Determination of the initial firing conditions of Ayyubid/Mamluk painted pottery excavated from northern Jordan

A combination of different scientific techniques has been utilized to estimate the initial firing temperature and kiln atmosphere of a collection of Islamic painted sherds excavated from an archaeological site in northern Jordan. Scanning electron microscope investigation of samples refired at different temperatures proves that the pottery was fired at around 750°C in an oxidizing atmosphere. Similar results were obtained by the thermal analysis study using thermogravometric, differential thermogravemetric and differential thermal analysis and by the temperature-minerological scale analysis. The obtained results shed light on the manufacturing techniques adopted by the Islamic potter of the period. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Climatological aspects in locating settlements in arid regionsKlimatologische aspekte bei der standortwahl für neue siedlungen in ariden regionenAspects climatologiques dans l'emplacement de villages dans des régions arides

In arid and semi-arid regions it is important to pay attention to climatic factors in locating and planning new settlements. Physical factors such as large differences in elevation over short distances, proximity to a large lake or the combination of the two factors, cause improvement of the climate.The central Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea could be a suitable area for proving these assumptions. A topo-climatological research has been performed in this region to help the planners in finding the best locations for new settlements. By using a “discomfort index”, which is based on temperature and humidity, the influence of the above mentioned physical factors on local climate modification has been verified. Also, its importance in the improvement of the location of new settlements has been shown.     

Climatological aspects in locating settlements in arid regions

In arid and semi-arid regions it is important to pay attention to climatic factors in locating and planning new settlements. Physical factors such as large differences in elevation over short distances, proximity to a large lake or the combination of the two factors, cause improvement of the climate.The central Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea could be a suitable area for proving these assumptions. A topo-climatological research has been performed in this region to help the planners in finding the best locations for new settlements. By using a “discomfort index”, which is based on temperature and humidity, the influence of the above mentioned physical factors on local climate modification has been verified. Also, its importance in the improvement of the location of new settlements has been shown.     

A study on geology,geomorphology, hydrology,groundwater, and physical resources of the desertified Badia environment in Jordan towards sustainable development

This paper summarizes information on geomorphology and physical resources as a part of the Jordan Badia Research and Development Program. The research focused on the issue of the environment in arid lands as an aid to providing practical options for sustainable development, for the benefit not only of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but of other arid regions of the world. The research is significant in that there is a need to identify usable natural resources and establish a framework for their effective exploitation and management in a marginal, fragile environment, which is sensitive to change. Pressure for development of the Badia stems from the fact that the great majority of the population in Jordan is compressed into less than 10% of the country by environmental constraints. It is hoped that the Jordan Badia Research and Development Program will provide the required framework to ease current environmental pressures, encourage migration to the Badia, a sparsely populated region, and establish economically and ecologically self-supporting communities. This paper discusses the following areas that are related to the sustainable development of the Jordan Badia with special emphasis on the Safawi area in the northern Jordan Badia; geomorphology, including landform, processes, and hazards; geology and physical resources; hydrology; surface water and water engineering; and groundwater.     

Geology,geomorphology, hydrology,groundwater and physical resources of the desertified Badia environment in Jordan

This paper summarizes the information on the geomorphology and physical resources component of the Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme. The research focuses on the issue of the environment in arid lands and aims to provide practical options for sustainable development, for the benefit not only of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan but for other arid regions of the world. The research is significantly development driven because there is a need to identify useable natural resources and establish a framework for their effective exploitation and management in a marginal, fragile environment, which is sensitive to change.Pressure for development of the Badia stems from the fact that the great majority of the population in Jordan is compressed into less than 10% of the country by environmental constraits. It is hoped that the Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme will provide the required framework to ease current environmental pressures, encourage migration to the Badia, a sparsely populated region, and establish economically and ecologically self-supporting communities.This paper discusses the following areas that are related to the sustainable development of the Jordan Badia with special emphasis on the Safawi area in the Northern Jordan Badia; geomorphology including landform, processes and hazards, geology and physical resources, hydrology, surface water and water engineering, groundwater, soils and vegetation, sediment erosion and mobility and environmental management.     

Mapping hotspots of underground water quality based on the variation of chemical concentration in Amman,Zarqa and Balqa regions,Jordan

This study uses geographic information systems to map the hotspots level changes in underground water quality based on pH, nitrate and conductivity in Amman, Zarqa and Balqa regions, Jordan using data from 57 wells. The chemical concentration for each parameter was obtained from the Water Authority of Jordan. The data were tested according to ISO/IEC 17025 standards by the Jordan Inorganic Laboratory of the Laboratories and Quality Department of Water Authority for 2004 and 2010 and were processed using Getis-Ord Gi statistics. The study indicated that there are periodic fluctuations for the values of selected chemical elements of groundwater that are localized, creating contamination hotspots within the study regions. The pH, nitrate and conductivity all indicated specific hotspots of higher than average values in 2004 and 2010 in the Zarqa region. The evidence indicates that there are two major localized areas of high value for all parameters centered in the western Zarqa region, an area dominated by urban infrastructure and irrigated lands. These findings have implications for the management of aquifer water quality through the identification of high-value hotspots. Because the aquifers in the regions are connected, understanding the hotspots with high pH, nitrate and conductivity values may enable improvements in the water quality across the aquifer systems in the regions.     

The emerging Islamic State: Terror,territoriality, and the agenda of social transformation

The world has recently been witness to the emergence of a new contemporary geopolitical phenomenon: the declaration of Islamic States by specific Islamic organizations. This phenomenon has the potential to dramatically transform the geopolitical setting of the Middle East and to have farreaching effects on a global level. Of these most prominent, however, has undoubtedly been the June 2014 declaration by the “Islamic State” organization of a “caliphate” covering large areas of the two war-torn states of Syria and Iraq. The aim of this article is to interrogate the territorial aspects of the Islamic State and to discern what makes it unique and exceptional in comparison to the many other Islamic political organizations that have emerged in recent years. In order to facilitate a better understanding of territoriality, I distinguish here between two major dimensions: conceptions of territoriality and tactics of territoriality. My working assumption is that by distinguishing between conceptions and tactics of territoriality, we can compare the exercise of territoriality by states and, in the present case, organizations. In this article, I argue that the Islamic State poses a challenge to both the conceptual and tactical dimensions of the contemporary territory and territoriality of modern states. Yet, while its conception of territoriality may be widely shared by other political Islamic organizations, its uniqueness lies in its tactics and strategies. Indeed, it is the brutal tactics of the Islamic State that are less acceptable to many Muslims around the world, not its political conception, which enjoys considerable support in the Muslim arena. Yet, when comparing it with modern states, the Islamic State poses a challenge to the territory and territoriality in both conception and tactics.     

Estimation of unrecorded groundwater abstractions in Jordan through regional groundwater modelling

Jordan suffers from water scarcity and groundwater covers the majority of Jordan’s water supply. Therefore, there is an urgent need to manage this resource conscientiously. A regional numerical groundwater flow model, developed as part of a decision support system for the country of Jordan, allows for quantification of the overexploitation of groundwater resources and enables determination of the extent of unrecorded agricultural groundwater abstraction. Groundwater in Jordan is abstracted from three main aquifers partly separated by aquitards. With updated geological, structural, and hydrogeological data available in the country, a regional numerical groundwater flow model for the whole of Jordan and the southernmost part of Syria was developed using MODFLOW. It was first calibrated for a steady-state condition using data from the 1960s, when groundwater abstraction was negligible. After transient calibration using groundwater level measurements from all aquifers, model results reproduce the large groundwater-level declines experienced in the last decades, which have led to the drying out of numerous springs. They show a reversal of groundwater flow directions in some regions, due to over-abstraction, and demonstrate that documented abstractions are not sufficient to cause the observed groundwater-level decline. Only after considering irrigation water demand derived from remote sensing data, the model is able to simulate these declines. Illegal abstractions can be quantified and predictive scenarios show the potential impact of different management strategies on future groundwater resources.

     

GIS-hydrological models for managing water resources in the Zarqa River basin

Jordan is part of the arid and semi-arid region of the Middle East, where water resources are known to be scarce. Thorough planning is inevitable and must be applied wisely, especially as it is known that drought conditions were evidenced for many years in Jordan.Surface water average accounts for 693 MCM/year out of which 359 MCM/year is base flow and 334 MCM/year flood flow. Therefore, management of surface water has been given great attention in Jordan because of the overexploitation of groundwater resources. Hydrological simulation models interfaced with Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were examined in this study. GIS interfaced hydrological models were considered as a major tool for surface water management at a watershed scale because they are capable of presenting the relationship between the spatial and hydrological features of the watershed in an efficient way. This study aimed at exploring the advantages of using GIS-based hydrological models as a water management tool to study the largest river basin in Jordan namely, the Zarqa River basin.In this study, the Spatial Water Budget Model (SWBM) and HEC-HMS / HEC-GeoHMS extension model were used. The models were calibrated and validated based on King Talal Reservoir inflow for a period of eight years. The calibration was performed for the most sensitive parameters. The calibration for the two models was performed for the years 1979, 1980, 1981 and 1982. Satisfactory results were obtained for both models with an R² of 0.90 and 0.85 for the HEC-HMS and SWBM model, respectively. Validation for the models was performed using the years 1993, 1994, 1995 and 1996, and the results were satisfactory with an R² of 0.75 and 0.80 for the SWBM and HEC-HMS model, respectively. Models after their calibration and verification can then be used to test scenarios related to climate change and/or land-use change at the watershed scale.     

城市水环境"红黄绿"分区整治规划的方法研究——以长春市为例

对城市水环境实行“红黄绿”分区整治规划,目的在于综合考虑各水层水质水量开采现状、污染程度、工业布局、农业灌溉城市发展规划及水源地保护目标等因素,突出主要矛盾,分期分区整治,使之既符合经济技术约束原则,又强化了目标管理。该方法现代化城市的水环境保护与治理具有较强的可操作性和实际意义。     

Landforms,sediments, soil development,and prehistoric site settings on the Madaba‐Dhiban Plateau,Jordan

This paper examines recurrent spatial patterns of prehistoric sites in relation to landforms, alluvial fills, and soil development in the uplands and valleys of the Madaba and Dhiban Plateaus of Jordan. Mousterian lithics (Middle Paleolithic) are largely found on high strath terraces plateaus, where they are associated with red Mediterranean soils. In valleys, Upper Paleolithic sites are often associated with reworked loess deposits of the Dalala allostratigraphic unit. Epipaleolithic occupations are found stratified in deposits of the Thamad Terrace, and Pre‐Pottery Neolithic and Pottery Neolithic occupations are associated with colluvium mantling the Thamad Terrace. The Tur al‐Abyad Terrace and the Iskanderite alluvial inset are the remnants of middle Holocene floodplains, which were attractive areas for Chalcolithic and Early Bronze Age settlements. Sometime around 4000 B.C., stream incision and further lateral erosion destroyed these floodplains. These historic terraces are underlain by alluvial deposits ranging in age from Roman to Early Islamic periods. The sequence of allostratigraphic units, paleosols, and terraces are the basis for reconstructing phases of fluvial aggradation and stream incision during the past 20,000 years. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

世界油页岩资源利用和发展趋势

世界油页岩资源丰富, 其探明储量换算成页岩油,远大于世界原油的探明储量。美国油页岩储量居世界首位, 其次则为俄罗斯、扎伊尔、巴西、加拿大、约旦、澳大利亚和中国。油页岩干馏制取页岩油始于19世纪上半叶的法国、英国、德国、西班牙等西欧国家。而后页岩油生产由于廉价原油的开采而衰落, 又由于世界石油危机而兴起; 100多年来、油页岩工业几经波折; 如今中国、爱沙尼亚和巴西拥有页岩油的工业生产。此外、爱沙尼亚、德国、中国和以色列则拥有油页岩燃烧产蒸汽发电的工业装置。当前、由于世界原油价格上涨,页岩油的生产在不少国家已有利可图, 中国、爱沙尼亚等国家正扩建、新建页岩油工厂; 蒙古、约旦等国正考虑筹建页岩油厂, 美国也计划对其丰富的油页岩资源进行加工利用。     

Biostratigraphy and paleogeography of the southeast desert phosphorites of Jordan

Three sections from the Al-Hisa Phosphorite Formation (AHP) were measured in the southeastern desert of Jordan: Batn El-Ghoul, Nagb Etayyeg, and Zgaimat Al-Hasah. A fourth section, Wadi Arfa, is added from a previous work. The three sections differ from the typical AHP Formation in central Jordan by having highly reduced thicknesses, omission/non-deposition of the underlying formations, rarity of fossils, abundant sand, and their stratigraphic ages. A Paleocene-Early Eocene age, based on calcareous nannofossils, has been assigned to the AHP Formation of the sections studied in the southeast desert. This Paleocene-Early Eocene age is younger than the Early Maastrichtian age of the AHP deposits in central Jordan. The published ages of the phosphorite deposits in the eastern Mediterranean countries suggest a younging to the east due to an interplay between paleodepositional environments and plate tectonics (paleohigh formation). The minor phosphorite deposits of Turkey and Iran are not involved in the discussion because they were not part of the Afro-Arabian Plate or the later Arabian Plate. The abovementioned differences between the southeastern desert phosphorites and the central Jordan deposits are here explained by the formation of paleohighs on the Neo-Tethys seafloor during the Late Cretaceous-Eocene. These include the Sirhan Paleohigh where the southeast desert phosphorites were deposited. The formation of the highs was due to the compression associated first, with the subduction of the Afro-Arabian Plate, below the Eurasian Plate and later with their collision.     

Structure of the earth's crust in Jordan from potential field data

Gravity and magnetic data were collected and used to study the crustal structure of Jordan. Three new geophysical maps of Jordan were created: a Moho discontinuity map, a crystalline basement surface map, and a map showing the lowest limit of magnetic blocks. Depths of the Curie Isotherm were also calculated. Results indicate that the depth to the Moho discontinuity in Jordan varies from 32 to 33 km in the northwest to 38 km in the southeast. The basement complex rocks outcrop on the surface in the southwest but lie at about 8 km in the northeast. The Curie Isotherm (585 °C) lies at a depth of about 10 km in the area east of the Dead Sea and dips southeastward towards the Al-Sirhan (Wadi Sirhan), southeast Jordan, where it is located at 35 km depth. Local isostasy of rock masses (blocks) in Jordan does not occur. Nevertheless, this does not rule out the possible existence of isostasy in a regional scale at greater depths within the mantle.     

The thermal springs of Jordan

The thermal springs alongside Wadi Araba, Dead Sea and Jordan valley, Jordan, were investigated and sampled in a comprehensive field study of 2 weeks. Conventional physicochemical properties were measured in situ; dissolved solids and isotopic composition were analyzed. Two main spring locations on the east side of the Dead Sea were mapped. It became evident, that the hottest springs are among the closest to prominent faults; some springs are controlled by gas lift. Jordan’s hot springs are described by means of a broad hydrochemical and physicochemical data set and several figures are presented. Based on their hydrochemistry, the thermal springs are classified into four thermal provinces. Water genesis is discussed. Several geothermometers are applied to estimate reservoir temperatures. Observed discharge rate, water temperature and isotopic composition are compared with data from the literature. Although discharge and water temperature are reported to be constant over the last decades, groundwater overexploitation led to a shift of the isotopic composition, what is documented for the first time in Jordan. Thus, the effect of groundwater mining on Jordan’s hot springs can be stated as a fact.     

Indigenous regional systems and Rural Development in Southern India

As a result of critism of the industrial-urban biased paradigm of development, a new social development approach is beginning to emerge. According to this strategy, development must be fitted to ecological constraints, priority attention must be given to rural development, and planning for rural development must be decentralized, participatory, and deeply immersed in the particulars of local settings. Agropolitan districts, or networks of socio-economic and political interaction, have been suggested as a suitable territorial basis for this paradigm. In India, where local planning has not been successful, indigenous regional systems, which correspond closely to criteria suggested to delineate agropolitan districts, have existed for hundreds of years. This is especially true in Tamil Nadu where a hierarchy of nesting socio-spatial units is firmly established in peasant tradition. Information is presented on the positive and negative aspects of the use of such regions for rural planning. It is suggested that these regions may better fulfil the objectives of agropolitan development than sets of functional regions derived from the urban hierarchy.     

Indigenous regional systems and Rural Development in Southern India

As a result of critism of the industrial-urban biased paradigm of development, a new social development approach is beginning to emerge. According to this strategy, development must be fitted to ecological constraints, priority attention must be given to rural development, and planning for rural development must be decentralized, participatory, and deeply immersed in the particulars of local settings. Agropolitan districts, or networks of socio-economic and political interaction, have been suggested as a suitable territorial basis for this paradigm. In India, where local planning has not been successful, indigenous regional systems, which correspond closely to criteria suggested to delineate agropolitan districts, have existed for hundreds of years. This is especially true in Tamil Nadu where a hierarchy of nesting socio-spatial units is firmly established in peasant tradition. Information is presented on the positive and negative aspects of the use of such regions for rural planning. It is suggested that these regions may better fulfil the objectives of agropolitan development than sets of functional regions derived from the urban hierarchy.     

Monitoring desertification by remote sensing using the Tasselled Cap transform for long-term change detection

Sensitive areas like oases are threatened by climatic variations and human activities that can catalyze desertification processes. Remote sensing the Earth surface from satellites is a good tool to monitor such types of change through several techniques. In this paper a remote sensing method that has been widely used for vegetated areas is adapted to study dry regions. The method consists of a combination of the Change Vector Analysis and the Tasselled Cap (TC) transform. To adapt it to dryland conditions a new set of parameters for the TC transform is hereby calculated for the Landsat 8 OLI system. The new TC parameters are tested in the analysis of the surface change in Azraq Oasis, Jordan, over a time span of 30 years (1984–2013) for Landsat satellites images. Azraq is considered a good testing site since in the early 1990s it has been subject to a complete drying up of the superficial springs, mainly due to over-exploitation of the groundwater basin. Results show that the chosen technique is able to detect the expected change on the surface, consistent with photo-interpretation and historical information available.