Blog number 2

Dubai Groundwater: 

SheikhMohammad Al Maktoum created Dubai out of scratch. The discovery for water resources remained ambiguous. How did a multibillion-dollar city manage to create the water supply in the middle of nowhere? The costs of initial investments were extremely high, but higher risk yields greater reward. We will study how Dubai’s natural water resources have impacted the changing environment.

Zone of Aeration: 

Dubai has two water purification systems. Natural groundwater recharge produces approximately 300 million cubic meters per year and Brackish groundwater is used for the irrigation of date palms, but produces only 200 million cubic meters of water annually. 90% of the groundwater has salt, so relying on two irrigation systems to remove the salt is pivotal to help with the increasing demand of consumers. This is important for zone of aeration because water and air occupy the pore spaces below the surface

Zone of Saturation:

Groundwater is the main “natural” resource for Dubai. The total volume of natural groundwater resource accounts for only 3% of the total water supply. Desalination plants that make seawater potable constitute the remaining 97% of Dubai’s water.  Therefore, Dubai doesn’t get its water naturally, so it relies on alternative resources such as water irrigation systems to extract water resources. The cost of purchasing a Dasani water bottle is higher than a liter of gas. Due to the rapid expansion, issues such as over-abstraction causing over-irrigation and a sharp drop of fresh groundwater, salt-water intrusion from the sea in coastal regions, and water quality problems rising in nitrate concentrations, the ground below the water table has caused significant problems due to the sensitive geographic location in the desert. Desalination plants supply a vast majority of drinking water for Dubai; however, the plants are costly to run and negatively impact the Persian Gulf Sea.

Links used:
http://www.wwdmag.com/channel/casestudies/aerators-eliminate-bulking-dubai-treatment-planthttp://www.uaeinteract.com/spanish/news/default.asp?ID=365http://www.arabwatercouncil.org/AWF/Downloads/Sessions/Topic1/P2-3-Mohamed-AlMulla-UAE-State-of-Water-Report.pdfhttps://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors00/spr00/p30_51.pdf

Dubai map and rocks

Dubai Map & Rocks: 

Dubai is considered one of the top 10 tourist attractions, namely to experience seeing the tallest tower in the world The Burj Khalifa. Its unique geography of its map and rocks have rarely been studied.        

Dubai Spatial Reference: 

                                                                                                    

Here is a latitude and longitude map of UAE. We studied that the longitude is vertical and latitude is horizontal in a coordinate map. According to this map, Dubai's geographic coordinates is 25 degrees 15' 8" North, 55 degrees 16' 48" East.








Sand geological processes that formed the area:
Sand that covers the UAE from the Arabian gulf coast is a recent, intriguing feature than the oil-producing rocks of the ancient Arabian landmass.  Oil and gas producing rocks are not exposed to the surface used for drilling. 

There are different sources of sand based on color and composition. White sand is composed mainly of calcium carbonate which is found near the coast. On the other hand, the coating process through quartz and crystals can be found inland. For example, black sand can be found from igneous rocks in the Hajar mountains to the left. On September 16 class we learned about triangular formation in mountains. I believe the Hajar Mountains have triangular formations on the tip. 


Landscape: Rocks Rocks and minerals can only be found in the outskirts of the country, particularly in the north.  There is a wide variety of rocks found. These include: 

• Metamorphic rocks such as marble and slate 
• Sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone 

Limestone is highly applicable in the industry. In 2008, the UAE produced over 200,000 tonnes of limestone valued at over US$20 million to meet industrial demand.

Links used: 
http://www.alshindagah.com/shindagah75/a_peak_into_the_past.htm
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/19398/1/Rock_resources_of_UAE_poster.pdf
http://www.dubai.com/v/geography/
http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/teanh/005over.pdf