The effect of hydraulic anisotropies on intensely exploited groundwater resources: the numerical evaluation of a hydrothermal transboundary aquifer system in the Middle East

Applying Rare Earth Elements, Uranium, and87Sr/86Sr to Disentangle Structurally Forced Confluence of Regional Groundwater Resources: The Case of the Lower Yarmouk Gorge

“…This gave rise to the conceptual model that the LYG is the surface expression of a fault zone, preventing transboundary flow [1]. 2D and 3D modelling supported that concept of continuous groundwater aquifers with the absence of transboundary groundwater exchange due to a zone of high hydraulic anisotropy underneath the gorge's centerline [4][5][6][7]. The gorge seemingly acts as a complex conduitbarrier system, along which groundwater from the Golan in the north and Ajloun in the south converges and drains towards the Lower Jordan Valley (Figure 2).…”

Faulting patterns in the Lower Yarmouk Gorge potentially influence groundwater flow paths

“…The rejuvenation of hydrological studies of the LYG started with conceptual models (Roded et al, 2013;Siebert et al, 2014), which speculated about potential reasons for local hydraulic anisotropies in order to explain the complex hydrological system manifested by groundwater pressure, temperature, and chemical variations. This was followed by a series of numerical 2-D models (Goretzki et al, 2016;Magri et al, 2015;Tzoufka et al, 2018), which used a combination of previous works to construct their structural model. The results achieved by those studies simulate groundwater flow and heat transfer over a fault in the geological sequence of the area.…”

“…To the north, Mt. Hermon manifests a shift in the en-echelon arrangement from left-to right-stepping resulting in a restraining geometry (Weinberger et al, 2009) which causes uplifting of the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountains (Beydoun, 1977) as well as the deepening of the Golan syncline. The LYG, the southern GH, and the northern Ajloun, located along the eastern rim of the Kinnarot basin, are considered to be subject to the regional forces applied by this active plate boundary.…”

“…Consequently, the anomalous heat flow was studied by a method of inverse problem, suggesting that the thermal constraints of the system require one of two scenarios, (a) relatively permeable and continuous faults, cutting through the entire geological section, reaching at depth the Triassic beds, or (b) local fractures interconnected by a highly permeable Cretaceous aquifer (Goretzki et al, 2016). Tzoufka et al (2018) were able to substantiate the existence of a zone of hydraulic anisotropy along the LYG, possessing high hydraulic conductivity along its course, while S ⇔ N oriented groundwater migration across the plane is impeded. However, the abovementioned studies are based on simplified assumptions of fault locations and orientation.…”

Sources of Salinization of Groundwater in the Lower Yarmouk Gorge, East of the River Jordan

“…Particularly the issue of potential transboundary flow of water between the Ajloun in the south [46,47] and the Golan Heights in the north [10,41,44,51] underneath the Yarmouk River was and still is debated. It has been considered whether or not the Gorge delineates a fault or represents an anisotropy zone which possibly prevents transboundary flow of groundwater between Jordan and Israel [12,61]. Seismic lines crossing this border have not been shot up to now but several ones in the southern Golan Heights [13].…”