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Groundwater vulnerability assessment for the karst aquifer of Tanour and Rasoun springs catchment area (NW-Jordan) using COP and EPIK intrinsic methods

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Abstract

Groundwater vulnerability maps were constructed for the surface water catchment area of Tanour and Rasoun spring (north-west of Jordan) using the COP and EPIK intrinsic groundwater vulnerability assessment methods. Tanour and Rasoun springs are the main water resources for domestic purposes within the study area. A detailed geological survey was carried out, and data of lithology, karst features, precipitation, vegetation and soil cover, etc. were gathered from various sources for the catchment area in order to determine the required parameters for each method. ArcGIS software was used for map preparation. In the resulting COP vulnerability map, spatial distribution of groundwater vulnerability is as follows: (1) high (37%), (2) moderate (34.8%), (3) low (20.1%), and (4) very low (8.1%). In the EPIK vulnerability map, only two out of four vulnerability classes characterize the catchment area: very high vulnerable areas (38.4%) and moderately vulnerable areas (61.6%). Due to limited soil thickness, the low vulnerability class is absent within the catchment. The high percentage of very high to moderately vulnerable areas displayed by both the COP and EPIK vulnerability assessment methods are reflected by different pollution events in Tanour and Rasoun karst springs especially during the winter season. The high sensitivity of the aquifer to pollution can be explained by different factors such as: thin or absent soil cover, the high development of the epikarst and karst network, and the lithology and confining conditions of the aquifer.

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Acknowledgments

The doctoral position of Ibraheem Hamdan was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) via the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) special programme (NaWaM), and study scholarships and research Grants 14 (56322373).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Geology, Geoscience Centre, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Ibraheem Hamdan, Thomas Ptak, Bettina Wiegand & Martin Sauter

  2. Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Stilleweg 2, 30655, Hannover, Germany

    Armin Margane

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  1. Ibraheem Hamdan
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  2. Armin Margane
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  3. Thomas Ptak
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  4. Bettina Wiegand
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  5. Martin Sauter
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Correspondence to Ibraheem Hamdan.

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Hamdan, I., Margane, A., Ptak, T. et al. Groundwater vulnerability assessment for the karst aquifer of Tanour and Rasoun springs catchment area (NW-Jordan) using COP and EPIK intrinsic methods. Environ Earth Sci 75, 1474 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-6281-2

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