WfHC - cover page (not to be used with pre-printed report ... - CSIRO

Figure 56. Land use map of the Mitchell catchment showing a) operating mines, abandoned
mines, mine claims, proposed mines, b) distribution of major alluvial gullies, c) major paved
and unpaved roads, d) existing and proposed water resource development, e) agricultural
development near Dimbulah (green outline). Note the relatively sparse development in and
around Oriners and Sefton Stations.
3.2.8 Surface hydrology
The surface hydrology of water flow and discharge (magnitude, frequency, duration, timing,
rate change) down creeks and depressions around the forest country of Oriners and Sefton
has not been studied in detail in the field „on country‟. This is also the case for small, shallow,
oval wetlands (pans) and drainage depressions (dambos) on the Holroyd Plain and larger
lagoons in Quaternary alluvium, which are common in the area. It is likely that the timing and
volume of runoff and water storage along these drainage networks are closely linked to the
monsoon rainfall at the daily, seasonal and decadal scales (Figure 44; Figure 45; Figure 46).
Horn (1995) reviewed the surface water hydrology of the Cape York Peninsula, but there are
few data applicable to the Oriners area. No historic or current stream gauge stations exist in
the Oriners region or Alice River catchment. CSIRO has developed water budgets (rainfallrunoff
modelling) for the entire Mitchell-Alice catchment (Commonwealth Scientific and
Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) 2009) and well as sediment budgets (Rustomji,
Shellberg et al. 2010). However, these modelling efforts are also hampered by a lack local
gauge data and specific detail in the Alice catchment that are needed to validate and drive
model efforts. Modelling results are also not detailed enough to infer local hydrological
processes from, beyond basic climate data reviewed in Section 3.2.1.
Due to the remoteness of the area and lack of local field data, satellite images and remote
sensing have been used to understand the seasonal flood inundation patterns of the area
(Ward, Pusey et al. 2011). Ward et al. (2012) analysed Moderate Resolution Imaging
Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery (2003-2009) to estimate the visual inundation
patterns and frequency of different parts of the Mitchell-Alice fluvial megafan. These data
covered over a dozen flood events not obstructed by cloud cover. They provide minimum
Working Knowledge at Oriners Station, Cape York
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