Department of Hydrogeology and Environment
Institute of Geology at the University of Würzburg, Germany
[Original title: Grundwasserneubildung in semiariden und ariden Gebieten Jordaniens berechnet mit Hilfe der Halogenverteilung in der ungesättigten Zone]
Rasso Walter König
Until now methods for quantification of groundwater recharge rates in arid to semiarid climates were too costly, too time consuming, yielding only unsatisfactory results for development and validation of groundwater models and future water management strategies.
The initial conditions for water and solute transport in the unsaturated zone are characterized by meteorological, soil-physical, and soil-chemical parameters. Especially in the superficial layer, the data determine the quality and quantity of groundwater recharge as well as the interaction of dry and wet phases.
The water and solute transport in unsaturated zones of six selected research localities are investigated, using stochastic modelling computations of meteorological and geochemical data. Areal quantification of groundwater recharge is determined by the depth distribution of environmental chloride and bromide supposing hydrochemical stationary sequences and is confirmed by geochemical modeling. By assuming hydrochemically stationary conditions the long-term annual groundwater recharge can be computed. The mean surface transport along preferred pathways is calculated by including computed data into a bimodal system under consideration of the groundwater chemistry.
The obtained
results are used to create a computer aided, sequentially dynamic water
and solute transport model.
Ph.D.
Thesis, Institute of Geology, University of Würzburg, Germany,
1994