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In the Lower Yarmouk Gorge the chemical composition of regional, fresh to brackish, mostly thermal groundwater reveals a zonation in respect to salinization and geochemical evolution, which is seemingly controlled by the Lower Yarmouk fault (LYF) but does not strictly follow the morphological Yarmouk Gorge. South of LYF, the artesian Mukeihbeh well field region produces in its central segment groundwaters, an almost pure basaltic-rock type with a low contribution (<0.3 vol-%) of Tertiary brine, hosted in deep Cretaceous and Jurassic formations. Further distal, the contribution of limestone water increases, originating from the Ajloun Mountains in the South. North of the LYF, the Mezar wells, the springs of Hammat Gader and Ain Himma produce dominantly limestone water, which contains 0.14–3 vol-% of the Tertiary brine, and hence possesses variable salinity. The total dissolved equivalents, TDE, of solutes gained by water/rock interaction (WRI) and mixing with brine, TDEWRI+brine, amount to 10–70% of total salinity in the region comprising the Mukheibeh field, Ain Himma and Mezar 3 well; 55–70% in the springs of Hammat Gader; and 80–90% in wells Mezar 1 and 2. The type of salinization indicates that the Lower Yarmouk fault seemingly acts as the divide between the Ajloun and the Golan Heights-dominated groundwaters.

An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of 28 wastewater-derived contaminants and possible metabolites (e.g. carbamazepine, 10,11-epoxy-carbamazepine, benzotriazole, lamotrigine, and diclofenac) in common plant tissues with high water content (lettuce, cabbage, and tomato) was developed and validated. The developed method combines solid–liquid extraction, without the need for a clean-up step, and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) with electrospray ionization in positive and negative modes. This method was compared with the known QuEChERS method and exhibited better analytical performance. Method detection limits of ≤2.0 ng g−1 dry weight and absolute recoveries of >60% with high intra- and inter-day precision (RSD < 10%) could be achieved for 71% of the target analytes in four different matrices (cabbage, lettuce and tomato leaves, and tomato fruits). Compared to the QuEChERS method, the developed method allows the determination of a wide range of compounds with different physical–chemical properties (neutral, acidic, and basic) and considers even possible metabolites of pharmaceuticals in plant materials. The developed method was successfully applied to analyse wastewater-derived contaminants and their metabolites in plants which were grown under greenhouse and real field conditions. It could be shown that this method is suitable for the sensitive determination of environmental contaminants originating from treated wastewater and a range of their metabolites in irrigated plants and their edible parts. Due to its broadness the extraction method should also be suitable for screening of unknown contaminants and metabolites by LC high-resolution mass spectrometry.

The reuse of treated municipal wastewater for crop irrigation is a necessity in arid and semiarid regions but a potential entrance for emerging contaminants into the food chain. However, little attention has yet been paid to the detection of micropollutants and possible metabolites in vegetables grown under realistic field conditions. In this study, the uptake of 28 micropollutants and carbamazepine metabolites in 10 different field-grown vegetable species (among them carrot, lettuce, potato, and zucchini) from Jordan was studied. A total of 12 micropollutants and six carbamazepine metabolites, four of which have never been analyzed before in plant-uptake studies, could be detected in all of the samples in concentrations ranging from 1.7 to 216 ng per g of dry weight. In edible tissues, the total concentration of micropollutants decreased in the order of leafy (247–533) > root (73–126) > fruit-bearing (5–76 ng per g of dry weight) vegetables. A preliminary health-risk assessment for nine compounds according to the TTC concept shows no risk for seven of the micropollutats; for ciprofloxacin and 10,11-epoxycarbamazepine, however, more-specific toxicity data would be required for a refined risk assessment.

The Dead Sea region has faced substantial environmental challenges in recent decades, including water resource scarcity, ~ 1 m annual decreases in the water level, sinkhole development, ascending-brine freshwater pollution, and seismic disturbance risks. Natural processes are significantly affected by human interference as well as by climate change and tectonic developments over the long term. To get a deep understanding of processes and their interactions, innovative scientific approaches that integrate disciplinary research and education are required. The research project DESERVE (Helmholtz Virtual Institute Dead Sea Research Venue) addresses these challenges in an interdisciplinary approach that includes geophysics, hydrology, and meteorology. The project is implemented by a consortium of scientific institutions in neighboring countries of the Dead Sea (Israel, Jordan, Palestine Territories) and participating German Helmholtz Centres (KIT, GFZ, UFZ). A new monitoring network of meteorological, hydrological, and seismic/geodynamic stations has been established, and extensive field research and numerical simulations have been undertaken. For the first time, innovative measurement and modeling techniques have been applied to the extreme conditions of the Dead Sea and its surroundings. The preliminary results show the potential of these methods. First time ever performed eddy covariance measurements give insight into the governing factors of Dead Sea evaporation. High-resolution bathymetric investigations reveal a strong correlation between submarine springs and neo-tectonic patterns. Based on detailed studies of stratigraphy and borehole information, the extension of the subsurface drainage basin of the Dead Sea is now reliably estimated. Originality has been achieved in monitoring flash floods in an arid basin at its outlet and simultaneously in tributaries, supplemented by spatio-temporal rainfall data. Low-altitude, high resolution photogrammetr

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