Soil Hydrology

Overview

The motivation of the SHR is grounded in the sustainability of natural resources and soil pollution. Our research emphasize on both water security for human use and protection of natural systems. We support minimizing and remediating human impacts on hydrologic ecosystems.

Our Team

  • Jawad Shoqeir

    Ph.D.

  • Diy'a Radaideh

    Ph.D.

    Duha Awwad

    Ph.D.

    Raed Rizeq

    Ph.D

    Browse

    Recent Submissions

    Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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      تقييم مصادر المياه الجوفيه وخطة حماية حرم البئر في منطقة الفوار
      (AL-Quds University, 2011-01-23) امجد ياسر 'عودة الله' درابيع; AMJAD YASER 'AWDT ALLAH' DARABI; جواد شقير; د. عامر كنعان; د.مروان غانم
      Al Fawwar wells 1 & 2 are major source of drinking water for number of communities like Al- Fawwar camp, Hadeb Al- Fawwar, Al- Higri town and the southern part of Hebron city. The increase in population led to increased water demand and also there is ability to increase the pollution levels. The aim of this study is the delineation of Wellhead Protection Areas (WHPA) for Al- Fawwar wells 1 & 2 in Hebron Governorate due to lack of studies in the West Bank that covers the protection of public drinking water wells from potential sources of pollution by considering the groundwater protection regulation developed by Palestinian Water Authority. It also investigates the potential sources of pollutants that affect the groundwater in the catchment area that extend from Dura at west to Al- Fawwar refugee camp at east, Hebron city at north and Khursa and Tarama villages in south. The lithology of Al- Fawwar wells 1 & 2 was determined by carrying out a geoelectrical investigation by using Vertical Electrical Surrounding (VES). Three main geological formations in the study area were concluded; Hebron formation, Bethlehem formation and Jerusalem formation which consist of dolomite, marl and limestone. The water budget of Al Fawwar wells 1 & 2 catchment was calculated, the area of the wells catchment was about 16 km2 , the volume of: precipitation was 7.93 MCM, water import was 0.438 MCM, evapotranspiration was 5.70 MCM, surface runoff 0.91 MCM, groundwater recharge was 1.84 MCM spring production was 0.354 MCM and a wells abstraction was 0.691 MCM. The evapotranspiration was about 72% of precipitation, the surface runoff was about 11.5% and the groundwater recharge was about 23%. The water loss from precipitation was calculated to be 83.5%. The potential sources of contamination in the catchment determined to include; agricultural lands (use fertilizers and pesticides), lack of sewage network (instead of it, use cesspits to dispose wastewater); for this the groundwater quality of Al- Fawwar wells 1 & 2 was evaluated for domestic purposes. The results show that the concentration of nitrate of Al- Fawwar wells 1 & 2 was (101 and 104 mg/L) respectively, that exceed the acceptable limits of nitrate in drinking water according to iv WHO and PWA standards for drinking water. The results of Fecal coliform (FC) and Total coliform (TC) tests were (zero cfu/ 100 ml) (after chlorination of water) that accepted with WHO and PWA standards for drinking water. The boundaries of Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA) of Al- Fawwar wells were identified using two methods: Calculated Fixed Radius (CFR) and Wellhead Analytic Element Model (WhAEM2000). According to the results of using CFR method for Al- Fawwar well no. 1, the radius of 50 days zone is 51.19 m, for 2 year is 195.6 m and for 5 year is about 309.29 m. For Al- Fawwar well no. 2, the radius of 50 days zone was 38.2 m, for 2 year was 145.8 m and for 5 year was about 230.5 m. According to the results of using WhAEM2000 method for Al- Fawwar well no.1, the travel time parameter (Ť) of 50 days is 0.49, (0.1< Ť < 1), the radius (R) and the eccentricity (δ) is 16.31 m, 5.10 m respectively. For 2 year (Ť) is 7.18, (Ť > 1), the boat shaped radiuses Lu, Ls and Ymax are 149.25 m, 15.77 m, 49.5 m respectively. For 5 year (Ť) is 17.94, Ť > 1, the boat shaped radiuses Lu, Ls and Ymax are 330.53 m, 15.77 m, 49.5 m respectively. For Al- Fawwar well no. 2, the travel time parameter (Ť) of 50 days was 0.93, (0.1< Ť < 1), the radius (R) and the eccentricity (δ) was 12.89 m, 5.2 m respectively. For 2 year (Ť) was 13.55, (Ť > 1), the boat shaped radiuses Lu, Ls and Ymax were 139.7 m, 8.55 m, 26.85 m respectively. For 5 year (Ť) was 33.87, Ť > 1, the boat shaped radiuses Lu, Ls and Ymax were 320.4 m, 8.55 m, 26.85 m respectively. There were violations in the well filed that must prevented after delineation of WHPA of Al- Fawwar wells 1 & 2 like grazing and presence of cesspit in Zone 1. Also there were violations in the boundary of Zone 2 like using of fertilizers and pesticides. By this study, it’s recommended to delineate WHPAs for public drinking water wells mainly by using the WhAEM2000 method.
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      تقييم استجابات النظام البيئي للتغيرات في استخدام الأراضي حسب مؤشر جودة التربة
      (AL-Quds University, 2018-07-14) اسراء سليمان عبدالله العصا; Israa Sulieman Abdullah Alassa; جواد شقير; Mohannad Qurie; Issa Baradieh
      The change in land use from natural land regarding land used by humans in various areas is critical to the global ecosystem, which in turn affects soil conditions. In order to improve our understanding of land use, our study focuses on soil health assessment and it depends on long-term environmental research area near Wadi Nar in Al-Ubeidiya to assess the ecosystem response to land use, including tillage practice. The aim of this study is to evaluate of the effects of tillage on soil health for each system (natural, pastoral A, pastoral B) by using soil quality index. Three systems are studied: natural (no tillage), tillage with the removal of plants (pastoral A) and tillage without the removal of plants (pastoral B). In order to assess soil health, the chemical, biological and physical parameters of the soil must be analyzed. During our study, soil quality is assessed using the method of registration in each index using the SQI soil quality index, which determines the level of soil degradation, by collecting data on selected chemical, physical and biological indicators for each soil. Numerous statistical calculations were performed, including the PCA analysis, which shows the correlation between transactions in all systems at a given depth. Soil health assessment was used in detail for each laboratory of chemical, physical and biological indicators based on Cornell's book. The result of soil quality index for natural land is 16, where a number of indicators have been adopted to determine the quality of the soil. The pastoral system A achieves 15.4 while pastoral B has the highest value of 16.3. The result shows that according to the soil quality index, management types including tillage and plant retention, can improve soil quality. The higher the values are, the better the soil quality is. The best soil quality index in our study is 39 and the lowest value is 10 based on the equation used to calculate the soil quality index.
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      Effects of Olive Mill Wastewater on Soil Microarthropods and Soil Chemistry in Two Different Cultivation Scenarios in Israel and Palestinian Territories
      (MDPI, 2015-09-18) Kurtz, Markus Peter; Peikert, Benjamin; Brühl, Carsten; Dag, Arnon; Zipori, Isaac; Hasan, Jawad; Schaumann, Gabriele Ellen
      Although olive mill wastewater (OMW) is often applied onto soil and is known to be phytotoxic, its impact on soil fauna is still unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate how OMW spreading in olive orchards affects Oribatida and Collembola communities, physicochemical soil properties and their interdependency. For this, we treated plots in two study sites (Gilat, Bait Reema) with OMW. Among others, the sites differed in irrigation practice, soil type and climate. We observed that soil acidity and water repellency developed to a lower extent in Gilat than in Bait Reema. This may be explained by irrigation-induced dilution and leaching of OMW compounds in Gilat. In Bait Reema, OMW application suppressed emergence of Oribatida and induced a community shift, but the abundance of Collembola increased in OMW and water-treated plots. In Gilat, Oribatida abundance increased after OMW application. The effects of OMW application on soil biota result from an interaction between stimulation of biological activity and suppression of sensitive species by toxic compounds. Environmental and management conditions are relevant for the degree and persistence of the effects. Moreover, this study underlines the need for detailed research on the ecotoxicological effects of OMW at different application rates.
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      Depletive Water Balance and High Vulnerability Due to Conflicts over Access and Rights
      (Scientific Research, 2014-08-03) Shoqeir, Jawad Hasan
      Sustainable water supply problem becomes strategic when inelastic demand levels are overhauling maximum available supplies. The situation is more acute when the groundwater recharge area is heavily populated, consist of urban, industrial and agricultural areas and above all have typical karstic morphology and extensive regions of thin or null soil cover. During winter season the infiltrated water mixed with the wastewater leaking from poorly designed cesspits and wastewater overflow from the treatment plants of the adjacent settlements. Currently, most of the recharge area is disturbed due to the ongoing urban development in Beitar Elite and Tzur Hadassah in conjunction with the planned Security Fence (apartheid wall) threatens to extend over ~70% of the aquifer recharge area. Such massive destruction in a small watershed leads to considerable decrease in springs discharge and could completely dry-out the springs at the upper part of the valley. The aim of this research is to improve understanding of the hydrologic processes controlling water quantity and quality of springs discharging small (<1E6 m3/yr) basin in the mountain aquifer.
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      Integration of Electrical Resistivity and Electromagnetic Radiation Methods for Fracture Flow System Detection
      (Scientific World, 2014-07-21) Jawad Shoqeir; Hoetzl, Heinz; Flexer, Akiva
      An electrical resistivity and electromagnetic emission survey was carried out involving the use of vertical electrical soundings (VES) and natural pulse electromagnetic field of the earth (NPEMFE). The use of this new methodology managed to detect the fracture flow system rupture zones in the underground, also answered the questions about the deferent subsurface water bodies. The present study focuses on Marsaba-Feshcha sub-basin in the northeast of the Dead Sea. Due to the scarcity of boreholes in the study area, several geophysical methods were implanted. The combination of these two methods (VES and NPEMFE) with the field observations and East-West transversal faults with the coordination (624437/242888) was determined, cutting through the anticlines with their mainly impervious cores with fracture length of >400 m. These transversal faults saddle inside Nabi Musa syncline (Boqea syncline), leading to a hydraulic connection between the Lower and the Upper Aquifer. Due to the identified transversal fault, the water of the Upper and Lower Aquifer mixed and emerged as springs at Ein Feshcha group.