Water Resource Associates
A network of consultants in water resources, water quality, hydrology, hydrogeology and flooding.
Water Life and Civilization: Impacts of Climate Change in Jordan
Hydrological simulation of flows in Wadi Hasa and Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan.
Background
As part of the Water Life and Civilization Project funded by the Leverhulme Trust (see www.waterlifecivilisation.org.uk), Ron Manley and Andrew Wade have developed and applied hydrological models to simulate the monthly and daily flows in Wadi Hasa and Wadi Faynan respectively. The purpose is to investigate the sensitivity of flow changes to: rainfall frequency and intensity; and vegetation cover, through altered evapotranspiration and infiltration. Ron Manley has developed a new version of the HYSIM model that simulates monthly flows whilst Andrew Wade has modified the PITMAN rainfall-runoff model to include aquifer recharge from transmission losses along a wadi channel. Andrew Wade has been on three field seasons in Wadi Faynan to measure the baseflow, to estimate the annual and bankfull flows using open channel hydraulic methods and to sample travertine deposits to help determine past climate conditions. The application of both models builds on a preliminary assessment of the catchment characteristics and hydrological and hydrogeological data of Faynan by Paul Holmes. The model simulations are being used by the archaeologists to help assess how climate variability influenced the settlement and water technologies used in Faynan from the (pre-pottery) Neolithic to the present day.
Wadi Faynan, Southern Jordan.
Flow-duration curves
The foreground shows the walls of the field system first built in the Bronze Age. In the middle ground are the remains of Khirbet Faynan. The main wadi channel is between the field system and the Khirbet. The hills of the Dana nature reserve are shown the in background.
The flow-duration curves simulated using the PITMAN model for calibration and a range of precipitation scenarios are shown on the left-hand side.
Scope of work by Water Resource Associates Ltd
Development of new hydrological models for the simulation of flows in semi-arid wadi systems. The models have an ability to evaluate the sensitivity of the flow regime to environmental change.
Results
Interim report to the Leverhulme trust and paper in preparation
Contact Andrew Wade or Ron Manley for further information