Jordan 2012 – 18
Back to work: this time deep in the south of Jordan, collecting ground water samples at the Disi wellfield construction site. The Disi wellfield is part of a huge project to ensure Amman’s water supply, but since it’s still under construction, the finished wells are only operated shortly for testing purposes. So we had very limited time to sample the water of very few, select wells. This, and the remote location made this sampling trip one of the most interesting I’ve been on so far.
Omar, looking serious. We arrived at the base camp in the afternoon and headed out into the desert at night.
Looking professional, for once :)
Collecting noble gas samples.
The temporary pump installed in the borehole.
I love both the scientific field work in itself and the opportunity for documentary photography that comes with it.
The drilling rig, biggest one I’ve seen so far.
After we were done sampling the pumped well we went on to search a monitoring well – equipped with GPS data we headed into the night…
…and went on searching for more than an hour. GPS accuracy can sometimes be – mediocre ;)
Nothing.
Using the headlights to illuminate the dark desert under the starry sky. Handheld at 1/4th of a second, had neither a tripod nor the time for a more elaborate setup with me.
Finally, we stumbled over it. A monitoring well has no pump, so there are no power lines leading to it, and basically they are just small stumps rising seldomly more than half a meter from the ground. Nothing to find easily, especially not in the night.
Back at the (amazingly well equipped) base camp. Good night feet!
Good morning feet!
Empty pockets.
Back to the well field we went.
This time in broad daylight.
Different well.
Typical jordanian water tanker.
Found another monitoring well.
Quite a busy part of the desert.
Got to love the old trucks they are running there!
Enough for today. And probably only two or three more entries from Jordan to come…