Mutewekil M. Obeidat

Karst development related to extensional fracture network at Bany-Kanana area, northern Jordan

The study area lies east of the northern segment of the Dead Sea Transform (DST), within the Jordan valley active strike-slip fault system. The exposed rocks in the study area consist of Upper Cretaceous to Cenozoic carbonates and cherts. This study concentrated on detailed field measurements of the various structural elements such as extensional fractures, normal faults, and strike-slip faults, with a total of 1,976 measurements. The predominant trends of all fractures (faults and joints) in the study area are N-S, NNW-SSE, and NW-SE with steep dips and characterized by sinistral and extensional modes of deformation. The NNW to NW trend has the same general trend of the water flow path in the study area. Normal and strike-slip conjugate and hybrid fracture sets with different acute dihedral angles and steep dips were observed in the study area. These fractures connect with the vertical extensional fractures in the same stratigraphic level. In addition, the interconnected orthogonal fracture systems with bedding parallel fractures play a major role conducting fluid movement and therefore, in initiation of karst development in the study area. These fractures network were enlarged by water dissolution forming small caverns.

An Innovative Nitrate Pollution Index and Multivariate Statistical Investigations of Groundwater Chemical Quality of Umm Rijam Aquifer (B4), North Yarmouk River Basin, Jordan

The chemical quality of the groundwater is modified by several factors, such as interaction with solid phases, residence time of groundwater, seepage of polluted river water, mixing of groundwater with pockets of saline water and anthropogenic impacts (Stallord and Edmond, 1983; Dethier, 1988; Faure, 1998; Umar et. al., 2006; Giridharan et al., 2008). Recently, there has been a tendency for groundwater quality deterioration, which has been caused by human activities (Dragon, 2008). The quality of water is of vital importance for humans, since it is directly linked with human welfare (Gupta et al., 2008). Poor water quality adversely affects the plant growth and human health (WHO, 1984; Hem, 1991; Karanth, 1997). Globally, nitrate is among the most common groundwater contaminants (Rajmohan and Elango, 2005). Potential sources of nitrate in groundwater include: fertilizers, septic tank effluent, municipal sewage, animal feedlots, decaying vegetation, and atmospheric deposition (Spalding and Exner, 1993; Wilhelm et al., 1996). In addition to the presence or absence of potential sources, field characteristics such as soil conditions, recharge rates, and depth to groundwater ultimately dictate an aquifer’s vulnerability to nitrate contamination (Enwright and Hudak, 2009). Water quality index (WQI) is defined as a technique of rating that provides the composite influence of individual water quality parameters on the overall quality of water for human consumption (Vasanthavigar et al., 2010). It is an important parameter for demarcating groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking purposes (Mishra and Patel, 2001; Naik and Purohit, 2001; Avvannavar and Shrihari, 2008). There is a wide range of water quality indices that have been developed and used to classify water quality, which can be categorized based on the used variables (Terrado et al. 2010). Based on the considered variables, three classes of WQIs can be recognized:

Analysis of Lead and Cadmium in Selected Leafy and Non-Leafy Edible Vegetables Using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

Sixteen leafy and non-leafy edible vegetables were collected from the Northern Al-gour area, Jordan, and analyzed for Pb and Cd using atomic absorption spectrometry. In addition, soil samples were collected from areas adjacent to the sites from which the vegetables samples were collected and about 40 m from the road. Results indicated that the average Pb and Cd concentrations in the selected edible vegetables were found in the following order: Leaves > roots > fruits > seeds. Moreover, Pb and Cd levels in soil samples collected from the near main road were higher than those soil samples collected from the sites 40 meters far from the main road.