Morphometric analysis and sub‐watersheds prioritisation were carried out for the Wadi Easal Basin, Jordan, which is characterised by a high topographic diversity. The total ranking method was applied to prioritise the sub‐watersheds in terms of susceptibility to flash flood. Results of morphometric analysis revealed that the study area is a fifth order drainage system with a dendritic drainage pattern and elongated shape. Prioritisation results showed that about 71% (15 out of 21 sub‐watersheds) of sub‐watersheds have high‐very high susceptibility to flooding, which forms about 64% of the total area of the basin. The main underlying morphometric parameters behind this are the high drainage density, stream frequency, high basin relief, basin slope, ruggedness number, and circulatory ratio, and the low value of basin shape. Overall, the basin has a rugged topography with steep slopes and high relief. Since the basin is ungauged, and no information about its past hydrological behaviour is present, the results of this study can be used as guidance for competent authorities to initialize flood mitigation or artificial groundwater recharge measures.
Abstract:Jordan is classified as an arid to semi-arid country with a population according to 1999 estimates of 4Ð8 millions inhabitants and a growth rate of 3Ð4%. 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 3Ð7 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 (<1Ð3 TU). However, three samples in east Hammad, where the aquifer is unconfined, present tritium values between 1 and 4 TU.
Droughts have adverse socioeconomic, agricultural, and environmental impacts that can be reduced by assessing and forecasting drought behavior. The paper presents detailed analyses of both meteorological and vegetative droughts over the period from 1970 to 2005. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) have been used to quantify drought according to severity, magnitude and spatial distribution at the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Results suggest that the country faced during the past 35 years frequent non-uniform drought periods in an irregular repetitive manner. Drought severity, magnitudes and life span increased with time from normal to extreme levels especially at last decade reaching magnitudes of more than 4. Generated NDVI maps spatial analyses estimate crop-area percentage damage due to severe and extremely severe drought events occurred during October,
This research work was carried out under the assumption that wastes generated from hospitals in Irbid, Jordan were hazardous. The hazardous and non-hazardous wastes generated from the different divisions in the three hospitals under consideration were not separated during collection process. Three hospitals, Princess Basma hospital (public), Princess Bade'ah hospital (teaching), and Ibn Al-Nafis hospital (private) in Irbid were selected for this study. The research work took into account the amounts of solid waste accumulated from each division and also determined the total amount generated from each hospital. The generation rates were determined (kilogram per patient, per day; kilogram per bed, per day) for the three hospitals. These generation rates were compared with similar hospitals in Europe. The evaluation suggested that the current situation regarding the management of these wastes in the three studied hospitals needs revision as these hospitals do not follow methods of waste disposals that would reduce risk to human health and the environment practiced in developed countries. Statistical analysis was carried out to develop models for the prediction of the quantity of waste generated at each hospital (public, teaching, private). In these models number of patients, beds, and type of hospital were revealed to be significant factors on quantity of waste generated. Multiple regressions were also used to estimate the quantities of wastes generated from similar divisions in the three hospitals (surgery, internal diseases, and maternity).
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