THE INFLUENCE OF THE DEAD SEA ON THE CHEMISTRY AND MINERALOGY OF THE DRY DEPOSITION OVER THE EASTREN
- Details
- Category: Chemistry
- Published: Sunday, 06 May 2012 03:00
- Written by Jafar Mustafa Al-Nawaiseh
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Abstract
The influence of the Dead Sea on the chemistry and mineralogy of the dry deposition over the eastern territories of central Jordan.
Jafar Mustafa Al-Nawaiseh
Mu'tah University, 2007
The Dead Sea as a unique geological phenomenon has an effect on its adjacent areas. This study aims to investigate such influence on the nature of dry deposition over the eastern highlands facing it, through calculating the rate of deposition, and determining its chemical and mineralogical composition. Thus, samples from 17 different sites at the eastern highlands facing Dead Sea were collected during summer 2005, beside three blank sites from areas not influenced by the Dead Sea for comparison purposes.All samples were digested and analyzed for their heavy metals, cations , and anions by FAAS and IC.
Results indicated that depositional rate is much lower than other areas in Jordan like Zarqa in central and southern Jordan areas, due to abundances of green lands and water mass over which the prevailing NW-SE winds are blowing. The average Heavy metal contents are almost similar in all sites. However, a meaningful difference in cations and anions contents between highlands and the blank was clear particularly in K+, Na+, Cl-, Mg2+ and Ca2+. Their concentrations in highlands sites are significantly than blank areas.
The XRD results reveals that the highlands samples have phases such as halite, gypsum, and dolomite, whereas, these phases were not presented in blank area samples. This might be attributed to the influence of the Dead Sea, as it is a highly saline large water mass, which accompanied with high evaporation rate causing the atmosphere over the Sea to be enriched by these cations, anions, and minerals. Eventually these chemical and mineral phases will adsorb or carried out as Aeolian dust and transported by the NW-SE winds and fall over the eastern highlands.
Using the Index of pollution technique (IP) for all heavy metals, cations and anions at all sites reveals that the highly influenced sites are those located close to the south of the Dead Sea. While we move far and toward the north the influence decreases. This was in agreement of the spatial distribution of these elements.