Resource limitations for research into Northern Australia’s groundwater has meant not a lot is known about systems, but a new Charles Darwin University (CDU) study will take a giant leap in our understand through citizen science.
The study plans to use a small army of citizen scientists to collect, analyse and record samples of water taken from bores from across Northern Territory, the Pilbara, and the Kimberley.
CDU freshwater ecologist and research leader Professor Jenny Davis said the aim was to recruit several hundred volunteers collecting water from more than 500 groundwater bores.
The citizen scientists will input data collected straight into an app designed and built specifically for the project.
“We will be providing easy-to-use and simple field kits, so citizen scientists can collect samples for testing,” Professor Davis said.
“We will be testing things such as salinity levels, isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the water to determine its age, and even test for microplastics.
