The Use of GIS and Leachability Tests to Investigate Groundwater Vulnerability to Pollution from Oil Shale Utilization at Lajjoun Area/Southern Jordan

Jordan is a country that faces "absolute water scarcity" and may not be able to meet its water needs by the year 2025. Groundwater is the major water resource for many areas of the country and the only source of water in some areas. Most of the groundwater basins in Jordan are already exploited beyond their estimated safe yield. Groundwater is the second largest contributor to the irrigation sector and is the largest source for domestic consumption. Jordan also has a huge amount of oil shale that exists in the Southern and Eastern parts of the country. It is estimated that Jordan has a reserve of 50 billion tons of oil shale. The oil shale deposits in these locations are shallow and near the surface and can be utilized by the open cut mining method. The ash is considered one of the most important factors in selecting the suitable and more economical utilization technology for Jordanian oil shale. Oil shale ash is considered one of the main environmental challenges and a barrier which stands on the way of developing oil shale industry in Jordan. The main concern in this case is that ash might reach nearby surface water and/ or leach to groundwater recourses in the area. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of pollution of groundwater resources in Lajjoun area/ Southern Jordan as a result of oil shale development. It assessed groundwater vulnerability to pollution using GIS and DRASTIC index in combination with chemical analysis and leachability tests conducted on oil shale ash that might result from two possible utilizations of oil shale; producing electricity through direct burning of oil shale and extracting oil from oil shale. It was found that Lajjoun area has a moderate groundwater vulnerability to pollution. Yet, the leachabilty tests showed that there will be huge amounts of Fe, Cr, Cd, Pb, Al and Pb as possible leachates to groundwater for both types of oil shale utilizations; oil extraction and electricity generation

Geohazard Evaluation of Bukit Merah/ Malaysia using Geospatial Information Technique

Geospatial technology (that includes Remote Sensing and Geographical Information System GIS) has opened up opportunities for qualitative analyses of sinkholes distribution with multi thematic maps to define the relationship of GIS database. Kinta Valley have been deteriorating dramatically as a result of changes that had occurred in the past and continues due to the close relationship between the fast rate of lateral urbanization and extensive dimensional expansion of surface mining and quarrying activities, where sinkholes are the main crux of the geohazard in Kinta Valley. Geospatial information system for sinkholes had been established using pictorial, tabular and ancillary data to build a relational GIS database. The application is capable of analyzing an entire data set of sinkholes to create sinkholes distribution map. The objective of this paper is to highlight the value of Geospatial Information System as a tool to define sinkhole distribution and change detection for geohazard evaluation. Keywords: Geospatial, Karst, Sinkholes distribution, Geohazard, Malaysia

The Use of Vector-Based GIS and Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) for Siting Water Harvesting Dams in Karak Governorate/ South Jordan

Jordan is the 4th poorest country in the world in terms of water resources. Although, Jordan receives an average annual rainfall of 8194 million cubic metre, it can only collect 360 million cubic meters in its existing dams. There is an urgent need to construct more dams in order to harvest the obtainable runoff which might help in overcoming the shortage in its water resources for domestic and agricultural uses.  Site selection of dams must be carried out using sophisticated tools and techniques. One of these techniques is GIS, which could be integrated with multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) to select the optimum sites for dams. In this research vector-Based GIS and multi-criteria decision making were used to select the optimum sites of dams in Karak governorate/ South Jordan. Rainfall, soil, slope, urban areas and roads comprise the selection criteria used in this research based on the use of weighted linear combination (WLC). Wadis, Roads, Urban Centres, Faults and Wells comprise the constraint factors used to erase the unsuitable areas for constructing dams based on the Boolean technique. The outcome of this research showed that there are 9 potential sites that could be utilized for constructing dams to harvest the surface water in the study area. Keywords: Jordan; Karak; Dams; Vector-Based; GIS; MCD

The use of DRASTIC Index and Simple Matrix Techniques to Assess the Environmental Impact of Akaider Dumpsite Area

Abstract: EIA are needed to avoid adverse impacts and to ensure long term benefits which lead to sustainable development. There are several techniques to conduct an EIA. Among these techniques include checklists, Matrices and overlay. DRASTIC index is considered an important methodology for studying groundwater vulnerability. In this research study, a simple matrix technique was adopted to investigate the Environmental Impacts of Akaider dumpsite on the surrounding environment. Nine environmental parameters (Groundwater, surface water, air, soil, land use, industry, public health, heritage and historical sites and socio-economic situation) were studies to see the impact of the dumpsite on their quality. It was found that the dumpsite might pose a major threat to these parameters. Also, DRASTIC index was used to investigate groundwater vulnerability to contamination in the area. It was found that the dumpsite is located within a moderate vulnerability zone. This means that groundwater in the underlying groundwater basins in not completely save and might be contaminated in the future

GIS AS A DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR SITING WATER HARVESTING PONDS IN THE BASALT AQUIFER/NE JORDAN

Water harvesting is a must and not an option for Jordan in the near future. The available water resources are limited and barely satisfy the current growing demands. In the basalt aquifer/NE of Jordan, there is a possibility to construct water harvesting ponds to assist the livestock owners in villages and towns in watering their livestock which will ease the pressure on the existing water resources. This research was based on the use of GIS techniques to select the optimum sites for water harvesting ponds within the basalt aquifer. Buffering, Union and arithmetic operations in GIS were all used in analysing the data based on different socio-economic and physical criteria. The outcomes of the GIS analysis resulted in selecting 72 suitable sites within the study area. These sites could be used as a guideline to the decision makers in Jordan when they decided to establish a water harvesting pond in the area. This will save time and money which could be directed to the construction of the actual water harvesting ponds.Jordan, basalt, harvesting, ponds, GIS

Mapping groundwater level and depth in the Azraq Basin in Jordan using GIS

Water resources can play a vital role in the economic development of a country. In Jordan, water resources are scarce and decreasing, and groundwater is considered the major water resource. The Azraq is one of the largest groundwater basins in Jordan, and it is currently facing an over-extraction problem. This study attempts to assess and map groundwater resources in the Azraq Basin using ARCVIEW GIS software. The relationship between land topography and depth-to-water surface was found to be statistically significant, while there was no significant association between land topography and groundwater level. Two essential thematic layers were created—depth to groundwater and groundwater level and the slope of groundwater level was mapped. The majority of the study area has a slope of less than four degrees with smaller scattered areas were the slope could rise up to 8.6 degrees. The results indicate that, due to the nature of the data involved and the analysis required, GIS could facilitate the necessary spatial digital analysis. Subsequently, its outcomes can be used for future groundwater planning and monitoring

DSM derived stereo pair photogrammetry: Multitemporal morphometric analysis of a quarry in karst terrain

Bukit Merah karst has been deteriorating dramatically over 40 years due to intensification of human activities as a result of fast rate of lateral urbanization and extensive dimensional expansion of surface mining activities for instance, quarrying. Application of morphometric techniques to karst landforms provides a quantitative measurement and analysis of the configuration of karst landform variations. The objective of this study is to demonstrate the viability of using an integrated approach based on digital terrain model (DTM) derived time-series of steriopair aerial photography for monitoring the long-term geological karst response to environmental changes. The aerial photo stereo pairs were used to extract digital terrain model of the years 1981 and 2004, which in turn produced the TIN profiles of selected karst sites in the study area to define the karst morphology changes and to develop 3D representation and visualization. A detailed visualization of the karst terrain and its surface changes were represented using 3D virtual reality tool to substantiate the impact of surface mining in the Bukit Merah. Topographical characteristics of limestone hills, mountainous areas and flat areas were presented in 3D prospective. The results show the simulation topographical analysis results have confirmed that there were changes in elevation over the period from 1981 to 2004 especially in the limestone hill area as detected by the digital elevation model. It showed a dramatic variation in elevation has increased over a time interval. This means there has occurred an interference with the terrain attributed to human intervention or natural causes during the time interval. The result shows that the digital terrain model (DTM) derived time-series of steriopair aerial photography is able to delineate the changes in karst topography

Spatial mapping of water spring potential using four data mining models

Population growth and overexploitation of water resources pose ongoing pressure on groundwater resources. This study compares the capability of four data mining methods, namely, boosted regression tree (BRT), random forest (RF), multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS), and support vector machine (SVM), for water spring potential mapping (WSPM) in Al Kark Governorate, east of the Dead Sea, Jordan. Overall, 200 spring locations and 13 predictor variables were considered for model building and validation. The four models were calibrated and trained on 70% of the spring locations (i.e., 140 locations) and their predictive accuracy was evaluated on the remaining 30% of the locations (i.e., 60 locations). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROCC) was employed as the performance measure for the evaluation of the accuracy of the constructed models. Results of model accuracy assessment based on the AUROCC revealed that the performance of the RF model (AUROCC = 0.748) was better than that of any other model (AUROCC SVM = 0.732, AUROCC MARS = 0.727, and AUROCC BRT = 0.689). HIGHLIGHTS Groundwater potential zoning and mapping is a critical step in identifying and managing water resources.; Multicriteria decision-making methods can be employed as fast and efficient techniques in decision-making.; The possibility of the presence of multicollinearity among the 13 predictors of the presence of water springs was examined.

Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with MCDA in the GIS Environment to Determine Site Potential for Water Harvesting in Wadi Hammad Basin in Jordan

The significance of water harvesting in Wadi Hammad basin lies in the fact that the Jordanian government encourages the cultivation of vegetables, wheat, and barley in the country in an effort to improve food security in Jordan and create job opportunities for young people in the agricultural sector. Water harvesting in this basin will augment the water resources used for plant production and livestock watering by flash floods that involve large quantities of runoff. This study aimed to identify the best locations for water harvesting in the Wadi Hammad basin in Jordan via a Multi-Criterion Decision Analysis (MCDA) and indigenous knowledge. This study focused on consulting with indigenous knowledge where they provided information on the study area for water-collecting sites that have been used for years to provide water. In this study, site selection was based on six criteria that had been determined through a review of related literature (drainage density, rainfall depth, lineament density, soil clay content, geology, and slope). Following MCDA analysis, a water-harvesting suitability map was created. The final water-harvesting map uncovered that a large part of the basin (66.53%) has high to very high potential for water harvesting. The technique of water harvesting was subdued to statistical analysis, sensitivity analysis, and the map removal test. This study demonstrates that the selection of relevant water harvesting locations is a lengthy method that needs consultation with indigenous knowledge and the use of MCDA in the GIS environment. The study results, in general, and the final map, in particular, show the good relationship between the sites defined by the use of MCDA and the site suitability for water harvesting that was specified based on indigenous knowledge. Finally, the results of this study, which integrated indigenous knowledge with MCDA, may be employed to help in effective planning for water resource management to warrant the sustainable development of water in Jordan

Integrating Indigenous Knowledge with MCDA in the GIS Environment to Determine Site Potential for Water Harvesting in Wadi Hammad Basin in Jordan

The significance of water harvesting in Wadi Hammad basin lies in the fact that the Jordanian government encourages the cultivation of vegetables, wheat, and barley in the country in an effort to improve food security in Jordan and create job opportunities for young people in the agricultural sector. Water harvesting in this basin will augment the water resources used for plant production and livestock watering by flash floods that involve large quantities of runoff. This study aimed to identify the best locations for water harvesting in the Wadi Hammad basin in Jordan via a Multi-Criterion Decision Analysis (MCDA) and indigenous knowledge. This study focused on consulting with indigenous knowledge where they provided information on the study area for water-collecting sites that have been used for years to provide water. In this study, site selection was based on six criteria that had been determined through a review of related literature (drainage density, rainfall depth, lineament density, soil clay content, geology, and slope). Following MCDA analysis, a water-harvesting suitability map was created. The final water-harvesting map uncovered that a large part of the basin (66.53%) has high to very high potential for water harvesting. The technique of water harvesting was subdued to statistical analysis, sensitivity analysis, and the map removal test. This study demonstrates that the selection of relevant water harvesting locations is a lengthy method that needs consultation with indigenous knowledge and the use of MCDA in the GIS environment. The study results, in general, and the final map, in particular, show the good relationship between the sites defined by the use of MCDA and the site suitability for water harvesting that was specified based on indigenous knowledge. Finally, the results of this study, which integrated indigenous knowledge with MCDA, may be employed to help in effective planning for water resource management to warrant the sustainable development of water in Jordan