Hydrogeology of the Umm Er Radhuma aquifer, Saudi Arabia, with reference to fossil gradients, 1982, Bakiewicz W, Milne Dm, Noori M,

Much of North Africa and the Arabian peninsula, lying in the Saharan climate zone, are underlain by huge tabular sandstone and carbonate aquifers, ranging in age from Cambrian to Tertiary. These are often saturated with water of reasonable quality and form very valuable resources in an area often desperately short of water. The Palaeocene Umm Er Radhuma carbonate aquifer is one such formation which has been the subject of intensive recent investigation. The formation contains groundwater of a reasonable quality, has adequate transmission and storage characteristics and hence considerable potential for future development. The origin of the water in such aquifers is the subject of continuing controversy. It is not disputed that the water is moving under the influence of regional groundwater gradients but origins of these gradients are the subject of considerable argument. On the one hand, there are those who hold that the presently observed gradients are fossil remnants of conditions created by a much wetter climatic regime prevalent some thousands of years ago. Against this are those who maintain that the gradients, at least in part, reflect a present day system with groundwater discharge in approximate dynamic equilibrium with recharge. This paper examines the hydrogeology of a typical Middle Eastern formation of the disputed kind, the Umm Er Radhuma aquifer in Saudi Arabia, and, with the aid of analytical and numerical models, attempts to resolve the problem of the origin of the observed groundwater gradients and to discover the extent to which the past must influence present day plans for future development

Several sinkholes occurred in 1988 in an urbanized development in Kuwait. The properties of the deep sub-soil and bedrock was investigated through a detailed research program consisted of topographic,, 2005, Abdullah Waleed , Kamal Hasan

Several sinkholes occurred in 1988 in an urbanized development in Kuwait. The properties of the deep sub-soil and bedrock was investigated through a detailed research program consisted of topographic, geological/geotechnical, and geophysical investigations. The study revealed that the geological profile is made of 35.40 m thick sandy overburden soil uncomfortably overlaying a Karst limestone bedrock. The cause of these sinkholes was attributed to the dissolution of the limestone bedrock and the subsequent raveling of the overburden soil cover. New sinkholes occurred in the summer of 2004 in the same area, indicating the need to assess the extent of the Karst Terrain in the area and its surroundings. The investigation documented that the same general geological profile also exists along the eastern coastline of the Arabian Peninsula, which had experienced several cases of sinkholes due to Karst cavities. This paper presents a comprehensive description of the desert karst terrain that exists in the eastern coastline of the Arabian Peninsula in general and in Kuwait in particular. The paper also presents an analysis of the causes of sinkholes that occurred in Kuwait. Discussion of the consequences of the sinkholes incidents on the regulation of the local government in setting guidelines for preliminary investigations for futuristic urban development in similar geological terrains in order to minimize the deleterious effects resulting from ground failure is also presented.

Groundwater in the Arab Middle East , 2012, Wagner, Wolfgang

The region covering the Arabian Peninsula and the adjoining northern Arabian countries coincides approximately with a specific large geologic struCture: the Arabian Plate. Politically the region includes the countries of the Arabian Peninsula together with the northern Arab countries: AI Mashreq - the eastern part of the caliphate or of the Arab World. In a geographic political view the region may be denominated Arab Middle East (Ash Sharq al Awsat) or Western Asia.
The Arab Middle East with an area of 3.7 million lan2 forms a small subcontinent between the Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, the Gulf and, in the north, the Zagros-Taurus mountain chains. About 90% of the region are semiarid to arid steppe or desert areas. As perennial rivers exist only in the northern and western margins of the Arab Middle East, the use of groundwater resources is an essential basis for the economic development and survival of the countries. The
region includes 12 Arab countries; water demand/supply previews indicaTe precarious siruations in the near future for mosu of these countries.
The idea ci compiling a book on "Groundwater in the Arab Middle East" arose from the professional activities of the author as hydrogeologist in the services of the German Government between 1965 and 1998, much of which was devoted to groundwater projectS in the Middle East. The information presented in the book is based on reviews of a large number of publications, reportS and documents as well as on field experience in various Arab countries.
The groundwater projects in the Middle East, in which the author had the
chance to panicipate, were carried out in the framework of Technical Cooperation between national or international institutions of the region and the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources, BGR, Hannover, partly in connection with activities of the German Agency for Technical Cooperation, GTZ, Eschbom. The projects were sponsored by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Bonn. Regional information on groundwater conditions in the Middle East were obtained, in panicular, through long-term assigrunents of  the author to international institutions: The Arab Centre for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands of the Arab League (ACSAD), Damascus, and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Amman and Beirut.