A Prediction of Future Land Use/Land Cover in Amman Area Using GIS-Based Markov Model and Remote Sensing

The paper aims to analyze land use/land cover (LULC) changes in western part and the populated area of Amman governorate and to identify the process of urbanization and urban expansion within the study area for the period of 1984-2014. It also aims to predict future LULC map for the year 2030 using Markov Model to provide city planners and decision makers with information about the past and current spatial dynamics of LULC change and strictly urban expansion towards successful management and better planning in the future. Images from Landsat 5-TM for the years 1984, 1999 and from Landsat 8-OLI for the year 2014 were used to investigate LULC within the study area during 1984-2014 and the resulted LULC maps in 1999 and 2014 were used to predict future LULC map based on Markov Model. The results indicated that the urban/built up area expanded by 147% during the period from 1984 to 2014 and predicted to expand by 43.9% from 2014 to 2030 based on Markov model predictions. The areas in the western, northwest and southwest parts of Amman as well as the areas of Marka and Uhud, the northeast of the study area, were predicted to witness the major urban expansion in 2030. And these are the areas where city planners and decision makers should take into consideration in future plans of Amman. The urban expansion was mainly attributed to the high population growth rate and large number of immigrants from neighboring countries and other socio-economic changes.

Groundwater Vulnerability and Hazard Mapping in an Arid Region: Case Study, Amman-Zarqa Basin (AZB)-Jordan

The importance of groundwater portability and the possible sources of anthropogenic contamination have led to the development of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability mapping. In this study, groundwater vulnerability map for Amman Zarqa Basin (AZB) has been generated based on information derived and calculated from processed remote sensing information and laboratory analysis. The database was prepared from soil hydro geological and hydrological data, Digital Elevation Model (DEM), and geological maps. For assessment of groundwater vulnerability, the method proposed by the state geological surveys of Germany (GLA-method) has been adapted and applied. The vulnerability map shows about 77% which is about 2919 Km2 of the AZB is classified as very low to low which could be corresponding to the pollution sources due to the absence of potential hazards and also due to low vulnerabilities. These areas could consequently be interesting for future development as they set preferable in view of ground water protection. In addition, about 14% (530 km2) is classified within the moderate vulnerability zone. About 5% (around 19 km2) of the study area lies under the area of high vulnerability zone. Only 4% can be classified as very high risk areas. Groundwater quality results revealed that water leach ate from point source is the main cause for groundwater contaminations in highly vulnerable karstic limestone aquifer (Amman Wadi Es Sir Aquifer-B2/A7). On the other hand, the Kurnub Sandstone aquifer (K) is generally well protected in the central and eastern part of the AZB due to its thick cover of partly marly sequences. However, the Kurnub aquifer might have a potential risk from the recharged infiltrating surface water from the Zarqa River, which is highly polluted due to industrial activities located along the river.

Impact of Rapid Urbanization and Changing Housing Patterns on Urban Open Public Spaces of Amman, Jordan: A GIS and RS Perspective

Rapid urbanization and population growth of the Amman Area were combined with land resource degradation when the city was heading for mounting urbanization from the early 1950s. The deterioration of natural resources and green areas, was coupled with the creation of different urban public open spaces in the city. The transformation from large single-family houses to dense residential apartments was associated with social and behavioral changes among the inhabitants living in the dense apartments. Consequently, a large private sector has been developed to provide public and social spaces. Photo-interpretation and satellite images were used to map and characterize land use/cover changes have been occurred in the Amman area between 1953 and 2017. Maximum Likelihood Classification method was employed to identify land use/cover changes between 1986 and 20017, and GIS was utilized also to map examples of the recently emerged socio-economic open spaces. Excessive urban development in the last two decades, and the adoption of neo-liberal privatization policies by the government, enhanced social stratification and residential segregation. So, instead of encouraging outdoor activity and social interaction among all groups of Amman residents, the freedom of accessibility to major open spaces has been restricted within the same urban fabric, thus, the “two Ammans” paradigm, a “tale of two cities”, has been recently acknowledged.

The Impact of Za’atari Refugee Camp on the Water Quality in Amman-Zarqa Basin

Za’atari camp is the largest refugee camp in Jordan. It was first established in 2012 to host Syrian refugees. Currently the camp hosts more than 81,000 refugees, with no proper sanitary system which might pose a major threat to surface resources in the area. An investigation was done at Za’atari refugees’ camp to find the impact of refugees settling on surface and groundwater quality. Surface water quality of surface runoff generated from thirty rain fall events were collected during the winter season of 2013/2014 from the major Wadi that passes through the camp and small ponds within the camp after the rainfall event. The collected samples were analyzed for acidity (pH), the electrical connectivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), nutrients (NO3<sup style='margin-left:-7px;'>- and PO4<sup style='margin-left:-7px;'>3-) and selected heavy metals (Mn, Cd, Zn, Pb and Ni) in addition to biological oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD) and intestinal worms (Total Coliform, E. cali). The results showed that there are significant variations in the EC as well as with TDS between the sites due to fluctuating amounts of water used for different activities within the camp as it was highest in the center of the camp where most of the refugees settle decreasing away from the center. The pH values were within the specifications of the World Health Organization and the Jordanian Standards. For nutrients, nitrate concentration was low with high phosphate ions which are most probably from detergents origin.

“Amman Declaration”at the 2nd Entrepreneur Conference of China-Arab Cooperation Forum

On June 19,the'Amman Declaration'was released at the second Entre- preneur Conference of China-Arab Cooperation Forum,which lasted two days in Amman,capital city of Jordan.Some one thousand business representatives,coming from China and 16 Arabian countries,have

Impact of the Syrian crisis on the socio-spatial transformation of Eastern Amman,Jordan

Amman,the capital of Jordan,has been subjected to incremental spatial transformation under the pressure of the emerging migration of various refugees since the beginning of the Syrian conflict(2011-present).Only 17%of the Syrian refugee influx to Jordan resides in camps.Amman hosts 28%of non-camp refugees(NCRs)who are living in urban areas and creating multiple forms of urban settlements.Diverse forms of NCR settlements are emerging extensively in Eastern Amman districts.These settlements are contributing to new morphological structures and leading to a gradual spatial change-socially and physically.This research intends to contribute to the increasing amount of available data by improving the understanding of the socio-spatial patterns of Syrian NCR settlements and providing insights,forecasts,and recommendations regarding this pressing issue on the basis of overall trends.Comprehensively contextualized areas in Amman were mapped,and after considering specific siteselection criteria,Jubilee Neighborhood was selected.Jubilee was built by the government in 1985 for low-income Jordanian families.This study aims to unravel one layer of the complex multilayered Amman City.It intends to explore and describe the urban forms of NCR settlements in Jubilee Neighborhood as a case study by interrelating spatial,social,and physical concepts.In addition,this study extensively uses rigorous qualitative and traditional methods.The outcome of this study is a comprehensive and descriptive spatial analysis that can provide socio-spatial interpretations and recommend urban response policies to cope with the future spatial transformation of urban forms.

Investigation and Evaluation of Reservoir Quality of the Upper Cretaceous Rocks (Belqa Group) in North Jordan (NW Irbid)

Upper Cretaceous rocks are widespread in Jordan, covering uncomfortably the rocks of the Lower Cretaceous (Kurnub Sandstone). These rocks consist mainly of limestone, marls, chalk, biogenic chert and phosphate of primarily marine origin. Age determination of these rocks was based on the abundance of macro and microfossil content. Man researchers subdivided the Upper Cretaceous succession. The classification of Powell (1989) is considered in this study, particularly for the Belqa Group, which is of Coniacian to Maastrichtian in age. This investigation will focus on the geology of Wadi Es Sir, Umm Ghudran;Amman silicified limestone, and Al Hisa phosphorite formations, that belong to Ajlun and Belqa Groups respectively. Moreover, sedimentary structures, lithological characteristics Microfacies types and fossil content were evaluated. Using the lithostratigraphy and the fossil content of those formations, 6 Microfacies types were identified. Evaluation of the cross-section, the tectonic processes and the prepared rose diagrams indicate that the study area was affected by compressional as well as by tensional forces. Two major tends of fracturing can be identified in the rose diagrams. The measured physical properties show that the porosity is variable and ranges between 30% and 48%. The bulk density has values between 1.8 and 2.2 g/cm3. The different obtained results point out that the studied rocks represent good reservoir.

难民与安曼城市发展探析

难民是国际热点问题。第二次世界大战后,安曼城市发展常常遭遇周边国家周期性的难民潮影响。由于约旦政府在难民安置和保护上的相对宽松政策,使其周边国家特别是巴勒斯坦、伊拉克的许多难民来此寻求保护,约旦首都安曼首当其冲成为难民的积聚地。难民不仅与城市发展安全、经济安全密不可分,而且在很大程度上影响着城市人口结构、城市规划与城市生活状况。安曼难民的走向与约旦政府、国际社会政策紧密相连。