Master's thesis of Engineering: Investigating the origin and dynamics of salinity in a confined aquifer system in southeast Australia (Western Port Basin)

The study determines the predominant hydrogeological controls on salinity distribution and salinization/freshening, proposing conceptual models to explain the different vertical distributions of groundwater salinity at the coastline. An improved understanding of the sources of salinity and the hydrogeological controls will subsequently provide support for the future management of groundwater in the Western Port Basin, and serve as a template for how to unravel complex salinity distributions in coastal aquifers, and their relationships to palaeo- and recent geomorphological histories.