Groundwater modelling of Eshidya phosphate mining area in Jafr Basin, southern Jordan
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The groundwater modeling is conducted to cover most of Jafr Groundwater Basin to represent the actual hydrogeological conditions of the Amman-Wadi Es Sir (B2/A7) aquifer system. For this purpose, a 3D model was constructed using Modflow to simulate the behaviour of the flow system under different stresses. The geo-database in ArcGIS format was used to construct the model in order to estimate the missing hydraulic parameters, such as transmissivity and storativity. The model was also used to predict the possible future impacts of pumping by the on going mining activities on the groundwater quantity and quality for instance, depletion and salinization. The model was calibrated for steady state condition by matching the measured and simulated initial head contour lines. Drawdown data for the period 1985–1995 were used to calibrate the transient model by matching simulated drawdown with the observed one. Moreover, the transient model was validated using drawdown data for the period 1995–2025. The water balance for the steady state condition of Jafr Basin indicated that the total annual direct recharge is 2.48 MCM/a. The calculated inflow from the western boundary is about 5.8 MCM/a, and the outflow across the eastern boundary value is 7.91 MCM/a. According to the model results the discrepancy value was about 8.1% which is an acceptable value. The model was run under unsteady state condition for 36 years (starting from 1989) with total abstraction equal to 10 MCM, and the simulated drawdown in 1995 was 1.89 m, while the simulated drawdown in 2025 will be 8.6 m.
The groundwater modeling is conducted to cover most of Jafr Groundwater Basin to represent the actual hydrogeological conditions of the Amman-Wadi Es Sir (B2/A7) aquifer system. For this purpose, a 3D model was constructed using Modflow to simulate the behaviour of the flow system under different stresses. The geo-database in ArcGIS format was used to construct the model in order to estimate the missing hydraulic parameters, such as transmissivity and storativity. The model was also used to predict the possible future impacts of pumping by the on going mining activities on the groundwater quantity and quality for instance, depletion and salinization. The model was calibrated for steady state condition by matching the measured and simulated initial head contour lines. Drawdown data for the period 1985–1995 were used to calibrate the transient model by matching simulated drawdown with the observed one. Moreover, the transient model was validated using drawdown data for the period 1995–2025. The water balance for the steady state condition of Jafr Basin indicated that the total annual direct recharge is 2.48 MCM/a. The calculated inflow from the western boundary is about 5.8 MCM/a, and the outflow across the eastern boundary value is 7.91 MCM/a. According to the model results the discrepancy value was about 8.1% which is an acceptable value. The model was run under unsteady state condition for 36 years (starting from 1989) with total abstraction equal to 10 MCM, and the simulated drawdown in 1995 was 1.89 m, while the simulated drawdown in 2025 will be 8.6 m.
Full Text:
PDFRefbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.