Matthias Raiber

Biography

Dr Matthias Raiber leads CSIRO’s Sustainable Groundwater Futures team. He joined CSIRO in May 2013 after completing a postdoctoral research fellowship at the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training (NCGRT) and Queensland University of Technology.

Prior to his postdoc, Dr Raiber completed a PhD at LaTrobe University in Melbourne in 2008 and worked as a Groundwater Scientist with a focus on isotope hydrology and 3D geological modelling at GNS Science (Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences) in New Zealand from 2008–2010.

Dr Raiber specialises in the development and application of workflows that integrate geological, geophysical, hydrogeological, isotope and hydrochemical information to improve the understanding of the connections between deep and shallow groundwater aquifers and surface water systems. This involves for example the assessment of how these connections change during periods of droughts and following flooding (e.g. in the Lockyer Valley in Qld).

He is a leading expert on the geology and hydrogeology of sedimentary basins including the Great Artesian Basin in Australia and has led the development and application of multi-disciplinary approaches in cumulative impact assessments to understand how coal- and coal seam gas bearing formations may be connected to shallow aquifers in projects such as the Bioregional Assessment, where he was deputy leader of the Clarence-Moreton Bioregional Assessment.

He has also designed and led multiple GISERA projects which aim to improve knowledge of sedimentary basin hydrodynamics (including groundwater recharge and aquifer connectivity) in the Surat Basin in Qld and NSW to address community concerns.

In a recent collaboration with Geoscience Australia, he has led the assessment of recharge processes and flow dynamics using environmental tracers in the Great Artesian Basin, yielding insights into the spatial variability of recharge and connectivity processes in the GAB.