Heavy Metals Content in Water and Sediments in the Upper Litani River Basin, Lebanon

Surface water quality is largely influenced by both natural processes and anthropogenic inputs. This study involves the characterization of the concentration of heavy metals of Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, and Zn, and the sources of pollution in water and sediment of the Upper Litani River Basin (ULRB) in Lebanon. The investigation was performed during three seasons of rainy, mid-rainy spring and wet periods for two years during different flow rates. Sediments were characterized by a set of chemical analyses, cation exchange capacity (CEC), mineralogy of the sediments, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). To assess metal contamination in sediment, Consensus-Based Sediment Quality Guidelines of Wisconsin (CBSQG) were applied. The metals contamination in the sediments was also evaluated by contamination factor (Cf). The test results showed that the effect of seasonal variations was significant in the Upper Litani River Basin. Principal Compound Analysis (PCA) and Pearson’s correlation were also performed in this study to compare and determine the correlation between metals in water and sediments. The concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr and Zn in all sediment samples are above the norms in winter, while Fe was increased in summer. The results showed that the importance of monitoring of changes of heavy metals values and physico-chemical characterization of different parameters could represent the possibility of a comprehensive assessment of negative pressures on the water and soil ecosystem of Litani River Basin during different seasons.

Characterization of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Harrat Ash Shaam Basalt (HASB)/Northeast Jordan

Due to the mass demand for excellent construction materials for infrared and super structures in Jordan, intensive field and laboratory works were carried out to determine the quality of basalt as a source for construction uses or as aggregate materials. Representative basaltic samples were collected from four quarries in Harrat Ash Shaam Basalt (HASB), northeast Jordan (Al-Azraq, Tel-Hassan, Q’a-Khanna and Al-Aritayin). Necessary and accentual quality control tests were carried out on 17 samples of basalt to determine the physical and mechanical properties of target samples, whereas petrographic and chemical analysis for some representative samples have been carried out using a polarizing microscope and X-ray fluorescence (XRF). This study aims to focus on the main engineering characteristics of the basalt rocks and to shed some light on their properties. This work represents the results of petrographic and chemical analysis, tests of abrasion, absorption, specific gravity, unit weight and void ratio, sieve analysis (gradation), soundness, flakiness and elongation indices, pulse velocity and compressive strength. Petrographic studies show that the basalt is characterized by a presence mainly of calcic-plagioclase feldspar, pyroxene-augite and olivine. The composition of the basaltic samples reflects ultrabasic-basic (Basanite-Tholeiitic basalt type). The basalt is characterized by higher specific gravity, lower absorption and medium abrasion loss values, and resistance to corrosion, with medium to high compressive strength. The results of the studied physical and mechanical properties of the basalt that have been tested comply with the standard requirements. In most of the studies, basalt has good physical and mechanical properties that can be used for engineering applications.