<p>If you look at early prehistoric Australia.  Australia was connected to what is
Indoneasia (Papua) and Papua New Guinea.  There is a land bridge which the ocean
rose over and it still exists today which is called the Torres Strait land bridge.  The waters are a maximum of 60 feet in depth.  It is not out of the question that GAB was filled up by a PNG aquifer or underground river and became salty from the Australian crust.  In the Gulf of Carpentaria there is a shallow lake submerged and what is the Fly river in PNG used to flow south into this shallow lake which is part of the Gulf of Carpentaria sea bed. There is proof already that some water was shared or transferred in the prehistoric past from PNG to Australia when both shared the same land mass called Sahul.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-07T16:10:50.963Z
2019-06-07T16:10:50.963Z
Fred
<p>If you look at an average precipitation map of Australia for the last decade or
 decades you will note that the CSIRO recharge areas are not in high
precipitation zones except for the tip of Cape York.  The Great Artesian Basin
is fossil water and the Australian government has taken measures to shut down
open bore holes which have flowed for many decades out of concern that the
GAB may run out of water since the recharge rates are negligible.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-06-10T20:47:11.930Z
2019-06-10T20:47:11.930Z
Larry
<p>The Great Artesian Basin in Australia covers 23% of the continent and contains 64,900 cubic kilometres of water.</p>

<p>Many years ago it was claimed on a TV science show I saw that some of the water in the basin comes from Papua New Guinea (PNG) via an underground conduit.</p>

<p>Is it true that the Great Artesian Basin in Australia gets some of its water from PNG and how is the water transported from PNG to Australia under the Torres Strait?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-02T23:18:14.197Z
@gansub: *if* it comes *under* the Torres Strait, then it may never mix with ocean water, and may never become saline in the first place. Without further information, Okham's razor would laugh at this idea, but it's not impossible..
naught101
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-02T23:46:21.407Z
@Fred: It would be great if you could provide a reference to that TV show - or at least a name and a year. I can't find any sources that say that PNG is a water source for the GAB - most say that the majority of the water comes from the great divide. e.g: http://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/resources/static/images/wetland-types/wetland-definitions/springs/great-artesian-basin.jpg from [here](http://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/wetlands/ecology/aquatic-ecosystems-natural/groundwater-dependent/unweathered-sandstone/#!prettyPhoto%5B1%5D/2/)
naught101
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-03T02:18:35.077Z
@naught101: I think I saw it on a segment of Catalyst, or its forerunner, that's how long ago it was. It might have even been the late 1990s. I tried searching the ABC archives on line and went through 65 pages but saw nothing promising. I've even sent a message to the ABC, asking for help, via its online written messaging system. I've only receive an automatic reply acknowledging my message. I'm interested to see what they come up with, if anything.
Fred
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-03T02:25:01.640Z
@naught101 - From gansub's quote about extremist views of waters from PNG, maybe that's what I heard or mis-heard or misinterpreted. It was a very long time ago. I'm not doubting that most of the water for the GAB is from the dividing range.
Fred
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-03T02:25:53.407Z
[Quantum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_%28TV_series%29)! Those were the days :D They've probably got it stored on tape somewhere :P
naught101
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-03T02:39:19.850Z
@naught101: I'm hoping so, even if I did mishear or misinterpret what was said. :) At least they know they have an audience for their science shows.
Fred
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-03-03T02:49:46.937Z
@gansub: Good question. I think you should raise it as a question on the site proper.
Fred
<hydrology><groundwater>
Source of water for the Great Artesian Basin in Australia
Fred
# Source of water for the Great Artesian Basin in Australia

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-03-01)

The Great Artesian Basin in Australia covers 23% of the continent and contains 64,900 cubic kilometres of water.

Many years ago it was claimed on a TV science show I saw that some of the water in the basin comes from Papua New Guinea (PNG) via an underground conduit.

Is it true that the Great Artesian Basin in Australia gets some of its water from PNG and how is the water transported from PNG to Australia under the Torres Strait?

**Tags:** hydrology, groundwater

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: @gansub: *if* it comes *under* the Torres Strait, then it may never mix with ocean water, and may never become saline in the first place. Without further information, Okham's razor would laugh at this idea, but it's not impossible..  
> **username_1**: @username_0: It would be great if you could provide a reference to that TV show - or at least a name and a year. I can't find any sources that say that PNG is a water source for the GAB - most say that the majority of the water comes from the great divide. e.g: http://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/resources/static/images/wetland-types/wetland-definitions/springs/great-artesian-basin.jpg from [here](http://wetlandinfo.ehp.qld.gov.au/wetlands/ecology/aquatic-ecosystems-natural/groundwater-dependent/unweathered-sandstone/#!prettyPhoto%5B1%5D/2/)  
> **username_0**: @username_1: I think I saw it on a segment of Catalyst, or its forerunner, that's how long ago it was. It might have even been the late 1990s. I tried searching the ABC archives on line and went through 65 pages but saw nothing promising. I've even sent a message to the ABC, asking for help, via its online written messaging system. I've only receive an automatic reply acknowledging my message. I'm interested to see what they come up with, if anything.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 - From gansub's quote about extremist views of waters from PNG, maybe that's what I heard or mis-heard or misinterpreted. It was a very long time ago. I'm not doubting that most of the water for the GAB is from the dividing range.  
> **username_1**: [Quantum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_%28TV_series%29)! Those were the days :D They've probably got it stored on tape somewhere :P  
> **username_0**: @username_1: I'm hoping so, even if I did mishear or misinterpret what was said. :) At least they know they have an audience for their science shows.  
> **username_0**: @gansub: Good question. I think you should raise it as a question on the site proper.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2019-06-07. Score: 2

If you look at early prehistoric Australia. Australia was connected to what is
Indoneasia (Papua) and Papua New Guinea. There is a land bridge which the ocean
rose over and it still exists today which is called the Torres Strait land bridge. The waters are a maximum of 60 feet in depth. It is not out of the question that GAB was filled up by a PNG aquifer or underground river and became salty from the Australian crust. In the Gulf of Carpentaria there is a shallow lake submerged and what is the Fly river in PNG used to flow south into this shallow lake which is part of the Gulf of Carpentaria sea bed. There is proof already that some water was shared or transferred in the prehistoric past from PNG to Australia when both shared the same land mass called Sahul.


---

### Answer by username_2 on 2019-06-10. Score: 0

If you look at an average precipitation map of Australia for the last decade or
decades you will note that the CSIRO recharge areas are not in high
precipitation zones except for the tip of Cape York. The Great Artesian Basin
is fossil water and the Australian government has taken measures to shut down
open bore holes which have flowed for many decades out of concern that the
GAB may run out of water since the recharge rates are negligible.


---

