Wadi

In this study, an integrated suite of geological and direct current resistivity (DCR) data is used to evaluate the hydrogeophysical conditions at the downstream part of Wadi Ramleiya, Eastern Desert, Egypt. Geological and morphometric analysis of drainage basin and DCR measurements in the form of 1D and 2D surveys are carried out to reveal the subsurface layer distributions and demonstrate the groundwater potentialities. It is obviously that the shallow aquifers and groundwater flow direction are related to structural controls. Based on the inversion results of DCR data, the aquifer is under unconfined conditions where it rests on layers of argillaceous limestone and overlain by gravelly sand. Accordingly, the obtained results can serve as a basis for monitoring, planning and management of water resources in such desert area, and as a whole, they constitute an encouraging example using an integrated approach of geological, morphometric and DCR data in groundwater exploration and fla...

Site HLO1 (Sharjah, UAE), situated in a particularly favourable geographical position, has provided an extraordinary range of anthropogenic radiocarbon dates, spanning before 8000 to Zero BCE. The Neolithic is represented by finds from the eighth to the fifth millennium BCE. Apart from the dated fireplaces, however, there are almost no typical artefacts of this period. Small stone structures appear to have been early Neolithic graves. A middle Neolithic grave consisted of a large rounded stone heap which was reused as a grave during the Late Bronze Age. The site is interpreted as a campsite of nomadic herders, used throughout the Neolithic period. After a break in the fourth millennium BCE, the site became a Bronze Age smelting site which continued to be settled until the Late Iron Age.

Introduction Since 1995, we carried out a long-termed project on "The Gods of the Nabataeans" for Bonn University, which aims at contributing to a better understanding of Nabataean religion.1 Following a survey of Nabataean religious monuments from the Hawran down to al-'Aqaba, we concentrated on the study of the betyls at Petra (cf. Merklein and Wenning 1996; 1997; 1998a-b; Wenning 1997; 1998; 1999) There is still a great uncertainty in identifying the various betyls with a particular god or goddess, or with a particular as­ pect of a deity. Very few betyls are accompanied by an in­ scription which identifies the deity. No doubt, most of the betyls at Petra would represent Dushara or al-'Uzza, but which one shows whom and what are the meanings of the various shapes? Sufficient explanations cannot be reached by the typological classification of the betyls. A more dif­ ferentiating approach which also considers the framing of the niche, its context and the natural e...

Skeletal material from 36 people, dating from the early Christian era, who lived by or worked in the notorious Roman copper mines of Phaeno, were analysed to determine their exposure to copper and lead. We demonstrate that many of the bones analysed had a substantially higher concentration of these cations than modern individuals exposed to metals through industrial processes. Health, toxicological and environmental implications of these data are reviewed.

Archaeological surveys in the southern Levant have traditionally focused on areas with favorable climates and flat terrain where large urban sites are found, corresponding with a research focus on social complexity and state formation. Fewer surveys have explored the rocky, difficult-to-reach areas where large-scale agriculture was rare. This article uses survey data from the 2009 survey of Wadi al-Feidh, southern Jordan, to demonstrate the importance of exploring these environmentally marginal areas. Employing an intensive survey methodology, we recorded a range of sites and features previously unrecognized in this region. These findings suggest that subsistence patterns shifted from small-scale, mixed agro-pastoralism in the Iron Age (1200-586 B.C.) to a more intensive, top-down strategy of agricultural production by the Roman period (ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 400). The results provide new insight into regional socioeconomic change in the southern Levant from the perspective of peripheral communities.

Jordan has been recently classified as the fourth poorest country of water resources. Natural and human factors are affecting and increasing the stresses on these resources. Jordan had suffered from the continuous drought periods over the time. ...

Afin d'améliorer les connaissances en matière de transport solide dans les cours d'eau et de mieux cerner la problématique de l'envasement des barrages, les auteurs de cet article commentent l'étude qu'ils ont conduite dans un bassin versant du Nord Ouest algérien. Une analyse statistique d'échantillons a permis l'évaluation du transport solide en suspension à l'exutoire du bassin, à partir des débits liquides moyens journaliers.

Archaeological surveys in the southern Levant have traditionally focused on areas with favorable climates and flat terrain where large urban sites are found, corresponding with a research focus on social complexity and state formation. Fewer surveys have explored the rocky, difficult-to-reach areas where large-scale agriculture was rare. This article uses survey data from the 2009 survey of Wadi al-Feidh, southern Jordan, to demonstrate the importance of exploring these environmentally marginal areas. Employing an intensive survey methodology, we recorded a range of sites and features previously unrecognized in this region. These findings suggest that subsistence patterns shifted from small-scale, mixed agro-pastoralism in the Iron Age (1200-586 B.C.) to a more intensive, top-down strategy of agricultural production by the Roman period (ca. 100 B.C.-A.D. 400). The results provide new insight into regional socioeconomic change in the southern Levant from the perspective of peripheral communities.

In recent years, very high-resolution satellite remote-sensing tools have been progressively used in archaeological prospecting to acquire information and improve documentation. Satellite remote sensing has also benefited from technical improvements, including better spectral and spatial resolution of sensors, which have facilitated the detection and discovery of unknown archaeological areas. This paper focuses on investigations conducted using multi-spectral satellite remote-sensing data of the ancient canal systems of the Wadi el Melah Valley (WMV) in southern Tunisia. The area used to be part of a huge military defense system along the desert border. This paper describes the use of GeoEye-1 and Ziyuan-3 satellite remote-sensing data to reveal ancient Roman canals, which were part of an advanced hydraulic system devised to capture runoff water and cope with the lack of water in the area. In general, this research provides new information on some essential sections of the Roman wal...

This study aims to assess the impact of flash floods in the Wadi Nu’man basin on urban areas, east of Mecca, which are subjected to frequent floods, during the period from 1988–2019. By producing and analyzing the maps of the regions, an integrated approach to geomatics and hydraulic modelling is employed. The following maps are used: Flood-prone urbanity from 1988–2019, a flood risk map of Wadi Nu’man based on a risk matrix map, and a map of the proposed protection measures and alternatives in the study area. In order to achieve these goals, changes in the land use in the Wadi Nu’man basin were monitored by analyzing successive satellite images, taken by the US satellite, Landsat, in 1988, 1998, 2013, and 2019. Using a supervised classification, with the maximum likelihood method of ERDAS IMAGINE 2016, GIS was used in the production and analysis of soil maps, and geological and hydrological groups of drainage basins, as well as the hydrological model (HEC-HMS), were applied in calc...

Afin d'améliorer les connaissances en matière de transport solide dans les cours d'eau et de mieux cerner la problématique de l'envasement des barrages, les auteurs de cet article commentent l'étude qu'ils ont conduite dans un bassin versant du Nord Ouest algérien. Une analyse statistique d'échantillons a permis l'évaluation du transport solide en suspension à l'exutoire du bassin, à partir des débits liquides moyens journaliers.

The Middle Pastoral human remains from Wadi Takarkori in the Libyan Acacus mountains (Fezzan) are exceptionally preserved partial mummies ranging between 6100 and 5000 uncal years BP; this small sample represents the most ancient of its kind ever found. In this report, we present a survey of the skeletal anatomy of these mummifed corpses, based on high resolution CT-scan data, including a preliminary phenetic interpretation of their cranial morphology.

A detailed surface survey of the gabbro quarry and related facilities in Wadis Umm Wikala and Semna indicates activity in the first to second or early third centuries AD. Surface pottery found associated with quarry faces, loading ramps, related huts, skopeloi, a putative ...

The relationship of desert vegetation to topographic and edaphic factors in Makhtesh Ramon, an erosional cirque in the Negev Desert of Israel, was analyzed using redundancy analysis ordination. Altitude and geological substrate had the most significant correlations with vegetation patterns. In particular, significant and monotonic increases in both total species richness and the percentage of annual species were found with increasing altitude. A comparison was made of the effectiveness of Whittaker's diversity sampling plots (Shmida 1984) versus the log-series survey method of McAuliffe (1990). We concluded that at small sample sizes, the McAuliffe plots were more likely to yield interpretable ordination results, even though they included only the perennial flora.

In arid areas, flashflood water management is a major concern due to arid climate ambiguity. The examining and derivation of intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curves in an urban arid area under a variety of terrain patterns and climatic changes is anticipated. Several flood events have been reported in the Al-Lith region of western Saudi Arabia that took away many lives and caused disruption in services and trade. To find and examine the extremities and IDF curves, daily rainfall data from 1966 to 2018 is used. The IDF curves are created for a variety of return periods and climate scenarios in three terrain variabilities. This research examines various distributions to estimate the maximum rainfall for several metrological stations with varying return periods and terrain conditions. Three main zones are identified based on ground elevation variability and IDF distributions from upstream in the eastern mountainous area to downstream in the western coastal area. These IDF curves can ...

ABSTRACT Wadi channel recharge to the underlying alluvial aquifer is naturally limited by the flashy nature of flood events, evapotranspiration losses of water from the vadose zone, and aquifer heterogeneity, particularly low vertical hydraulic conductivity. Anthropogenic lowering of the water table in many wadi aquifers has also reduced the potential recharge by increasing the thickness of the vadose zone, causing interflow water loss for surface emergence and evaporation. A method to enhance recharge is to slow the flow within wadi channels by placement of dam structures, thereby ponding water and increasing the vertical head gradient to create a more rapid rate of infiltration and percolation. Effectiveness of wadi dams to enhance aquifer recharge reduces over time due to mud deposition within the reservoir caused by storm events. Up to 80% of the water in old wadi reservoirs is lost to free-surface evaporation before infiltration and recharge can occur. One method to maintain or increase the rate of recharge is to convey clean water by gravity flow from the reservoir down-gradient to artificially recharge the aquifer using existing wells. This type of system is a low cost and low energy recharge method which could greatly enhance groundwater storage in wadi aquifers. Modeling results show that existing wells could store up to 1000 m3/day under gravity feed conditions and up to 3900 m3/day with the shut-in of the well to produce a pressurized system.

Archaeological excavations inside of the cave of Iraq ed-Dubb (Cave of the Bear) located in the forested highlands of Wadi el-Yabis, northwestern Jordan, have revealed the presence of stone structures and other cultural material remains radiocarbon dated to 9,950 ± 100 BP. ...

The relationship of desert vegetation to topographic and edaphic factors in Makhtesh Ramon, an erosional cirque in the Negev Desert of Israel, was analyzed using redundancy analysis ordination. Altitude and geological substrate had the most significant correlations with vegetation patterns. In particular, significant and monotonic increases in both total species richness and the percentage of annual species were found with increasing altitude. A comparison was made of the effectiveness of Whittaker's diversity ...

Draining of wetlands and their inadequate planning contribute greatly to the decline of hygrophilous vegetation. The arrival of invasive hygrophilous species, as noted recently for Pistia stratiotes L. in Al Jawahir Wadi (North Central Morocco) could also aggravate this situation. Surveys carried out in the watershed of this river show that P. stratiotes form spontaneous communities over a river-length of 10 km, twice of that reported in 2012, in spite of measures taken to limit its spread. Plants description on the basis of vegetative and reproductive criteria ascertains the permanent presence of this species upstream of the wadi, and reveals a succession of factors causing its intermittent suffocation downstream, including hydrological and planning hazards, and water pollution. The decontamination endeavors of Al Jawahir River and the exceptional propagating power of this species would represent a real threat to local water bodies for long.

Morphosedimentary study of alluvial fans formed by the Wadi Beni Mhammed, on the southern piedmont of the western High-Atlas, has indicated three main generations of deposits. Their ages range from ancient (Plio-Pleistocene) to Holocene and recent formations. The first generation, comprising small boundary fans, was deposited prior to lateral migration and subsequent entrenchment of the drainage pattern (the combination of the Wadis Aït Mekhlouf and Ida Ou Merouane). The confluence of these powerful streams gave birth to the principal fan that extends to the Souss valley. The third generation of fans was constructed after the incision of the principal fan, by the re-activation of a high secondary fan that was formed from downstream progradation. The morphological characteristics of the fans, such as their area, shape and gradient, are determined from catchment data and, in particular, from the lithology of their provenance areas, which defines the nature of gravel material, sediment...

Aeolian processes and ephemeral water influx from the Variscan Iberian Massif to the mid-Cretaceous outer back-erg margin system in eastern Iberia led to deposition and erosion of aeolian dunes and the formation of desert pavements. Remains of aeolian dunes encased in ephemeral fluvial deposits (aeolian pods) demonstrate intense erosion of windblown deposits by sudden water fluxes. The alternating activity of wind and water led to a variety of facies associations such as deflation lags, desert pavements, aeolian dunes, pebbles scattered throughout dune strata, aeolian sandsheets, aeolian deposits with bimodal grain-size distributions, mud playa, ephemeral floodplain, pebble-sand and cobble-sand bedload stream, pebble–cobble-sand sheet flood, sand bedload stream, debris flow and hyperconcentrated flow deposits. Sediment in this desert system underwent transport by wind and water and reworking in a variety of sub-environments. The nearby Variscan Iberian Massif supplied quartzite pebb...

The relationship of desert vegetation to topographic and edaphic factors in Makhtesh Ramon, an erosional cirque in the Negev Desert of Israel, was analyzed using redundancy analysis ordination. Altitude and geological substrate had the most significant correlations with vegetation patterns. In particular, significant and monotonic increases in both total species richness and the percentage of annual species were found with increasing altitude. A comparison was made of the effectiveness of Whittaker's diversity sampling plots (Shmida 1984) versus the log-series survey method of McAuliffe (1990). We concluded that at small sample sizes, the McAuliffe plots were more likely to yield interpretable ordination results, even though they included only the perennial flora.