Aqualinc Research Limited Smart Ideas funded projects

Shallow groundwater systems constitute a major and increasing hazard for the built environment, yet shallow groundwater data nationwide is exceptionally sparse and grossly inadequate for the building industry, for Climate Change adaptation decisions and planning related to the current and future built environment. This critical knowledge gap has had catastrophic consequences in the past as shown by the liquefaction related damage to commercial and residential building stock in Christchurch following the Canterbury earthquake sequence and will have compounding catastrophic consequences in the future in the absence of smart decisions based on adequate shallow groundwater data.Furthermore, design of buildings is often based on inadequate understanding of the water table and can have significant engineering implications. e.g., the Wynn-Williams building in Christchurch which requires continuous dewatering and Christchurch Cathedral with escalating rebuild costs attributable to a high water table. With the increased incidence of extreme weather events shallow groundwater systems are also an increasingly important factor in flood management and climate change adaptation.While geophysical exploration methods like ground penetrating radar for locating archaeological remains are well-known thanks to shows like Tony Robinson’sTime Team,they have many applications from understanding the deep interior of Earth to mapping subterranean water systems. However, the challenge with all geophysical modalities is accuracy. Unfortunately, there is no universally reliable single geophysical method – they sometimes work, and they sometimes don’t.In this proposal we take a multiphysics approach to characterising shallow groundwater systems combining a range of geophysical technologies with drilling and core extraction. Using advanced imaging technologies and big data sets we hope to obtain detailed characterisation of New Zealand’s shallow groundwater systems and shed light on this often overlooked and insidious hidden hazard.