Tiny shrimp may have the power to upset the nation's energy future

The shrimp, measuring up to 20mm, has been found by scientists using fishing rods in bores drilled into the remote Beetaloo basin of the NT.

The government is pinning its hopes on the Beetaloo being a world class shale gas reserve.

The government has already promised to spend big to help commercial companies extract the Beetaloo gas which is key to controversial plans for Australia transition from coal to renewable energy.

Energy Minister Angus Taylor visited the Beetaloo late last year after Prime Minister Scott Morrison highlighted the importance of the Beetaloo to the government's energy roadmap.

A promise of $217 million came last month to upgrade roads in the area.

It wasn't just the surprise find of the little shrimp which could upset those plans, but the belief it could prove the aquifers in this remote beef grazing country are connected.

The shale gas is buried kilometres deep under the Beetaloo and there are fears the fracking process used to extract the gas could pollute vital groundwater reservoirs.

Scientists from CSIRO and Charles Darwin University used fishing rods and handlines to plumb the depths of underground aquifers in the Territory back in 2019.

They were only there because the NT government had promised to only end a moratorium on looking for onshore gas if all the environmental safeguards were in place.

The cash-strapped ALP government is also pinning its future on Beetaloo gas to restore its economic fortunes.

Scientists found a diverse variety of tiny aquatic animals known as stygofauna, mostly between 0.3 and 10 millimetres in length.

Some are new to science.

The shrimp, called Parisia unguis, even at 20 millimetres was the largest aquatic animal found and is likely the apex predator in these communities.

The presence of a predator indicates a complex food chain within the Beetaloo stygofaunal communities, the scientists said.

They say the Beetaloo animals are different from stygofauna recorded from more extensively studied Western Australian aquifers with more species likely to be present as well.

All Beetaloo stygofaunal communities sampled were dominated by crustaceans - shrimps, amphipods, ostracods, copepods and syncarids.

CSIRO scientist Dr Gavin Rees said the presence of the same stygofaunal species at widely separated sites across the Cambrian Limestone Aquifer could indicate high connectivity within the aquifer which would need to be considered in light of shale gas development proposals.

"CSIRO's Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance is undertaking further research to quantify the risk of contamination impacts on stygofauna from possible industrial spill events," Dr Rees said.

"This research takes into account migration pathways and processes, including adsorption, dilution and microbial metabolism in soils and aquifers as well as the suspected high connectivity in groundwater systems."

CDU Professor Jenny Davis said stygofauna were the ultimate climate change adapters, having moved underground as surface waters of ancient inland Australia dried out.

"It's incredibly exciting because some of these crustaceans are new to science - there are not many places left in the world where you can find a whole range of new animals in one location," Professor Davis said.

Researchers from CSIRO and the university's Research Institute for Environment and Livelihoods collected samples from 26 groundwater bores and two springs in August and October 2019.

Those samples were taken from bores and springs across about 500km, from Mataranka to the Barkly Tablelands.

In addition to fishing rods and nets, researchers also used water pumps and cutting-edge eDNA analysis to detect the presence of known and unknown stygofauna in groundwater samples.

The collaborative pilot project was funded through CSIRO's GISERA and addressed knowledge gaps about stygofauna in line with the Final Report of the Scientific Inquiry into Hydraulic Fracturing in the Northern Territory.

Already Lock the Gate Alliance has seized on the research to call for end to the fracking plans in the Beetaloo.

"The report confirms the worst fears of Territorians about risks to groundwater if fracking goes ahead as planned," Protect Country Alliance spokesman Graeme Sawyer said.

"This report shows a spill or a leak at a fracking well could have devastating consequences for the drinking water of a community, bore water of a farm, or hot spring site."

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