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Origin of the saline ground water
in Wadi
Second Author: Civil Engineering
Dept., King Fahd Univ. of Petroleum and Minerals,
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Abstract
The
aquifer contains highly saline water in the area where Wadi
Ar-Rumah intersects the outcrop of the Saq Sandstone.
The area is agriculturally important, but the saline water has caused problems
due to intrusion into other parts of the aquifer as a result of heavy pumping.
The geology, hydrogeology, and hydrochemistry of the area were examined and
pertinent field data were used to explain the formation of the saline water. At
the end of the last pluvial period, the ephemeral runoff in the wadi decreased and a clay layer was deposited on its floor.
Ground water near the surface was evaporated by capillary draw and led to a
concentration of solutes. A shallow clay layer prevented wadi
flows from flushing out the saline ground water. -from Authors