HYDROGEOLOGICAL MODEL FOR AMADEUS BASIN AQUIFERS, CENTRAL AUSTRALIA

A 2-dimensional vertical section model has been developed to simulate the groundwater head distribution in three major aquifers of the Amadeus Basin, central Australia. The resulting model-derived velocity profile indicates groundwater flow times along a 250 km long and 6000 m deep section to be several million years. The slow and uneven groundwater flow times in this arid basin result from structural and palaeo-recharge influences. A simulation of previous wetter conditions confirms these influences and suggests that the present-day system reflects palaeo-recharge conditions pertaining to the early Tertiary period, at 50 Ma. © 1990, Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.