Establishing baseline groundwater depth and seismicity of the northern Perth Basin

The northern Perth Basin in Western Australia is currently seeing a significant increase in energy-related industrial activities, including natural gas extraction. This has led to some community concern about impacts on groundwater resources and potential seismic activity.

Conducted through CSIRO’s Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance (GISERA), and using data collected by the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA), this research project seeks to address those community concerns about the impacts of natural gas extraction in the region. CSIRO scientists will monitor fluctuations in groundwater depths and seismicity (the occurrence and distribution of earthquakes) over the course of a year.

The naturally occurring background seismicity of the northern Perth Basin remains poorly documented due to the limited historical coverage by seismic stations. Instrumental coverage is still relatively sparse in the region but the GSWA has recently deployed seismic arrays that will help provide new information.

This new data will allow the study team to build a baseline catalogue of natural seismic activity that can be used to compare future seismic events and determine whether they are consistent with the current background activity in the region, or whether they may have other causes.

This work addresses one of the recommendations from the Independent Scientific Panel Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracture Stimulation in Western Australia (2018), which stated that “it is important to have a baseline of natural earthquake activity before unconventional gas extraction activities are started to ensure that any industrial activities are not seen to be producing excessive seismic activity.”

It will also lead to a better understanding of variation in groundwater depth, which will provide the necessary context against which future variations – both natural and anthropogenic – can be measured. At a time when demand for groundwater resources is increasing, the results of this study will provide an important evidence base for informed decision making and sustainable resource management.

More information about this project is available on the GISERA website.

Learn about our other work taking place in Western Australia.