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  1. Jul 2024 Journal Article CATENA

    Mass tree uprooting during a mega flash flood in the hyper-arid Wadi Zihor, southern Israel

    Abstract

    On April 10, 2023, exceptional weather conditions over southern Israel produced an extreme rainstorm. The peak precipitation, with a maximum rainfall depth of 62 mm and rain intensities exceeding 50 mm h−1, fell over the hyper-arid southern Negev and Arava Valley and generated a mega flash flood in Wadi Zihor. This ephemeral stream channel supported a

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  2. 12 Mar 2024 Journal Article Land

    Identifying the Climatic and Anthropogenic Impact on Vegetation Surrounding the Natural Springs of the Arava Valley Using Remote Sensing Methods

    Abstract

    Natural springs, recognized as biodiversity hotspots and keystone ecosystems, exert positive ecological influences beyond their immediate extent, particularly in dryland environments. The water feeding these springs, largely governed by natural climatic conditions, is susceptible to anthropogenic impacts. The objective of this study was to determine the factors that

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  3. Jun 2023 Journal Article Ecosphere

    Toward an extreme world: The hyper-arid ecosystem as a natural model

    Abstract

    The forecasted increased frequency and intensity of extreme climatic events may strongly affect ecosystem structure and function in the future. It is unclear how ecosystems will function in the long run over a large spatial scale under a new extreme water cycle. This open question calls for a conceptual framework as a fundamental basis for theoretical and experimental

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  4. Mar 2020 Journal Article Hydrogeology Journal

    Conceptual hydrological approach to a geologically complex basin with scarce data: the Hula Valley, Middle East

    Avshalom Babad, Avihu Burg, Eilon M Adar
    Abstract

    The Hula Valley in the Middle East is a cross-border hydrogeological system. A highly complex hydrogeological framework and the absence of production or even observation wells poses difficulties in modeling this hydrogeological basin. Various tools were used to overcome the scarcity of data and the hydrogeological complexity to create a reliable conceptual hydrological

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  5. Apr 2019 Journal Article Journal of Arid Environments

    Wisdom dwells in places: What can modern farmers learn from ancient agricultural systems in the desert of the Southern Levant?

    Abstract

    Farming in drylands has always been challenging, however, modern technologies that allow irrigation by using distant water have sparked renewed interest in desert agriculture. Using imported water liberates the modern farmers from one of the major limitations created by this extreme environment, but the high price of the water, along with natural processes such as

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  6. Jan 2017 Journal Article Procedia Earth and Planetary Science

    Hydraulic Head Measurements in Two-phase Hydrogeological Conditions

    Avshalom Babad, Avihu Burg, M E Adar
    Abstract

    The Hula Valley, located in the northern Jordan Valley, Israel, is a deep depression characterized by low permeability sediments. Gas boreholes discharge a mixture of gas and groundwater, allowing the only detailed hydrological exploration of the Hula Valley's deep groundwater system. The existence of two phases – highly pressurized gas and water in the boreholes poses

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  7. Jan 2014 Journal Article Hydrology and Earth System Sciences

    Nitrate leaching from intensive organic farms to groundwater

    O Dahan, Avshalom Babad, N Lazarovitch, E E Russak, D Kurtzman
    Abstract

    It is commonly presumed that organic agriculture causes only minimal environmental pollution. In this study, we measured the quality of percolating water in the vadose zone, underlying both organic and conventional intensive greenhouses. Our study was conducted in newly established farms where the subsurface underlying the greenhouses has been monitored continuously

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