Evaluation of Jordanian faujasite tuff by comparison with other natural and synthetic zeolites

 The evaluation of the Jordanian faujasite tuff in wastewater treatment is investigated by comparison with synthetic faujasite (13X) and clinoptilolite-rich tuff. The material used (JORD-FAUJ) is concentrated by mineral processing techniques. It has a faujasite content of 57% and phillipsite content of 35%. Thorough characterization of the JORD-FAUJ revealed the high suitability of the product for use in column operation. It either compares closely or gives better thermal stability, attrition resistance, acid resistance, cation exchange capacity (CEC) and water absorption capacity, when compared with products already recommended in column operation. The study has also revealed that the JORD-FAUJ competes efficiently in ammonium removal with the synthetic faujasite 13X and clinoptilolite-rich tuff and gives similar performance. JORD-FAUJ gave a very high performance in removing Pb, Cr, Cu, Zn, and Ni from wastewater, equivalent to 83–100% of that of faujasite 13X and much higher than the clinoptilolite-rich tuff. Received: 13 April 2000 · Accepted: 1 August 2000     

插值算子H_（nr）（f，z）的一致逼近阶

本文分别对ｎ次单位根和Ｆｅｊｅｒ点引进一种有理型插值算子Ｈｎｒ（ｆ，ｚ）（ｒ≥１），然后给出该算子关于ｆ（ｚ）的一致逼近阶。     

Groundwater vulnerability and risk mapping for the Basaltic aquifer of the Azraq basin of Jordan using GIS, Remote sensing and DRASTIC

Water consumption in Jordan already exceeds renewable freshwater resources by more than 20% and, after the year 2005, freshwater resources are likely to be fully utilised. Over 50% of supply derives from groundwater and this paper focuses on a small part of the northern Badia region of Jordan that is underlain by the Azraq groundwater basin where it has been estimated that annual abstraction stands at over 100% of the projected safe yield. While water supply is a crucial issue, there is also evidence to suggest that the quality of groundwater supplies is also under threat as a result of salinisation and an increase in the use of agrochemicals. Focusing on this area, this paper attempts to produce groundwater vulnerability and risk maps. These maps are designed to show areas of greatest potential for groundwater contamination on the basis of hydro-geological conditions and human impacts. All of the major geological and hydro-geological factors that affect and control groundwater movement into, through, and out of the study area were incorporated into the DRASTIC model. Parameters included; depth to groundwater, recharge, aquifer media, soil media, topography, and impact of the vadose zone. The hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer was not included in calculating the final DRASTIC index for potential contamination due to a lack of sufficient quantitative data. A Geographical Information System (GIS) was used to create a groundwater vulnerability map by overlaying the available hydro-geological data. The resulting vulnerability map was then integrated with a land use map as an additional parameter in the DRASTIC model to assess the potential risk of groundwater to pollution in the study area. The final DRASTIC model was tested using hydrochemical data from the aquifer. Around 84% of the study area was classified as being at moderate risk while the re mainder was classified as low risk. While the analysis of groundwater chemistry was not conclusive, it was encouraging to find that no well with high nitrate levels was found in the areas classified as being of low risk suggesting that the DRASTIC model for this area provided a conservative estimate of low risk areas. It is recognised that the approach adopted to produce the DRASTIC index was limited by the availability of data. However, in areas with limited secondary data, this index provides important objective information that could be used to inform local decision making.     

Environmental impact assessment using rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM) for Russeifa landfill, Jordan

An environmental impact assessment (EIA) study for the solid waste landfill was prepared for the Russeifa area, northeast Jordan. As landfill was not subjected to sophisticated EIA, serious environmental problems are still occurring, such as groundwater contamination and air pollution. Three alternatives were proposed to rehabilitate the landfill: upgrading the existing landfill, construction of a biogas plant and its relocation. The EIA for the three options was carried out using the rapid impact assessment matrix (RIAM), it applies a consistent and recordable assessment of the importance of the different components. The scoping components included in the RIAM were: physical/chemical, biological/ecological, social/cultural and economic/operational components. The RIAM analysis showed that the least negative impacts would be to relocate to a better-managed sanitary landfill. The most serious negative impacts were the contamination of groundwater, air pollution and public health. These impacts can be mitigated through a comprehensive environmental management plan for the Russeifa landfill to address the deterioration of environmental components in the vicinity of landfill.     

The upper Cenomanian (Cretaceous) ammonite Neolobites vibrayeanus () in the Middle East: taxonomic and palaeoecologic remarks

In the Middle East and Africa, the Cenomanian ammonite genus Neolobites occurs, partly in great abundance, in shallow marine shelf settings. The genus includes several species but it has remained uncertain to what extent these species reflect biospecies, chronospecies or morphological variants. Based on material from Jordan and Egypt, the morphological variation of Neolobites vibrayeanus is described and discussed. From the several species of Neolobites described in the literature, only N. vibrayeanus, N. fourtaui and N. peroni appear to deserve specific separation. Sedimentological and lithological data, notably the common occurrence in strata that were possibly deposited above storm wave base, suggest that Neolobites was able to inhabit shallow marine settings. In these settings, it seems to form a distinct assemblage with the nautiloid Angulithes. Although N. vibrayeanus shows morphological variability between distinct populations, local N. vibrayeanus assemblages seem to develop morphologically stable populations that show only a little morphological overlap with those of other areas. This may be the reason for the earlier taxonomic splitting. The occurrence in habitats in which other stratigraphically significant ammonites are often missing may be the reason for the previous poor dating of Neolobites assemblages.     

The validity and precision of spotlighting for surveying desert mammal communities

We investigated the validity of spotlighting techniques for surveying and monitoring desert mammal populations by determining the effect of repeating spotlight transects on the relative precision of density estimates. Precision was modelled by calculating cumulative mean density and associated coefficient of variation. The effect of moonlight at the time of surveying was also investigated. The results show that spotlighting is a valid technique for monitoring some species, however the number of transects required to obtain pre-defined adequate levels of precision is species-dependent. Reasons for these findings are discussed and recommendations for future spotlight surveys for monitoring desert mammal populations are given.     

Determination of aquifer susceptibility to pollution using statistical analysis

 The use of statistical techniques in studying the causes of geochemical variations in aquifers can provide important results which cannot be derived in other ways. In this study, data from the Wadi Shueib catchment area in Jordan is evaluated, using principle component factor and multivariate factor analysis in order to better understand the variablility in groundwater chemistry and evaluate the sources of pollution and the susceptibility of these aquifers to the different sources of pollution. This study clearly demonstrates that these statistical techniques can help determine the various mechanisms causing chemical variation in the aquifers and the relative susceptibility of each aquifer to different types of pollution. Received: 13 March 1996 · Accepted: 18 June 1996     

Chloride,hydrochemical and isotope methods of groundwater recharge estimation in eastern Mediterranean areas: a case study in Jordan

Jordan is classified as an arid to semi‐arid country with a population according to 1999 estimates of 4·8 millions inhabitants and a growth rate of 3·4%. Efficient use of Jordan's scarce water is becoming increasingly important as the urban population grows. This study was carried out within the framework of the joint European Research project ‘Groundwater recharge in the eastern Mediterranean’ and describes a combined methodology for groundwater recharge estimation in Jordan, the chloride method, as well as isotopic and hydrochemical approaches. Recharge estimations using the chloride method range from 14 mm year^?1 (mean annual precipitation of 500 mm) for a shallow and stony soil to values of 3·7 mm year^?1 for a thick desert soil (mean annual precipitation of 100 mm) and values of well below 1 mm year^?1 for thick alluvial deposits (mean annual rainfall of 250 mm). Isotopically, most of the groundwater in the Hammad basin, east Jordan, falls below the global meteoric water line and far away from the Mediterranean meteoric water line, suggesting that the waters are ancient and were recharged in a climate different than Mediterranean. Tritium levels in the groundwater of the Hammad basin are less than the detection limit (<1·3 TU). However, three samples in east Hammad, where the aquifer is unconfined, present tritium values between 1 and 4 TU. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial prediction model and its application to chemistry of atmospheric precipitation in Jordan

This study is concerned with the spatial variability of some wet atmospheric precipitation parameters such as; pH, conductivity (EC). The study also depicts the spatial variability of some ions (cations and anions) of atmospheric precipitation in Jordan such as, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Na⁺ and K⁺, HCO₃⁻, Cl⁻, NO₃⁻ and SO₄²⁻. The basis of the work is to establish a relationship through the cumulative semivariogram technique between the distance ratios and the spatial dependence structure of the chemical composition of atmospheric precipitation. All semivariogram models are constructed in this study in order to understand the behavior of the spatial distribution. The spatial distributions of rainwater parameters show differences from station to station which is expressed in terms of angle, where the larger the angle the weaker the correlation. The semivariogram (SV) models are constructed to show the variation of the rainfall chemistry in Jordan. The SV models show weak correlation between mountain and leeside mountain stations, i.e. mountain and desert stations. On the other hand, good correlations are observed when transferring from south to north of the country. The larger is the found angle, the weaker is the correlation. For most of the SV model the correlation is found to be very weak between desert and mountainous locality. The Standard Regional Dependence Factor (SRDF) is used for prediction of the distribution of rain fall parameters. It shows the relative error between observed and predicted values of rainwater parameters. The overall regional relative error between the observed and estimated concentrations remains less than 15%.     

Karst system developed in salt layers of the Lisan Peninsula,Dead Sea,Jordan

The Lisan Peninsula, Jordan, is a massive salt layer accumulated in the inner part of the Dead Sea’s precursory lakes. This tongue-shaped, emergent land results in a salt diapir uplifted in the Dead Sea strike-slip regional stress field and modified by the water level fluctuations of the last lake during the Holocene. These two elements, associated with dissolution caused by rainfall and groundwater circulation, resulted in an authentic karst system. Since the 1960s, the Dead Sea lowering of 80 cm to 1 m per year caused costly damages to the industrial plant set up on the peninsula. The Lisan karst system is described in this article and the components of the present dynamic setting clarified.