Skip to main content
Duke University Libraries
DukeSpace Scholarship by Duke Authors
  • Login
  • Ask
  • Menu
  • Login
  • Ask a Librarian
  • Search & Find
  • Using the Library
  • Research Support
  • Course Support
  • Libraries
  • About
View Item 
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
  • View Item
  •   DukeSpace
  • Theses and Dissertations
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Planning to Avert a Crisis: Analysis of Jordan’s Groundwater Understanding its characteristics and providing solutions

Thumbnail
View / Download
12.9 Mb
Date
2008-04-28
Author
Hirschfeld, Daniella
Advisor
Vengosh, Avner
Repository Usage Stats
306
views
409
downloads
Abstract
Jordan, with roughly 900 million m3 of renewable fresh water, is considered one of the ten most water deprived nations in the world. These water shortages, which are expected to be exacerbated by climate change, are considered to be a key impediment to the nation’s development. Currently the government plans to utilize the Disi aquifer, which can provide 90 million m3 of water for the next 100 years. Given the importance of this aquifer it is important to assess its quality. In this master’s project we analyze the Disi aquifer’s radium content and explore the implications from these findings. Specifically 22 samples from the aquifer were collected and compared to 38 samples from the rest of Jordan. The samples were analyzed both in terms of the chemical make up as well as their Ra content. Further analysis involved GIS mapping and some basic statistic. Finally work was done to assess the impact of our findings the nation’s water management plan. Our research shows that the Disi aquifer is heavily contaminated with radium, containing on average 9 times the US – EPA limit of 0.185 Bq/L. Furthermore, we find that there is a significant relationship between the aquifer’s radium content and the concentration of barium and chloride. Given these findings we conclude that only the confined saline group in the Disi aquifer would be safe to utilize for human consumption. If other waters are to be used, they must either be used after treatment, or only for agricultural purposes. Finally, we conclude with that finding that the radium content moves the Disi aquifer from a top choice water management strategy to a lower place in the rankings, but does not eliminate it as a choice all together.
Type
Master's project
Department
Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences
Subject
Jordan water management
Groundwater
Radionuclides
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/571
Citation
Hirschfeld, Daniella (2008). Planning to Avert a Crisis: Analysis of Jordan’s Groundwater Understanding its characteristics and providing solutions. Master's project, Duke University. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/571.
Collections
  • Nicholas School of the Environment
More Info
Show full item record
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

Rights for Collection: Nicholas School of the Environment


Works are deposited here by their authors, and represent their research and opinions, not that of Duke University. Some materials and descriptions may include offensive content. More info

Make Your Work Available Here

How to Deposit

Browse

All of DukeSpaceCommunities & CollectionsAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit DateThis CollectionAuthorsTitlesTypesBy Issue DateDepartmentsAffiliations of Duke Author(s)SubjectsBy Submit Date

My Account

LoginRegister

Statistics

View Usage Statistics
Duke University Libraries

Contact Us

411 Chapel Drive
Durham, NC 27708
(919) 660-5870
Perkins Library Service Desk

Digital Repositories at Duke

  • Report a problem with the repositories
  • About digital repositories at Duke
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Deaccession and DMCA Takedown Policy

TwitterFacebookYouTubeFlickrInstagramBlogs

Sign Up for Our Newsletter
  • Re-use & Attribution / Privacy
  • Harmful Language Statement
  • Support the Libraries
Duke University