What lies beneath Dunedin: Next phase of drilling begins

FRIDAY, 17 MAY 2019, 10:33 AM
PRESS RELEASE:
OTAGO REGIONAL COUNCIL AND GNS SCIENCE

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SOUTH DUNEDIN

The next stage of work is part of the NZ Sea Rise Programme to better understand the impacts of sea level rise.

The Otago Regional Council’s (ORC) “What Lies Beneath Dunedin” project is about to move from shallow groundwater data collection to core-sampling and deep groundwater monitoring.

The programme is being undertaken in collaboration with GNS Science via the NZ Sea Rise project, and with in-kind support from the Dunedin City Council (DCC) and the University of Otago. The project is also supported by Oceana Gold.

The deep drilling project will provide more information about what types of sediment lie beneath coastal Dunedin, and how these might interact with rising sea-levels.

GNS Science is a key research partner in the NZ Sea Rise project led by Victoria University of Wellington with support from NIWA. This project is applying global sea-level rise projections to New Zealand coasts to model potential impacts on coastal areas and groundwater systems. The Dunedin groundwater case study is one of many around New Zealand.

ORC has been monitoring shallow groundwater levels in parts of South Dunedin for nearly a decade and has worked with other groups recently to increase this monitoring through the installation of eight piezometers around South Dunedin.

ORC Natural Hazards Analyst Dr Sharon Hornblow said the next step would be to examine how deeper sediment and aquifers influence shallow groundwater.

“Now we need to look at what types of sediment and rock make up the layers deeper down, and how those may be influencing groundwater levels at the surface—for example, whether water infiltrating in the hill suburbs is welling up on the flat, or whether the shallow groundwater is behaving as a separate system.”

The deep drilling phase of work will start on 20 May and it will take up to three weeks to complete the bores at seven different sites around the coastal parts of Dunedin CBD and South Dunedin. ORC and GNS Science will then work with the University of Otago to gather geological information from the sediment cores in support of the NZ Sea Rise programme.

Senior Disaster Risk Reduction Scientist Phil Glassey, of GNS Science, said the aim was to better characterise the shape of the South Dunedin basin and the sediments within it.

“Currently there are only a few deep drill holes in South Dunedin and these new holes will be drilled to bedrock which we estimate could be at a depth of 70m or more in places.”

Climate change is one of ORC’s four key priorities. Because parts of South Dunedin and Harbourside are considered vulnerable to sea-level rise due to climate change, ORC is conducting this study—in collaboration with GNS Science and other parties involved in the NZ Sea Rise project—as part of broader research on water cycle interactions in the area.

Dr Hornblow said accurate modelling of the contribution of groundwater to flooding risk in Dunedin City required an understanding of deep groundwater characteristics.

“This project allows for an updated geological and groundwater model to be generated, which will inform us about how projected sea-level rise may impact on groundwater levels and flooding hazards. It also allows us to provide the Dunedin City Council with information which will help them future-proof their drainage infrastructure.”

Groundwater measuring instruments will be installed in the drill-holes and the data collected by the ORC.

New journalism projects funded by NZ SeaRise

The Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism Fund is the first independent journalism fund dedicated to furthering coverage of the science-related issues that impact New Zealanders. In this fourth funding round, NZ SeaRise Programme has supported the fund to talented journalists writing on the sea level rise in New Zealand.

Projects have been awarded under the following themes:

Sea level rise in Aotearoa New Zealand funded by NZ SeaRise programme

  • $3700 to Eloise Gibson for “Uncharted waters” – a written feature with graphics, for Newsroom.

  • $2300 to Charlie Mitchell for “Frontlines” – a multimedia exploration of the intersection between sea-level rise and socio-economic issues for Stuff.

Open call

  • $3000 for Nadine Hura for “E Hinemoana, E Tangaroa / Facing the rising tide” – for publication in The Spinoff.

    This theme is funded up to $1500 by our Press Patron supporters and the Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize. In recognition of the high quality of this application from an emerging journalist, it has also been granted an additional $1500 from the NZ SeaRise programme.

See full list of the Science Journalism Fund 2019 winners here

More information about the Aotearoa New Zealand Science Journalism fund is available here

Engaging new Antarctic learners and ambassadors through flexible learning, open education and immersive video lectures

“Engaging new Antarctic learners and ambassadors through flexible learning, open education and immersive video lectures”

Rebecca Priestley, Jacqueline Dohaney, Cliff Atkins, Rhian Salmon and Kealagh Robinson

Polar Record

1 November 2018

Abstract

In April 2017, Victoria University of Wellington launched ICE101X—Antarctica: From Geology to Human History—on the global edX platform. This Massive Open Online Course, or MOOC, attracted 5735 learners from around the world, who engaged with content about Antarctic science, history, geology, and culture, primarily through video lectures filmed in Antarctica. Analysis of feedback from learners in three iterations of the course, offered between 2015 and 2017 and culminating in ICE101X, revealed that learners enjoyed the immersive Antarctic field lectures and learning through a diverse set of disciplinary lenses, had some preconceptions about Antarctica that were challenged by the course content, and completed the course with a new sense of interest in and protection of Antarctica.

Find the full article here.

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