Exploring the Biological, Chemical, and Physical Properties of Seawater of the Jordanian Gulf of Aqaba for Desalination Purposes

This scientific work aims to monitor the quality of the Gulf of Aqaba seawater in terms of locations and depths to determine their suitability for desalination purposes. Accordingly, various parameters were measured within the selected coastal and offshore sites at several depths (5, 25, 75, and 125 meters). Parameters included temperatures, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll-a, nutrients (ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, and phosphate), Silt Density Index (SDI₁₅), Modified Fouling Index (MFI_0.45), and Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). The sampling site (29°27'31.9"N 34°58'10.0"E) with an average depth of about 400 meters. Seawater samples were collected in Niskin bottles using the MSS research vessel equipped with oceanographic equipment. Temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and conductivity were recorded using the Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth meter (CTD). The maximum SDI₁₅ value was registered in May with a value of 6.3 %/min at a depth of 125 m, while the lowest recorded value was 4.4 %/min at the surface water. Furthermore, the lowest MFI_0.45 was reported at a depth of 75 m during February, and it was 0.5 s/L², while the highest was 9.4 s/L² at the surface seawater. The preliminary results of the seawater ATP analysis showed that the R² of the regression is relatively high in the case of SDI₁₅, temperature, depth, and MFI_0.45 as 0.792, 0.854, 0.871, and 0.876, respectively. This work is a fruitful collaboration between the MSS (Jordan) and the IHE Delft Institute for Water Education (The Netherlands), in which SDI, MFI, and ATP seawater parameters have been utilized for the first time in the Gulf of Aqaba.

Keywords: Desalination; ATP, Gulf of Aqaba, MFI, SDI