THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGES ON THE HYDROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN THE ZARQA MAIN HYDROGRAPHIC BASIN (DEAD SEA)

Introduction and study objectives

The issue of global climate change has begun to play an increasing role in scientific and policy debates over effective water management. This article describes and discusses the concerning geological and hydrological conditions in the Zarqa Ma'in basin (ZMB), directly conditioned by the climate regime, the geomorphology of the land and the lithology of geological formations.

Recently, evidence that global climate change will have significant effects on water resources in Jordan and, in particular, in the Zarqa Ma'in basin (ZMB) has continued to accumulate.

This study aims to evaluate the risks of flash floods that occur in the study area due to the climatic regime that changes the physical characteristics of the hydrological and hydrogeological system in the Middle East, the impact of which is already evident worldwide.

The Zarqa Ma'in region has moderate to high relief with elevations ranging from -348 m below sea level to 924 m above sea level. Due to the high relief of the study area, especially in the southwestern part, the risk of damage from a flash flood is very high. The Zarqa Ma'in area is very hilly, with steep slopes without soil. Soil erosion and runoff rate are directly proportional to slope and inversely proportional to the permeability of geological formations.