Wendy Timms
Deakin University, Australia | Professor of Environmental Engineering | Sponsored by Deakin University
Professor Timms is a Chartered Engineer (Civil, Environmental) and geologist with ~30 years of professional experience in government, consulting engineering and research. She is Professor of Environmental Engineering at Deakin University Australia, teaching and leading research in carbon storage in porous earth, groundwater hydrology, environmental tracers and water-energy nexus. She also serves as an independent reviewer: Sustainable water yields for the Victorian government, and the Commonwealth government’s IESC panel and others.
Her research is funded by the Australian Research Council, the CO2CRC and the Victorian government. Prior to this, Wendy was at UNSW Sydney in several roles, and was a founding Chief Investigator in the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. Her postdoctoral research was completed at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, following a PhD in the Murray-Darling Basin.
She has published over 60 journal papers, 100 technical reports and more. Her experience includes monitoring deep-well storage of CO2, and at gold, uranium, potash, coal and gas projects (Canada, Asia and Australia). She is a former Vice President of International Association of Hydrogeologists (Australasia-Pacific) and former Chair and Treasurer of the NSW Branch of IAH.
Dancing in the Rain - Evaluating Hydraulic Connectivity from Surface to Underground
Tues 28 Nov. 1.25pm - 2.10pm
1 School of Engineering, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University, Waurn Pond, 3216, Victoria, Australia;
*Corresponding Author: wendy.timms@deakin.edu.au
Hydrological science, engineering and creativity are needed to inform evaluations of hydraulic connectivity between the surface and sub-surface. We need multiple approaches to evaluate and mitigate increasing stresses on our freshwater resources. Ensuring that freshwater resources are not polluted is challenged by increasing water demands, developments in water sensitive areas and a more variable and extreme climate. This presentation considers potential connectivity between the earth’s surface and groundwater, proposes several principles for prioritising data and provides examples of recent advances to evaluate hydraulic connectivity. For example, passive water level techniques are useful to verify conceptual models of surface water and groundwaters and degree of hydraulic disconnection by soils or rock strata. Another approach quantifies thresholds of rainfall events needed for soil moisture responses and ‘drips’ through the vadose zone to the watertable. Hydrological shifts from gaining to loosing streams or wetlands can occur quickly or gradually, and compound challenges with water quality and ecosystem health.