GEOLOGY [ the 14th of December field trip]

Table of
contents..
Introduction
..
The road trip and the on foot
journey
The geological history of the
area.
Distinguishing between the
rocks.
The different types of
rocks.
Can I build in this
area.
Water and sedimentary
rocks
Dames in general/Dames in Jordan
.
The Al-Mujib
dam/History..
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-geology of the area

..
construction
.
-goals

.
Conclusion
..

Introduction:
We have traveled south of Madaba down to the
north of Al-Karak heading to Al-Mujib dam as
our final stop.
I will list all of the information we have learned
about the area in sequential order starting from
the knowledge we have gained through our
walk along the sideway rocks down to the AlMujib dame.
The road trip and the on foot short
journey:
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On our way we had few stops to study and

examine the rocks on the sides of the road.
First we have noticed that it is both a
mountainous and a valley constructed area
[with about 800-1000m difference in elevation]
and that is due to the rapid sea weathering and
deposition of sediments throughout the
pervious ears when the area was the floor of
the ancient Tethys ocean.
The geological history of the area :
The Tethys Ocean is the ancient body of
water that separated Gondwana and
Lorassyas cotenants from each other.
Jordan is a part of the Arabian plate that
was at the time united with the African
plate and together they shaped
Gondwanas cotenant.
During the upper cretaceous period Jordan
was immersed under the Tethys Ocean as it
flooded [about 100 million to 40 million
years], which resulted in the wide spread of
sedimentary rocks in the area.
The water of the ancient ocean deposited
sediments of both Gypsum and Marl rocks.
Furthermore, as the water flow, where
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Jordan was, used to be abundant with

Phosphor, Silica and other biological
matters which resulted in the precipitation
of Phosphates, Limestone and Oil Shale.
Distinguishing between the rocks:
Looking closely at the high terrains on the
sides of the road we can easily notice the interbedding structure and the conformable layers
of rocks on top of each other. This is strong
evidence that these rocks are sedimentary.
The alternating beds happen to be
Limestone and Chert. We can tell the difference
between both as [Limestone reacts with weak
acids such as HCl quite fast. However, since
Chert consists of quarts it is considered to be
relatively hard and resistant to abrasion
according to Mohs scale (as quarts fall on the
7th stage) meaning that it is tough.]This
continuous for about 60-7m .
Walking farther south, Dolomite can also be
found, and that is a very interesting note as
this type of sedimentary rocks is highly
organized in nature and cant be easily
deposited; unless the water responsible for the
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precipitation is abundant with CaCO3 and

MgCO3.
We can distinguish between Dolomite and
the other rocks present in the area with either
using the HCl weak acid [as Dolomite slowly
reacts unlike limestone, whereas Chert doesnt
react at all]. Or by taking a thin cut of it and
studying it under the microscope.
One can also catch sight of both biological
and evaporate sedimentary rocks along the
road to Al-Mujib dam such as Coquina [silica
cemented] and Gypsum rock.
White
outcrop the leaves white powder trace on the
hands is found as well and happens to be Chalk
rock [a type of Limestone].
Different types of rock, what does this
tells us :
The presence of different types of
sedimentary rocks and the horizontal layers is
due to the various lithifications and gravity
depositions throughout the years. [Proving that
the area was part of the ocean floor of the
ancient Tethys].
Can I build on these rocks:
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Moreover, this structure of conformable

layers of sedimentary rocks can handle high
compressions thus making it suitable for
construction purposes .However, the existence
of fault in these layers [due to tectonic forces]
that cause the rocks to either break along a
plain or for pleating to occur; creates instability
and a visible change in the type of rocks
present along the same line which is a very
important factor to study when intending to
construct various engineering projects.

Water and sedimentary rocks:

Permeability is high and the faults forming
numerous joints have resulted in high
secondary porosity so, both allow the water to
pass through the layers and move freely within
[Aquifers permeable rock or sediment that
transmits groundwater freely]. However, since
the total volume of pore spaces in these rocks
is almost zero; it cannot hold liquids making it
not so good of a reservoir of underground
water.

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Dames in general:
Dames: are barriers that impound water or
underground streams.
These huge projects are constructed for
various reasons and for various goals in mind.
Such as:

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Millions of people depend on dams to help provide the right amount

of water.
Most dams do more than one job! We fish, swim and boat on about
1 in every three lakes formed by dams. Lots of dams provide water
for growing crops and for farm animals to drink.
Dams also give us hydroelectric power! For generating electricity
that is friendly to the environment.

Dames in Jordan:

We have ten main dams in Jordan, they are

[Al-Walah, Al-Wehdah, Wadi Al-Arab,
Sharhabeel; Al-karamh, Al-kfrain, Sheab, AlMujib and Al-Tanour] dams, with a total storage
capacity of 325 million cubic meters of water.
Al-Mujib dam:

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In the following pages I will discuss Al-Mujib

dam specifically, since we have visited it and
got to know the area better.
It is located about 35kms south of Madaba
and north of the city of Al-Karak.[About 100 km
south of the capital Amman].
History:
Back in 1995 the idea for the [Intergrated
project of the southern valleys] was accepted
by the [Jordanian valley authority] . The project
states that three dams including Al-Mujib dam
be constructed in the upsream of the Dead sea
area to collect the running water.
Buliding of the dam started in the year of
1999 and was finished in 2003. With a total
storage capacity of 31 million cubic meter. For
various objectives in mind:
For drinking purposes for the capital
Amman .
For chemical industry usage and the
Potassum factory
With the intention of devoloping the area
specially with having the Al-Mujib
biosphere resirve near.
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The geology of the area:

The nature of the geology of the location of
the dam consists mainly of Limestone and
Marle [as mentioned earlier these rocks have
high permability and zero poresty] making it
sutable for water to pass thorough it and can
easly menuver within. Making the Al-Mujib dam
a recharger for the underground water of the
area.
NOTE:
During the early years of construction
geologists noticed a somesort of
unstability in the eastren area [that may
cause dangerous landslides in the future]
and thus advised enginreers to not use
that zone as a base for their work . That is
why a 20 degree deflection to the right is
present in the final body of the dam.
Before starting on the constrution of
any dam few aspects should be taken into
consideration:
The impotantce of studying the valley
where the builiding will take place.
[resulted in the deflection in the body of
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the dam to avoid any serious accedents in

the future]
Getting to know the catchment area.[for
the Mujib vally is 39000 m square of
deserted area]
Listing the goals for constructing.[drinking ,
manufacturing and to revive the area]

Measurments of the dam :

Dam type RCC main body and

dam abutment
Height
62m
Length

765m

Storage

31 million cubic meter

With the concern

that the volume of
the water reserved
in the dam will
cause much
compression
pressures RCC [in
the middle body of
the dam] was
advised for usage as
it can withstand
pressure and for

The rest of the detailed measurements can be

found in the paper we got from the dam control
office and I only listed the measurements I found
most important
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Has the dame achieved its intended

goals?
The Al-Mujib dam did not only achieve its
initial intended goals, but also succeeded in
developing the area; as this huge body of
water became a stop for numerous types of
migratory birds reviving the Muijb biosphere
reserve. In addition to that, the water collected
in the dam is suitable not only to use for
manufacturing purposes and machines but also
for drinking. As in January of 2015, a project
will be implemented to pump 5 million cubic
meters of water to Al-Karak city for drinking
purposes.
NOTE:
The project of pumping water from the
Dam will cost much less than getting
water from Al-Desah to Karak.
Problems:
One of the problems that face the workers on
the dam is the huge amount of sediments that
accumulate at the bottom of the water tank.
About 3 MCM of fragments are present.
However, to get rid of these accumulates
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opening the gates [Bottom outlets] and

flushing out the water would be the solution.
But this would mean that there will be about 52
CM per second discharge of water, causing us
to lose much of the commodity, Jordan suffers
scarcity of [Water].
For that the experts have suggested building
smaller check dams in the upper stream of the
valley. The idea behind this is to receive the
naturally running water [that gets down to the
dam by gravity and being naturally filtrated]
along with the sediments. Meaning these
accumulates would be captured in the upper
dams and then the water there will be
transferred to the rest of the water in the Mujib
dam.
NOTE:
This would minimize the percentage of
precipitants in the water tank of the dam.
The significance of the sediments problem
is due to the desert nature of the
catchment area of the dam valley.

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Some of the other challenges facing both the

engineers and the geologists working on
keeping the dam safe are:
The huge amounts of water evaporation
[This type of problem can be solved with
covering the water by an oil layer; however
this would affect the quality of the water].
The landslides that occur rapidly in the left
wing of the dam. [Needs constant following
up to make sure everything is safe].
The violations people attempt. [From
cultivating near the area to using fertilizers
and Gypsum that all change the water
quality and affect the natural organisms
present in the dam.]

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Conclusion:
To sum up, I have found this field trip to be
highly informative and very amusing.
Not only because we got to see and examine
all of the different types of rocks we have
studied during this semester but also because
we got to see how important is the work and
the experience of a civil engineer in real life.
And that was when we visited the Al-Mujib
dam, as we understood the measures that
should be implemented and the factors that
must be taken into consideration from both a
geological and engineering point of view to
assure safety.

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