Reconstruction of the rainy season precipitation in central Jordan

Abstract

Concurrent reconstructions of October—April precipitation at Madaba and Rabba gauging sites in central Jordan back to the year 1777 using a multivariate regression model are presented. The reconstruction model was calibrated using concurrent precipitation and tree-ring data for the period 1953–1981 The regression equation is significant (p < 0.05), while reconstructions account for 53% and 48% (adjusted for lost degrees of freedom) of the total variability of the precipitation at the Madaba and Rabba sites, respectively. The validation statistic obtained indicates the existence of worthwhile information in the reconstructions. A threshold of 1 standard deviation below the mean is used to define extremely dry years. The concurrent analysis of the reconstructed precipitation at both sites indicates the occurrence of 24 regional extremely dry periods of between 1 and 2 years' duration. Dry periods of more than 2 years' duration rarely occur. This study indicates the occurrence of noticeable extremely dry individual years: 1800, 1827, 1895 and 1933. The estimated mean recurrence times of extreme droughts are 9.3 and 51.3 years for droughts of 1-year and 2-years duration, respectively.     

Development of groundwater modeling for the Azraq Basin, Jordan

 The three-dimensional groundwater flow model MODFLOW was applied to simulate water level change in the complex multi-aquifer systems (the Upper and Middle Aquifers) of the Azraq basin. The model was calibrated by matching observed and simulated drawdown for steady and transient states over the period 1970–1992. Drawdown data for the period 1993–1997 were used to test the model's ability to predict the response of the aquifers. The model performed well in representing the water level contours of the Upper and Middle Aquifers for steady state calibration. Agreement between the observed and simulated drawdowns was obtained for transient state calibration. To predict the aquifer system responses for the period of 1997–2025, four different pumping schemes (scenarios) have been investigated. The first scenario (present pumping rate) reveals that there will be approximately a 25 m drop in the water level at the well-field area in 2025. However, the worst scenario (pumping rate at 1.5 times the present rate) reveals an approximate 39 m drop in the water level at the well-field area in 2025. The safe yield for the Upper Aquifer System was found to be about 25 million cubic meters (MCM) yearly. Received: 24 June 1999 · Accepted: 30 November 1999     

Kinetics and Equilibrium Sorption Studies of 4-Nitrophenol on pyrolyzed and activated oil shale residue

Sorption of the organic pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) by pyrolyzed and activated Jordanian oil-shale was studied. Pyrolyzed oil shale was prepared using a fluidized bed reactor at 520 °C in the presence of nitrogen. Physical activation was carried out by treating the pyrolyzed oil shale with CO₂ at 830 °C, while chemical activation was achieved by using KOH and ZnCl₂ as impregnating agents. Batch kinetics and isotherm studies were conducted to evaluate the sorption process. Effects of contact time, initial sorbate concentration, sorbent concentration, temperature, pH and inorganic salts (NaCl and KCl) on the sorption process by the different sorbents were considered. Chemically activated oil shale, pretreated with ZnCl₂, gave the highest uptake of 4-NP. The isotherm experimental data fit reasonably well to Langmuir, Freundlich and Redlich-Paterson models. Three kinetic models, namely the Morris-Weber, Lagergren, and Pseudo-Second-Order model (PSOM), were applied to represent the experimental results for both pyrolyzed and ZnCl₂-oil shale sorbents.     

The paleoclimate of the eastern desert of Jordan during marine isotope stage 9

Two Cardium horizons from the topmost Azraq Formation in the eastern desert of Jordan were investigated and dated by U/Th at 330 ka; MIS 9. Fossil diversity and abundance, especially for Charophytes and gastropods with the absence of palygorskite, dolomite and evaporites, suggest the presence of a fresh water lake changing to a brackish environment at certain time intervals. A lake or possibly several smaller and shallower lakes occupied an area of about 50 km wide within the Azraq Basin. The present-day arid climate cannot support the presence of lakes in the eastern desert of Jordan, and thus MIS 9 in Jordan must have been much wetter. The source of humidity was most probably more intense Mediterranean cyclones associated with warmer than present MIS 9. However, the possibility of summer monsoon rain from the south cannot be fully excluded.     

Noble gases reveal the complex groundwater mixing pattern and origin of salinization in the Azraq Oasis,Jordan

Azraq Oasis in the eastern Jordanian desert is an important freshwater resource of the country. Shallow groundwater reserves are heavily exploited since the 1980s and in consequence the groundwater table dropped significantly. Furthermore, some wells of the major well field drilled into the shallow aquifer show an increasing mineralization over the past 20 years. A previous study using conventional tracers did not result in a satisfactory explanation, from where the salt originates and why only a few wells are affected. In this study, the application of dissolved noble gases in combination with other tracer methods reveals a complex mixing pattern leading to the very localized salinization within the well field. It is found that primarily the wells affected by salinization 1) contain distinctly more radiogenic ⁴He than the other wells, indicating higher groundwater age, and 2) exhibit ³He/⁴He ratios that argue for an imprint of deep fluids from the Earth's mantle.However, the saline middle aquifer below is virtually free of mantle helium, which infers an upstream from an even deeper source through a nearby conductive fault. The local restriction of the salinization process is explained by the wide range of permeabilities of the involved geologic units. As the wells abstract water from the whole depth profile, they initially pump water mainly from the well conductive top rock layer. As the groundwater table dropped, this layer fell progressively dry and, depending on the local conductivity profile, some wells began to incorporate more water from the deeper part of the shallow aquifer into the discharge. These are the wells affected by salinization, because according to the presented scheme the deep part of the shallow aquifer is enriched in both salt and mantle fluids.     

Seismic hazard maps for Jordan and vicinity

Probabilistic methods are used to quantify the seismic hazard in Jordan and neighbouring regions. The hazard model incorporates the uncertainties associated with the seismicity parameters and the attenuation equation. Seven seismic sources are identified in the region and the seismicity parameters of these sources are estimated by making use of all the available information. Seismic hazard computations and the selection of peak ground acceleration and modified Mercalli intensity values at the nodes of a 25 × 25 km mesh covering the region under study are carried out by two different computer programs.The results of the study are presented through a set of seismic hazard maps displaying iso-acceleration and iso-intensity contours corresponding to specified return periods. The first set of maps is derived based on the seismicity data assessed in this study and display our best estimate of the seismic hazard for Jordan and the neighbouring areas. The second set of maps which shows the alternative estimate of seismic hazard is based solely on the seismicity parameters reported by other researchers. The third set of maps, called the Bayesian estimate of seismic hazard, reflects the influence of expert opinion involving more conservative assumptions regarding the Red Sea and Araba faults.     

Multivariate statistical analysis and environmental isotopes of Amman/Wadi Sir (B2/A7) groundwater,Yarmouk River Basin,Jordan

Multivariate statistical techniques, cluster and factor analyses were applied on the Amman/Wadi Sir groundwater chemistry, Yarmouk River basin, north Jordan. The main objective was to investigate the main processes affecting the groundwater chemical quality and its evolution. The k‐means cluster analysis yields three groups with distinct ionic concentrations. Cluster 1 comprises the vast majority of the sampled wells, and the water that belongs to this cluster can be classified as freshwater. Cluster 2 comprises only 2% of the sampled wells; it has the highest ionic concentration. The water of this cluster can be classified as brackish water. Cluster 3 involves 23% of the sampled wells, and it has total ionic concentration intermediate to that of clusters 1 and 2. Factor analysis yields a three‐factor model, which explains 76.77% of the groundwater quality variation. Factor 1 ‘salinity factor’ involves EC, Na⁺, Cl^‐, SO₄^‐2, K⁺ and Mg⁺² and reflects groundwater salinization because of overpumping. Factor 2 ‘hardness factor’ includes Ca⁺², HCO₃^‐ and the pH value and signifies soil–water/rock interaction. Factor 3 ‘nitrate factor’ involves only NO₃^‐ and points to groundwater contamination because of human activities, mainly untreated wastewater, and crops and animal cultivation in the unconfined portion of the aquifer. Factors 1 and 3 can be described as human‐induced factors, whereas factor 2 can be described as geogenic factor. Factors' scores were mapped to deduce the controlling processes on the groundwater chemistry. Stable isotope composition of ¹⁸O and ²H has revealed that the groundwater is a mixture of two water types. The radioactive isotopes tritium and ¹⁴ C were used to evaluate present day recharge to the aquifer and to estimate the groundwater age, respectively. Present day recharge to the groundwater is taking place in the unconfined portion of the aquifer as it is indicated by the measurable tritium content and low groundwater age. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distribution and mode of occurrence of radionuclides in phosphogypsum derived from Aqaba and Eshidiya Fertilizer Industry,South Jordan

Phosphogypsum (PG) is a by-product of the chemical reaction called the "wet process" whereby sul-phuric acid reacts with phosphate rock (PR) to produce phosphoric acid, needed for fertilizer production. Through the wet process, some impurities naturally present in the PR become incorporated in PG, including U decay-series radionuclides, are the main important concern which could have an effect on the surrounding environment and pre-vent its safe utilization. In order to determine the distribution and bioavailability of radionuclides to the surrounding environment, we used a sequential leaching of PG samples from Aqaba and Eshidiya fertilizer industry. The results showed that the percentages of 226Ra and 210Pb in PG are over those in the corresponding phosphate rocks (PG/PR), where 85% of the 226Ra and 85% of the 210Pb fractionate to PG. The sequential extraction results exhibited that most of 226Ra and 210Pb are bound in the residual phase (non-CaSO4) fraction ranging from 45%–65% and 55%–75%, respectively, whereas only 10%–15% and 10%–20% respectively of these radionuclides are distributed in the most labile fraction. The results obtained from this study showed that radionuclides are not incorporated with gypsum itself and may not form a threat to the surrounding environment.     

Assessment of the anthropogenic influx of metallic pollutants in Yarmouk River, Jordan

 Chemical data for 15 elements at depths at 10-cm intervals in 6 cores at two locations along the Yarmouk River as well as the heavy-metal enrichment factors (EFs) and anthropogenic factors (AFs) show that Cd and Ni for all the cores, and Mn, Zn, Cr, Co and Pb for core 3 at location A are anthropogenically enriched. The contents of these elements decrease clearly with depth in the sediment column. The sequence of element enrichment depends on whether the EF and the AF are used to calculate the elements which show no systematic decrease in enrichment with depth in all cores, especially for location A, probably due mainly to a higher sedimentation rate. The results of the present study show that the sediments of the Yarmouk River are uncontaminated with Fe, Cr, and Mn, whereas they are uncontaminated to moderately contaminated with Ni, Co, and Zn, moderately contaminated with Pb, and strongly to extremely contaminated with respect to Cd. Also, the study shows that the EF and AF values are higher than 1, which indicates that all the metals measured in the sediments of the Yarmouk River were enriched by various anthropogenic sources in the catchment area of this river. Heavy metal enrichment reflects the combined effects of agricultural activities, a treatment plant, a landfill site at El-Akader, and small industries in the region. Received: 16 March 2000 · Accepted: 12 August 2000