater levels seen on the graph to the right, record rechargeevents, typically associated with heavy rainfalls. An exceptionally large eventoccurred in the mid to late 1970’s. Groundwater levels have still not fallen topre-1970’s levels over much of the basin. The long term average recharge isestimated at 2 mm/year, a relatively small amount.
Recharge is not evenly distributed across the area but is thought to beconcentrated in flood-outs. These are features where rivers enter the basin fromadjoining hills and then fan out across the plains into numerous channels. Duringthe rare times that the rivers flood, most of the water soaks into the sandy soilsof the flood-outs and the flood-waters only reach a limited distance from the hills.The Allungra Creek and Woodforde River flood-outs are the most importantrecharge areas in the basin.
Once in the aquifer, G R O U N D W A T E R M O V E S horizontally under the action of gravity.The directions that the water moves can be deduced from the watertable map below. It moves from where the watertable ishigh to where it is low. Recharge areas tend to be in the high watertable zones and discharge from the aquifer tends to occurwhere the watertable is lower. Groundwater flows relatively slowly (centimetres to metres per year) due to the low hydraulicgradients that drive the process and the resistance of having to pass through the minute pores between sand grains.
The dominant pattern of flow is from south to north. The groundwater that is not used by evapotranspiration is funnelled intothe narrow outlet on the basins north east side.
WATER LEVELS
550
Road
Groundwater Flow
Observation Bore
Property Boundary
Water Level Contour- metres AHD
(April 2005)
5 10 15 kmkm 0
Family Outstation
Town
Major CommunityNturiya
Angula
The TI-TREE BASINAQUIFER
The main Ti-Tree Basin A Q U I F E R (water bearing formation) isdeveloped in the old river sands. It is located as shallow as 10 metres to over60 metres below the ground. In places moderately high yields (5 to 15L/second) can be extracted from bores. Variations in thickness of the aquiferand in the amount of silt and clay mixed with the sand make for considerablevariability in bore yield. Aquifers occur beneath the main aquifer but they aregenerally limited in extent and thickness.
The cross-section above shows the location of the main aquifer in relation tothe two main geological layers.
Current Monitoring Bores
Ti-Tree BasinAquifer
This product and all material forming part of it is copyright belonging to the Northern Territory of Australia.You may use this material for your personal, non-commercial use or use it within your organisation for
non-commercial purposes, provided that an appropriate acknowledgement is made and the material is notaltered in any way. Subject to the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, you must not make anyother use of this product (including copying or reproducing it or part of it in any way) unless you have the
written permission of the Northern Territory of Australia to do so.
The Northern Territory of Australia does not warrant that the product or any part of it is correct or completeand will not be liable for any loss damage or injury suffered by any person as a result of its inaccuracy or
incompleteness.
Satellite image sourced from
Terrametrics R , TruEarth R imagery
Cartography by L. J. Fritz,Spatial Data & Mapping Branch,
Land and Water Division,Department of Natural Resources, Environment
and the Arts, Northern Territory of Australia.
Design File: Ti-Tree-Basin_GWater_m53Plot File: Ti-Tree-Basin_Groundwater_250k
Data Source;
Cadastre - Department of Planning & Infrastructure,Northern Territory of Australia.
Topography - GEODATA TOPO 250KGeoscience Australia, Canberra, ACT.
Prepared and produced by theDepartment of Natural Resources, Environment
and the Arts, Northern Territory of Australia,July 2007.
Hydrogeology by R. Read and S. J. Tickell,Water Resources Branch, Land and Water Division,
Department of Natural Resources, Environmentand the Arts, Northern Territory of Australia.
Alice Springs MulgaWoody savanna
• Mulga:• Acacia aneura var. aneura• A. aneura var. intermedia• A. aneura var.
tenuis
Alice Springs MulgaWoody savanna
• Forbs & Shrubs:• Psydrax latifolia• Eremophila gilesii• E. latrobei ssp. glabra (Crimson turkey
bush)• Sida & Abutilon spp.• Solanum ellipticum (Potato bush)
Alice Springs MulgaWoody savanna
• C3 Perennial grass:• Thyridolepis mitchelliana (Window mulga-grass)
• C4 Perennial grasses:• Eragrostis eriopoda (Naked woolybutt)• Triodia sp. (Spinifex)
• C4 Annual grass:• Eriachne pulchella ssp. pulchella (Pretty wanderrie)
• Cryptobiotic crust
Ti Tree EastGrassy savanna
• Mixed footprint:• Mulga/grass• Corymbia/Triodia
Woodforde RiverRiparian forest
• Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum)
Alice Springs Mulga (woody savanna)Upgrades
-10
5
10
15
10 20 30 40
06:00
15:00
z [m
]
T [°C]
• Power supply upgrade• TC profile• Phenocams (video?)• Comms
• Ethernet modem• Three AusPlots:
• 250 m East (birdsong)• 500 m East• 250 m west
Ti Tree East (grassy savanna)Installation (nearly) complete
• Basic EC setup• Mixed footprint:
• Mulga/grass• Corymbia/Triodia
• Comms• RS232 modem – 30 min., 1 min., 10 Hz
• Groundwater monitoring bore:• ~8 m depth-to-groundwater
• Three AusPlots:• Mulga/grass• Corymbia/Triodia• Transition (birdsong)
Ti Tree East (grassy savanna)Rainfall responses
• First rainfall in over one month: 43.6 mm• 12–13 May: 25 mm• 15–18 May: 6.4 mm• 21–22 May: 12.2 mm
22 May 2013 8.00
“Mostly” dead
29 May 2013 7.00
Juvenile leaves
11 Jun 2013 3.00
Fully expanded
Woodforde River (Riparian forest)Installation (mostly) complete
• Sapflux setup• River Red Gum• Comms
• RS232 modem – 10 min., 24 hr.• Groundwater monitoring bores:
• ~3–5 m depth-to-groundwater
Carbon FluxesAlice Springs Mulga
• Annual:• 191.2 mm yr−1
• −1.03 mol m−2 yr−1
• Summer (DJF):• 92 mm• 2.07 mol m−2
0
5
10
15
20
25
Ra
in (
mm
)
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
FC (
mm
ol m
-2 d
ay
-1)
1-Jul-2012
1-Oct-2012
1-Jan-2013
1-Apr-2013
1-Jul-2013
Carbon FluxesTi Tree East
0
5
10
15
20
25
Ra
in (
mm
)
-40
-20
0
20
40
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80
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FC (
mm
ol m
-2 d
ay
-1)
1-Jul-2012
1-Oct-2012
1-Jan-2013
1-Apr-2013
1-Jul-2013
• Annual:• 188.6 mm yr−1
• 11.64 mol m−2 yr−1
• Summer (DJF):• 89 mm• 4.13 mol m−2
EvapotranspirationAlice Springs Mulga
•Annual:• 110 mm yr−1
•Summer (DJF):• 60 mm
0
5
10
15
20
25
Ra
in (
mm
)
-0.6
0
1
2
3
4
5
ET (
mm
da
y-1
)
1-Jul-2012
1-Oct-2012
1-Jan-2013
1-Apr-2013
1-Jul-2013
EvapotranspirationTi Tree East
• Annual:• 135.0 mm yr−1
• Summer (DJF):• 71 mm 0
5
10
15
20
25
Ra
in (
mm
)
-0.6
0
1
2
3
4
5E
T (
mm
da
y-1
)
1-Jul-2012
1-Oct-2012
1-Jan-2013
1-Apr-2013
1-Jul-2013
Flux footprint climatologyAlice Springs Mulga
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
-300 -200 -100 0 100 200 300
21/1/2011–27/1/2011
Night Fc footprint climatology
zi from BOM TAPM
-600
-400
-200
0
200
400
-400 -200 0 200 400 600
12/12/2010 13.30
-0.46716219 Stability coefficient (z-d/L, zeta)
0.353133445 Friction coefficient (ustar)
152.8248 Wind direction (wd)
95 % of flux footprint (r)
435.8887382 Extent of footprint up to r% (xr)
0
0.001
0.002
0.003
0.004
0.005
-500 0 500 1000
fupwind distance (m)
•Kljun et al. (2004)•Analytical model•Buckingham Pi Theory•Rotated to wind direction•Climatology: Fc Fe Fh•Night, day, 24-hr, time
period (include dates, ex-clude hours)
•u* < 0.2 m/s
Thank youEamus, D., J. Cleverly, N. Boulain, N. Grant, R. Faux, and R. Villalobos-Vega, 2013: Carbon and water fluxes in an arid-zone Acacia savanna woodland: An analyses of seasonal patterns and re-sponses to rainfall events. Agric. For. Meteor., 1–14.
Cleverly, J., N. Boulain, R. Villalobos-Vega, N. Grant, R. Faux, C. Wood, P. G. Cook, Q. Yu, A. Leigh, and D. Eamus, Revision in review: Dynamics of component carbon fluxes in a semi-arid Acacia woodland, central Australia. J. Geophys. Res.
Cleverly, J., C. Chen, N. Boulain, R. Villalobos-Vega, R. Faux, N. Grant, Q. Yu, and D. Eamus, In revi-sion: Aerodynamic resistance and Penman-Monteith evapotranspiration over a seasonally two-layered canopy in semi-arid central Australia. J. Hydrometeorol.
Ma, X., A. Huete, Q. Yu, N. Restrepo Coupe, K. Davies, M. Broich, P. Ratana, J. Beringer, L. Hutley, J. Cleverly, N. Boulain and D. Eamus, Revision in review: Spatial patterns and temporal dynamics in savanna vegetation across an Australian sub-continental rainfall gradient. Remote Sens. Environ.