Ahmad Abdel-HALEEM Al-Malabeh

• Ph.D
• Professor at Hashemite University

The Harrat Al Shaam, the lava deserts of Jordan, is a vast lava field, in which we have explored and surveyed 23 lava caves with a total added length of 3164 m, as yet. One of the latest eruptions, a fissure eruption, created a 32 km long lava field, the Al-Fahda lava flow, covering 227 km2. In the north, the field is up to 24 km wide, while toward...

This article was conducted to measure radon concentration levels in the Yarmouk River Basalt (YRB), North-Jordan. The YRB is of Quaternary in age and occurred as a successive sheet with a total thickness of 122 meters. The Yarmouk River Basalt is classified into four major phases. Namely, Yarmouk Sheet basalt, Yarmouk blocky basalt, Yarmouk massive...

Remah Volcano (RV) is one of the numerous volcanoes that are distributed in three volcanic fields in the Jordanian Harrat, northeast Jordan. The RV is about 4 km 2. It is about 80 m high. They are arranged in three main horizons: lower, middle, and upper and show planar stratification. 222 Rn content has been measured by using Nuclear Track Detecto...

The aim of this research is to study the engineering properties of Umm Al-Jamal basalt rocks. These rocks are mainly of Miocene to Holocene age. Umm Al-Jamal basalt consists of five thickly basaltic flows with a total thickness of up to 50 m. The basaltic rocks in the study area have attractive engineering properties, the rocks have high specific g...

his research is aimed at detailed investigation of the origin chert rocks in Wadi Al-Wala area in central Jordan. The chert in the area is of Upper Cretaceous in age and belongs to the widely distributed chert on the western margin of the Arabian Plate. Field characteristic structures of these cherts indicate that they occur in three forms: bedded,...

This research is conducted to investigate mineralogy, geochemistry and the petrology of Harrat Irbid (HI). Petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical data were obtained from twenty representative samples selected from the studied HI outcrops. Mineralogical data display that the HI consist of plagioclase, olivine, pyroxene, Feldspathoids, alkali f...

The seemingly hostile eastern Jordanian Harrat proves to be one of the richest archaeological landscapes in the Near East. The main structures are the many hundred kites, km-large, highly evolved former gazelle-hunting structures. Their study on Google Earth high-resolution images revealed yet another enigmatic geoglyph, the circular path. These fe...

Northern Jordan hides one of the least-known marvels of the antique world: a system of subterraneous aqueducts of Roman Imperial times, the Yarmouk-Decapolis Tunnel. The system may have been 106 km long, serving some of the Decapolis cities. The hypothesis of M. Döring (2008, 2016) states that it collected water in SW-Syria through channels (the Qa...

This study was conducted to evaluate the zircon minerals in Wadi Al-Mezrab, South Jordan. Zircon at the study area belongs to the Middle member of the Dubaydib Formation of the Middle Ordovician age. The detailed petrographic study shows that the host rock is composed mainly of quartz, plagioclase, biotite, muscovite, and zircon, with small amounts...

Al-Daher Cave is located east of the Bergish Reserve for Ecotourism on Bergish Mountain at about 830 m a.s.l. The entrance was originally a vertical fissure, opening to the east near the top of the mountain that contains the cave. This flank was artificially terraced in ancient times for agricultural purposes, and a wine press has been carved out o...

This study aims at details investigations of Radon concentration in The Yarmouk River Wadi Fill Basalt (YB) Surveys of radon concentration. The YB is of Quaternary age and has occurs as successive sheet with total thickness of 80 meter. Radon determinations performed on 30 basaltic samples with CR-39 solid-state nuclear detector housed in the Dept....

Solid waste disposal in Jordan are economically valuable wastes have many industrial applications. The average person product is about 0.9 kg/day with total amount of 3, 7000 ton/day. The inorganic solid waste disposal in Jordan forms about 50% of total waste amounts. These are mostly consists of paper and cardboard (~15%), metals (e.g. iron, steel...

The basalt flow in Irbid district covers an area of about 300 km2 and forms different shapes: elongated strips, sub-rounded spots, and arc-like outcrops. The basalt flow in the study area has thicknesses ranging from 1 to 30 m. This study is conducted to evaluate the basaltic rocks as a construction material in eight different places of Harrat Irbi...

Traffic safety in Jordan is nowadays a major issue of concern due to the excessive increase in the number of traffic accidents and the resulting losses at both human (fatalities and injuries) and economical levels. This paper focuses, using Ajloun city in the northern part of Jordan (a major tourism area) as a case study, on analyzing and assessing...

Scientific evidence continues to mount that the earth’s climate is changing rapidly. Global average surface temperatures have increased by about 0.7 degree Celsius since the beginning of the 20th century, and nine of the ten warmest years on record have occurred during the 21st century. Climate change is among the biggest threats that face humanity...

Kempe-Cave, a well-preserved hyena, wolf and porcupine den in the eastern Jordanian Harrat Stephan Kempe1, Ahmad Al-Malabeh2 & Horst-Volker Henschel3 1Institute of Applied Geosciences, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Schnittspahnstr. 9, 64287 Darmstadt, Germany, kempe@geo.tu-darmstadt.de 2Hashemite University, Department of Earth and Environmenta...

However one feature that has not been recognized yet is a very strange “geoglyph” – the “circular path”. It is subtle and inconspicuous and if viewed individually may pass for a curious irregularity but when searched for, located and cross related, dozens of them appear on the high resolution areas (Fig. 6). A circular path is a strip of land, 1 to...

Google Earth offers the opportunity to study “desert kites”, large, presumably Neolithic gazelle-hunting structure, shaped like children’s kites. They occur throughout the Near East where large stones were available, e.g. in the Harrat (lava deserts). Kites typically consist of km-long guiding walls, ending in a ha-sized enclosure. In Jordan at lea...

In northern Jordan Roman water tunnels exist that may have a total length of >100 km, possibly representing the longest antique tunnel system. It served to supply water to some of the Decapolis cities, such as Abila (Quwailiba) or Gadara (Umm Qais). A hypothesis states that a tunnel extends all the way from the Syrian border to Umm Qais. However, d...

The present work deals with the geologic setting and mineralogical and geochemical study of Late Precambrian magmatic rocks especially the felsic dike swarms of northeast Aqaba complex in South Jordan. The northeast Aqaba complex represents one of the most significant regions in the South Jordan basement. The basement rocks in the studied region ar...

Jordan is a country with a large area of limestone. Nevertheless, only a few limestone caves are known. Here we report about two caves along Wwadi Sirhan Graben of Jordan that appear to have formed by stoping upward of collapsed deep-seated hypogene cavities along breccia pipes. The first one, Uwaiyed Cave, is a small breakdown-dominated chamber in...

This research describes the exploration and evaluation of tunnel-influence on the stresses in the rock which in turn may influence the geotechnical and hydraulic properties of the tunnel. The starting point in this thesis is a simplified description of the techniques constructing a tunnel between two distant points that involves mastering several s...

The Tertiary-Quaternary basaltic lavas of southern Syria are divided into three separate volcanic phases, of Mi-ocene, Pliocene and Quaternary age. These basalts are parts of the large intra-continental basaltic terrain of Harrat Al-Shaam, which covers an area of about 45,000 km2. and lies in NW-Arabian plate. Detailed field investigation shows tha...

The possibility to detect lava caves in the basaltic flows in the shallow subsurface using Induced Polarization (IP) imaging survey was a significant subject in recent years. The application of this method to caves in the large intra-continental volcanic field of the Harrat Al-Shaam, NE Jordan are reported. The Harrat is composed of a series of bas...

The Harrat Al Shaam, the lava deserts of Jordan, is a vast lava field, in which we have explored and surveyed as yet 23 lava caves with a total added length of 316 m. With 231 m in length, Hashemite University Cave is the third longest. It can be classified as a " pyroduct " , i.e. serving as an underground conduit for molten lava away from the vol...

The Harrat Al Shaam, the lava deserts of Jordan, features the largest concentration of desert kites so far analyzed (e.g., Kempe & Al-Malabeh, 2010a). Our Google Earth count runs to at least 530 such kites, while aerial photography counts yielded 1155 kites (Kennedy, 2011; Table 1). In Saudi Arabia we have counted 254 more and Kennedy (2011) counte...

Many sinkholes are recorded along Wadi Sirhan Graben of Jordan that appear to have formed by stooping upward of collapsed deep-seated hypogene cavities along breccia pipes. Examples of these sinkholes are: (1) Uwaiyed Cave, a small breakdown-dominated chamber in basalt of Naslet Al-Dhirwa volcano, (2) Beer Al-Malabeh, a large, bell-shaped sinkhole...

The purposes of this article are to study the types of construction techniques that the Nabataeans used to bring Petra's architecture to its peak, and to identify the underlying factors behind their choice of these techniques. To achieve these purposes, the focus will be on the geological setting of the site. Also presented are consideration of the...

Google Earth offers a unique opportunity and methodologically new approach to study geological and archaeological phenomena over large areas. We have evaluated a high resolution strip of images along the eastern rim of the Jordanian Harrat along 38°E where basaltic Quaternary lava flows override Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary limestones and ch...

Apart from pyroducts (lava tunnels, lava tubes) that actively conduct lava subterraneously, there are many other types of lava caves that can reach appreciable sizes. In the Cenozoic (Oligocene-Quaternary) alkali-basalt fields, the "Harrats", in Jordan we have surveyed 10 caves that lack any signs of laterally flowing lava. They all belong to the l...

Jebal Remah volcano is one of huge but very poorly known tephra cones exposed on the basalt province of Harra El-Jabban. Detailed investigations indicate that this volcano is topographically distinct and structurally well-developed. It consists of voluminous air-fall scoria, arranged in three distinct horizons; namely lower black lapilli horizon, m...

Google Earth offers a unique opportunity and methodologically new approach to study geological and archaeological phenomena over large areas. We have evaluated a high resolution strip of images along the eastern rim of the Jordanian Harrat along 38°E where basaltic Quaternary lava flows override Upper Cretaceous and Lower Tertiary limestones and ch...

Problem statement: Al-Harida volcano is located in the Jordanian parts of the Harrat Al-Shaam plateau and contains considerable amounts of mantle xenoliths within its pyroclastic successions. Approach: These xenoliths are reported for the first time for this area. Mineralogical investigations show that they are composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, c...

The iron ore deposit of the historic Warda mine (District of Ajloun, Northern Jordan) and its speleological importance is discussed. Former prospecting results show that the deposit has a spatial extent of 300 x 200 m with a maximal thickness of about 10 m. The Warda Iron Deposit was mined during the time of the crusades by the Arabs in the time of...

Peridotite ultramafic mantle xenoliths are occurring abundantly in the Harrat Al-Shaam basaltic province. Jabal Remah volcano is located in the Jordanian parts of the plateau and contains considerable amounts of mantle xenoliths within its pyroclastic successions. Mineralogical investigations show that the xenoliths are mostly of the spinel lherzol...

Volcanological, petrographical and geochemical characteristics of Permian melaphyre outcrops in Darmstadt were investigated by thin sections, XRD, XRF and ESEM. Two units of melaphyre occur, each over 2 m thick. The lower unit is hard, vesicular, and composed of decimeter-thick pahoehoe sheets, while the upper micro-doleritic unit is softer, dense...

Coronadite was reported from the upper-most horizons of the Middle Cambrian sediments at two locations in Wadi Dana, central Wadi Araba and Jordan. The unit is composed of dolomite, limestone and shale. Geochemical investigations show appreciable variations in Mn, Pb, Fe, K and Ba contents in the coronadite between the two studied sites. Pb was fou...

Coronadite was reported from the upper-most horizons of the Middle Cambrian sediments at two locations in Wadi Dana, central Wadi Araba a nd Jordan. The unit is composed of dolomite, limestone and shale. Geochemical investigations sho w appreciable variations in Mn, Pb, Fe, K and Ba contents in the coronadite between the two studied sites. Pb was f...

UDC 553.3(569.5) The possibly hypogene karstic iron ore deposit of Warda near Ajloun (Northern Jordan), its mineralogy, geochemistry and historic mine In this study the iron ore deposit of the historic Warda mine (District of Ajloun, Northern Jordan) and its speleological im- portance is discussed. The number of known dissolutional caves in Jordan...

Even though Jordan is underlain by Cretaceous and Tertiary limestone in large parts of its territory no larger caves were known there until Bergish/Al-Daher Cave was discovered in 1995. Since then a few other caves have been investigated, mostly lava caves within the vast Jordanian Harrat (Kempe et al., 2008). Here we report about three caves that...

Northern Jordan is the site of several antique aqueduct tunnel systems. Geologically, they were dug in the Tertiary (Oligocene) Wadi Shallah Chalk Formation. Total length of the tunnels probably exceeded 100 km. Many parts are well preserved, but several segments are damaged by human action such as roads construction or they are filled by sediments...

In this study the iron ore deposit of the historic Warda mine (District of Ajloun, Northern Jordan) and its speleological importance is discussed. The number of known dissolutional caves in Jordan is very low, in spite of the fact, that large sections of the country are underlain by Cretaceous limestone. The only large cave yet discovered is Al-Dah...

The Cambrian manganese deposits of Wadi Dana were investigated for their REE geochemistry, contents and patterns. Compared with other manganese ore types the studied ore is REE depleted. However, such depletion can be applied to the high-grade ores, while the low-grade ores bears higher REE due to the detrital contribution. The horizontal variation...

Detailed electron microprobe analysis of the spinel mineral group in andestic rocks from southern Jordan; shows that the most abundant opaque oxides are titanomagnetite, ilmenite, magnetite, and chromite respectively. Also showed that early formed spinels are highly enriched in the series magnesiochromite – chromite (MgCr2O4 – FeCr2O4) in both comp...

In Jordanien stehen zwei Gesteinsgruppen großflächig an, die potentiell Höhlen enthalten können: Karbonate der Kreide und des Tertiärs und basaltische Laven des Tertiärs und des Pleistozäns. Trotzdem waren außer ein paar Halbhöhlen (e.g., Calandri, 1987; Hofmann & Hofmann, 1993) und einiger Spaltenhöhlen in den Lisan-Mergeln (Rosendahl et al., 1999...

Bei den beiden Trockenmumien handelt es sich um die Kadaver einer Streifenhyäne (Abb. 1), (Hyaena hyaena, Linnaeus 1758) und eines Wüstenfuchses oder Fennekes (Abb. 2), (Vulpes zerda, Zimmermann 1780). Beide Tiere kommen heute noch in den Wüsten von Syrien bis Arabien vor. Die Hyäne wird zwar in Jordanien bejagt, wandert aber immer aus den benachba...

The Jordanian geologists would like to send sincere thanks and gratitude to his majesty King Abdullah-II for his patronage and support of the conference. His Majesty showed great interest in improvement the geological and environmental issues in Jordan through worldwide activates and distinguished speeches. His Majesty auspice encouraged the geolog...

Under the PATRONAGE OF HIS EXCELLENCY "PRIME MINISTER" FAISAL AL FAYEZ, the 8th International Conference of Jordanian Geologists Association (8tb ICJGA) was held at the National Amman University during 6-7 April 2004. More than 300 hundred scientists and researchers from 20 different nationalities were participated in the meeting. Two hundred paper...

In spite of the vast limestone area present in Jordan, no karstic caves to speak of were known there until 1995 when Al-Daher Cave was discovered. The cave is situated east of Bergish Rerism serve for Ecotourism in the mountains of Bergish at about 830 m above sea level. The cave formed in the Wadi As Sir Limestone Formation of Upper Cretaceous age...

The wadi-fill basalt of Harrat El Fahda was derived from the youngest volcanic activity in northeast Jordan and forms one of the most recent harrats of the Arabia plate. It is characterized by the presence of abundant well-preserved pressure ridges and pahoehoe lava structures. It was developed due to intermittent eruption from an isolated volcanic...

The northeastern region of Jordan is volcanic terrain, part of a vast intracontinental lava plateau, called the Harrat Al-Shaam (Fig. 1). The centre is formed by young alkali olivine basaltic lava flows, the Harrat Al-Jabban volcanics, or Jordanian Harrat (Al-Malabeh, 2005). The top most and therefore youngest flows, collectively known as Bisriyya...

The northeastern region of Jordan is volcanic terrain, part of a vast intercontinental lava plateau called the Harrat Al-Shaam. The centre is formed by young alkali olivine basaltic lava flows, the Harrat Al-Jabban volcanics or Jordanian Harrat (Al-Malabeh, 2005). The top most and therefore youngest flows are ca. 400 000 years old (Tarawneh et al.,...

Namen te študije je bila raziskava izvora kep železa, ki so bile najdene v Herbstlabyrinthu pri Breitscheidu, severni Hessen/Nemčija. Vsega skupaj je bilo zbranih deset prodnikov. Petrografsko prodnike lahko razdelimo v tri skupine: precej svež bazalt, opazno ali popolnoma preperel bazalt (vsebuje železova zrna) in temen peščenjak. Železova zrna iz...

The Jordanian Harrat, covering an area of about 11,400 km2 in NE Jordan, is part of the Harrat AL-Shaam Volcanic Field. the largest volcanic field on the Arabian plate. In this Harrat a new lava cave (Al-Fahda Tunnel) has been (re)discovered by the first author. The tunnel is located to the Northeaast of Safawi town, at an altitude of 2730 feet. Th...

Petrography and geochemistry of late Precambrian crystalline basement rocks of Wadi Rahma, southern Jordan, arewere investigated. The monzogranites, monzodiorites, andesities and rhyolites are genetically related to the Pan-African orogeny. The basaltic magma was probably generated by partial melting of upper mantle lherzolite, which in turn result...

Daher Cave is the first natural limestone cave in Jordan of any appreciable extent. It is located east of the Natural Reserve of Zobia near the mountain of Bergish at an altitude of ca. 830 m a.s.l. It was discovered by Ahmad Al-Shreideh in 1995 and is currently being developed by the Ministry of Environment.

The northeastern section of Jordan is covered by young alkali olivine basaltic lava flows, the Harrat Al-Jabban volcanics, part of the large intercontinental Harrat Al-Shaam volcanic field.

Jabal Al-Rufiyat volcano is one of numerous but poorly known volcanoes that are distributed in three volcanic fields in Harra El-Jabban basaltic plateau, NE-Jordan. This volcano lies at the northwestern part of the area in an area of 10 eruptive volcanic centers forming Al-Rufiyat volcano group. The volcano is about 80 m high, distributed over an a...

Several basaltic samples from the Tertiary–Quaternary field of Harra El-Jabban, specifically from (Umm Al-Qutein) area, underwent geochemical, mineralogical, and magnetic investigations. Geochemically, the flow is of silica-undersaturated types, and belongs to sodic, mildly alkaline magma series. The modal analysis shows higher magnetite (Titanomag...

Manganese oxides occurring at Wadi Dana (central Wadi Araba region, Jordan) are mainly hosted in the middle Cambrian dolomite limestone shale unit (DLSU). This deposit was investigated to elucidate their petrographic characteristics and genesis. The dominant mineral assemblage is typical for supergene manganese mineralization. Extensive mineralogic...