Palestine has during the last two decades suffered from increasing water scarcity. This is particularlyvisible in the agricultural sector and in farming communities. These are heavily dependent on water as primaryirrigation source. Lack of water and investments has resulted in the destruction of the agricultural sector inPalestine. This thesis is focused as a case study in al-Auja, Jordan Valley that was once well-known for itsagricultural productivity and abundance of water resources. The aim of the thesis is to assess the socioeconomicand environmental impact of the water scarcity in Auja’s agriculture and livelihoods. The methods used arequalitative and the data was collected through field work in Auja in March – April, 2013. Results of the studyindicate that agricultural sector in Auja weakened due to lack of investments and technological innovation in achanging climate. The weakened agricultural sector was subjected to various shocks and stresses from late1980’s that ultimately led to an agricultural collapse, in 2003/4. Mass unemployment and food insecurityaffected the social sector; poorer nutritional intake, decreased school enrollment and the family composition.With little water, the environment changed from semi-arid to arid which eradicated various plant species andanimal habitat. Final results of the study indicate that the situation has gradually improved during the recentyears, much due to new investments in the area and higher education amongst Auja’s youth.

Objectives: To investigate the effects of Ramdan fasting on plasma levels of ACTH and cortisol in athletic students living in the Jordan Valley (JV) and compare them to those living at above sea level in Ramtha City (RC). Methods: Sample collection and measurements were done in November 1998 from non-fasting and in December 1998 from fasting people. Results: ACTH levels in non-fasting subjects in the JV were 36 ± 4 IU/ml compared to 43 ± 3 IU/ml for those in RC. Cortisol levels were 483 ± 76 (JV) and 539 ± 89 nmol/l (RC). Fasting led to an increase in ACTH (49 ± 6 (JV) and 58 ± 5 IU/ml (RC)) and cortisol levels (637 ± 101 (JV) and 805 ± 72 nmol/l (RC)). Conclusion: Fasting increases ACTH and cortisol levels in an altitude-independent fashion.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. / Old Testament & Ancient Near Eastern Studies

This thesis is a multi-disciplinary survey of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age (1500-1200 BC) illustrated with an abundant use of maps and tables. The purpose is to determine how the Jordan Valley functioned as an economic unit during the Late Bronze Age. This thesis surveys the geographical, historical and archaeological records related to the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. A chapter is devoted to each field, geography (physical and human), history (Egyptian and Hebrew Bible) and archaeology. The data from each discipline is used to individually answer two questions: 1) was the Jordan Valley a single geographic/economic unit in the Late Bronze Age? 2) to what extent was the Jordan Valley integrated/interacting with the east-west highlands and the larger region in the Late Bronze Age? The primary objectives are to 1) explore and model a historical geographic hermeneutic for understanding the human experience of the Ancient Near East; and 2) lay a foundation for understanding the role of the Jordan Valley in affecting the Biblical periods of the Israelite monarchy to the Roman period.The answers from each chapter are then synthesized into a single geographic historical archaeological picture of the Central Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. The Central Jordan Valley was divided into two sections: a fertile, populated, well connected north-central section and an isolated, sparsely populated southern section with limited agricultural zones. Trade with and between the eastern and western highlands is well represented by artifactual parallels in and through the Jordan Valley, the north-central section on a regional and international scale and the southern section on a more local scale. The thesis concludes that there are more artifactual points of connection between the Jordan Valley and the eastern highlands than with the western highlands. An ‘early conquest’ model of the Hebrew Bible is plausible within the historical records of the Egyptian 18th and 19th Dynasties and the geographical and archaeological records of the Jordan Valley during the Late Bronze Age. / Biblical and Ancient Studies

published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Landscape Architecture

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Ziel der Dissertation ist die hydrogeologische Charakterisierung von Karstgrundwasserleitern in der semi-ariden Klimazone, welche oftmals durch Übernutzung und anthropogene Verschmutz-ung bedroht sind. Trotz oft eingeschränkter Datenlage und einem unzureichenden Systemver-ständnis müssen quantitative und qualitative Faktoren, wie z.B. Grundwasserneubildungsrate, Aquiferparameter, Strömungs- und Stofftransportdynamik, Verschmutzungsempfindlichkeit und anthropogene Einflüsse quantifiziert werden. Jedoch können diese Gebiete auch günstige Eigenschaften für eine Charakterisierung, wie eine zeitlich eng begrenzte Impulsfunktion der Grundwasserneubildung durch intensive, kurze Niederschlagsereignisse sowie lange ungestörte Rezessionsperioden, aufweisen. Dies gilt für das in der Levante gelegene Untersuchungsgebiet. Die zeitliche und räumliche hydrologische Variabilität wurde durch ein ausgedehntes Messnetz hochaufgelöst erfasst. Zur Auswertung dieser Daten wurden konzeptionell korrekte, jedoch möglichst einfach anwendbare quantitative Verfahren und Modelle entwickelt und angewandt, was die Übertragbarkeit der Methoden auf weitere Trockengebiete ermöglicht. Durch eine Zusammenstellung und Auswertung hydrochemischer Langzeitdaten konnte die natürliche Hintergrundkonzentration von Chlorid im Grundwasser für 33 Quelleinzugsgebiete ermittelt werden. Darauf aufbauend war es möglich, durch eine Chloridmassenbilanz sowohl den langjährige mittlere Anteil der Grundwasserneubildung am Niederschlag (25–50%) zu bestimmen, als auch den Abwasseranteil im Quellwasser anhand rezenter Proben zu quantifizieren (0–20%). Anhand eines Speicher-Durchflussmodelles konnten sowohl Aquiferparameter im Einzugs-gebietsmaßstab als auch eine Tageszeitreihe der Grundwasserneubildung exemplarisch für die Auja-Quelle, die größte Süßwasserquelle im Unteren Jordantal, erfasst werden. Diese sowie weitere Quellen der Region sind durch ein „röhrengedrosseltes“ Abflussverhalten, d.h. eine Begrenzung der Quellschüttung, gekennzeichnet. Der hydrogeologisch komplexe Aquifer und das nichtlineare Systemverhalten bei Erreichen der maximalen Schüttung erfordern ein besonders angepasstes Modell, welches auch einen ausgeprägten hydraulischen Austausch zwischen den Karströhren und der geklüfteten Gesteinsmatrix berücksichtigen muss. Eine Reihe von Parametern konnte aus einer Rezessions- und Ereignis-Analyse der Abflussganglinie ermittelt werden. Das Speicher-Durchflussmodell benötigt lediglich sechs Kalibrierparameter und erlaubt eine sehr gute Simulation der Abflussganglinie. Die effektive Aquifer-Porosität wurde durch Kalibration ermittelt (ca. 2.4%). Über den simulierten 45-Jahres-Zeitraum führten die fünf niederschlagsreichsten Jahre zu einem Drittel der gesamten Grundwasserneubildung. Die zeitlich hoch aufgelösten Quellmessungen ermöglichten eine Quantifizierung der hydraulischen Reaktionszeiten sowie der mittleren Verweilzeiten, der Durchbruchsdauer und der relativen Anteile der schnellen Fließkomponente nach Niederschlagsereignissen. Diese Daten dienen sowohl einer Abschätzung der schnellen Neubildungsprozesse (vor allem Fokussierung im Epikarst und schnelles präferentielles Fließen durch die Vadose Zone) als auch einer Beurteilung der Verschmutzungsempfindlichkeit der Karstquellen. Weiterhin konnte eine Zugehörigkeit der beiden, 3500 m voneinander entfernten, artesischen Jericho-Quellen Sultan und Duyuk zu einem gemeinsamen Röhren- und damit Karstsystem nachgewiesen werden.

La fin du 6e millénaire et le début du 5e millénaire constituent une des périodes les moins connues de la préhistoire du Levant sud. Dans ce contexte, les fouilles menées sur le site de Tel Tsaf, dans la vallée du Jourdain, offrent une opportunité inédite d’apporter un éclairage sur les sociétés de cette période. Cette étude s’est attachée, à travers la définition des systèmes de production, de distribution et d’utilisation des céramiques, à définir le fonctionnement social et économique du site et, au-delà, à adresser son statut au niveau régional. Nous avons pour cela développé une approche techno-pétrographique des assemblages céramiques, fondée sur l’identification des chaînes opératoires de production technique. Dans un deuxième temps, nous avons replacé l’assemblage céramique de Tel Tsaf dans le cadre plus large de la vallée du Jourdain et du Levant, à travers des comparaisons au niveau micro et macro-régional. Cette étude s’est avérée particulièrement riche. A l’échelle du site, elle nous a permis de mettre en évidence une société complexe et multi-culturelle. A l’échelle de la région, elle nous a permis de définir une communauté de pratiques au sein de la vallée du Jourdain et de mettre en évidence un phénomène de migration depuis le Levant nord, sur le site de Tel Tsaf. À l’appui des résultats de ce travail, ainsi que des études comparatives réalisées sur le matériel des sites de Beth Shean XVIII et d’Abu Gosh III – Jasmine street, il nous a été possible de proposer une réflexion d’ensemble sur la vallée du Jourdain et le Levant sud au tournant du 5e millénaire / The late 6th-early 5th millenium BC is one of the least known of the southern Levant prehistoric periods. In this context, the excavations on the site of Tel Tsaf, in the Jordan Valley, offer an unprecedented opportunity to shed light on communities from that period. This study aimed, through the definition of production systems, distribution and use of ceramics, to define the social and economic functioning of the site and beyond, to address its regional status. In this purpose, we have developed a techno-petrographical approach of the ceramic assemblage, based on the identification of chaînes opératoires. Secondly, we recontextualized the ceramic assemblage of Tel Tsaf in the broader context of the Jordan Valley and the Levant, through comparisons at micro and macro-regional level.This study prooved particularly rich. At the site level, it allowed us to highlight a complex and multi-cultural society. At the regional scale, it allowed us to define a community of practice in the Jordan Valley and highlight a phenomenon of migration from the northern Levant, to the site of Tel Tsaf. Regarding our results on Tel Tsaf, as well as comparative studies on the material of Beth Shean XVIII sites and Abu Gosh III - Jasmine street, we attempted to provide a broader reflection on the Jordan Valley and the Southern Levant at the turn of the 5th millennium.

In a populated region with very high potential evapotranspiration, where the rainwater falls only during the winter and mostly in the mountains, the need for sustainable water management and fair distribution is crucial. In the West Bank, Palestine, the main potable water source is a karst mountain aquifer system. Precipitation occurs usually in the form of rainfall in the mountainous regions during winter period and recharges the groundwater systems. The water either reaches the surface as spring water, or is extracted through pumped wells. But the scarcity of drinking water in Palestine is not due to lack of water resources or technical knowledge of water extraction but a direct consequence of Israeli policies, water management, breached water rights and the occupation of Palestinian territories. Because of such restrictions, ground water is not an option to provide more freshwater, instead it is suggested to collect rainwater runoff in reservoirs. In 2011, the first surface water dam was built in Palestine in Al Auja, just north of Ariha. It was built as an experimental project for future dams and is therefore a small earth fill dam which will be expanded to collect water also from an adjacent watershed, much larger than the current one. The purpose of this study is to determine how much bigger the reservoir needs to be to safely store the inflowing rainwater runoff in the future. This was achieved through hydrological modelling using the HEC-HMS software which is a physical based model. The data used in this study were: 25 m DEM, land use data, soil data (both from remote sense and field visit), river network map, precipitation data, location of the gauges and geological formations. Field visits and soil tests were also great contributions of insights and knowledge crucial for the project. Hourly time-series data for precipitation for the winters 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 and monthly evapotranspiration for 2010-2011 were used as input to the model. Water level data in Al Uja reservoir with 20 minutes intervals were used to evaluate the simulations. Simulations were first optimized for the current scenario to find sets of parameters that match the changes in water level in the dam reservoir. This was done both for single rainfall events as well as for the whole seasons. The parameters creating the most matching results were used in additional simulations with the adjacent watershed included. The difference in results between the simulations with the current watershed and the expanded one was used to answer how much more water the reservoir would have received during 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 if the larger watershed were included. The model results reveal that the reservoir should have been able to hold about three times as much water as today. Installation of an inflow meter is suggested for the future along with an evaluation of local climate change in precipitation and evapotranspiration.