Spatial and temporal variability of water salinity in an ephemeral, arid-zone river, central Australia

Abstract

This study describes the spatial and temporal variability of water salinity of the Neales-Peake, an ephemeral river system in the and Lake Eyre basin of central Australia. Saline to hypersaline waterholes occur in the lower reaches of the Neales-Peake catchment and lie downstream of subcatchments containing artesian mound springs. Flood pulses are fresh in the upper reaches of the rivers (<200 mg 1-1). In the salt-affected reaches, flood pulses become increasingly saline during their recession. It is hypothesized that leakage from the Great Artesian Basin deposits salt at the surface. This salt is then transported by infrequent runoff events into the main river system over long periods of ti..