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DEGRADATION OF SPRINGS IN THE ARAVA VALLEY: ANTHROPOGENIC AND CLIMATIC FACTORS
Author(s) -
Bruins H. J.,
Sherzer Z.,
Ginat H.,
Batarseh S.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
land degradation and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1099-145X
pISSN - 1085-3278
DOI - 10.1002/ldr.2149
Subject(s) - arid , spring (device) , groundwater , environmental science , precipitation , evapotranspiration , hydrology (agriculture) , climate change , aridity index , physical geography , geography , geology , ecology , meteorology , oceanography , mechanical engineering , paleontology , geotechnical engineering , engineering , biology
ABSTRACT Groundwater pumping in the hyper‐arid Arava Valley began in 1936 for industrial use, south of the Dead Sea, and since 1949 for domestic and agricultural use with the establishment of Eilat. Pumping gradually increased with the founding of 19 rural villages throughout the Arava Valley. Groundwater levels dropped as a result, and springs in the Arava Valley began to deteriorate. Their status had not been studied for decades, and we conducted comprehensive fieldwork of virtually all the known springs on the Israeli side of the Arava Valley, 31 springs, within the period 2008–2010. Our objectives were (i) to determine the current condition of each spring, (ii) to study spring deterioration through time in relation to historical data and (iii) to evaluate anthropogenic and climatic factors through time. Our results reveal that only 13 springs discharged water on the landscape surface and 18 springs were found dry. Detailed evaluations and time‐series analyses are presented for the springs: 'Ein Tamar, 'Ein Mashak, 'Ein Evrona and 'Ein Netafim, selected on the basis of geodiversity. Climatic trends in the region were studied using the novel P / PET aridity index ( P = annual precipitation, PET = annual potential evapotranspiration). We calculated yearly P / PET values since 1970 for five meteorological stations in Israel and six stations in Jordan. All stations, without exception, show a negative downward trend toward increasing aridity, often with significant p values (below 0·10). The change to a drier climate in the region should be considered as an important factor regarding sustainable groundwater management in the Arava Valley. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.