Use of Solute and Isotopic Composition of Ground Water to Constrain the Ground Water Flow System of the Azraq Area, Jordan

Abstract

This study shows that hydrological systems in arid areas where water level data are incomplete can be better understood and constrained by using chemical and isotopic data. These constraints significantly alter the conceptual hydrological model of the Azraq area. Previous studies, based on water level data, suggest that water in the Azraq oasis is derived from two major piezometric highs; the western basalt aquifer to the northwest and the Tulul el Ashaquif highlands to the northeast of the oasis. Water from the Tulul el Ashaquif aquifer is also considered to drain to a piezometric low at Ruwaishid to the east, and then into deeper aquifers. Chemical data from this study show that the northwest basalt aquifer provides most of the water (80‐85 %) to the Azraq oasis. Water from the Tulul el Ashaquif supplies a relatively small proportion, but due to its high solute content, imparts its chemical signature on the oasis water. This study has shown that water from Tulul el Ashaquif are not supplied to the Ruwaishid area, as previously thought. Stable isotopic data show that each piezometric high contains water which originated in a distinct climatic setting. Both water types are poor in tritium. Traces of tritium at the Azraq oasis and at Ruwaishid indicate some recent local recharge.

A GIS Database for Sustainable Management of Shallow Water Resources in the Tulul al Ashaqif Region, NE Jordan

“…The source of the waters in these shallow perched aquifers is the ephemeral runoff that occurs after high rainfall events in the area. The shallow perched aquifer water is distinct from the regional water table, which is over 350 m deep in the area, of poor quality (Abu-Jaber et al 1998) and consists of very old fossil water, as is suggested by its isotopic signatures (Bajjali and Abu-Jaber 2001).…”

Deduction of groundwater flow regime in a basaltic aquifer using geochemical and isotopic data: The Golan Heights, Israel case study

“…By characterization of precipitation isotopic value trends according to any geographic parameter, such as elevation, it becomes possible to reconstruct the replenishment areas of different outlets and thereby the groundwater flow-paths in the aquifer. This method was applied in several studies of basaltic aquifers around the world (Rose et al, 1996;Scholl et al, 1996;Abu-Jaber et al, 1998;Larson et al, 2000).…”

A Novel Method to Assess the Impact of a Government’s Water Strategy on Research: A Case Study of Azraq Basin, Jordan

“…Topographically, the basin is located within the highland region in Jordan, where the elevation ranges from 490 m above sea level in the Azraq Mudflat area, in the center of the basin, to more than 1300 m above sea level on Jabal Druze area in Syria (Figure 1). Jabal Druze is considered the main recharge area of basalt aquifer [23][24][25][26]. The Azraq Basin climate is arid to semi-arid, with a dry and hot season extending from May to September, with a wet and cold season extends from October to April [27][28][29].…”

“…Moreover, a total of 16 studies align with goal 2.f., which focuses on improving data availability and the monitoring system. Baïsset, M. et al [73] described how to improve the data availability and monitoring system, and the remaining studies focus on assessing the availability and sustainable exploitability of water resources in the basin [23][24][25][26]29,31,52,54,64,[95][96][97][98][99]. Only BGR/ESCWA [100] indirectly targeted goal 2.i., which focuses on the protection of shared water rights.…”