I was fortunate to participate in the 31st Schmucker-Weidelt-Kolloquium, my first time attending this long-standing geophysical conference. The meeting brought together researchers in an inspiring scientific and historical setting at Kloster Schöntal.
I delivered two contributions:
Oral presentation: The shrinking Dead Sea—Part A: TEM imaging of saltwater intrusion pathways.
This talk presented results from transient electromagnetic (TEM) surveys, which highlight how saltwater migrates inland beneath the retreating shoreline of the Dead Sea.
Poster presentation: The shrinking Dead Sea—Part B: joint interpretation of TEM and VLF-EM to understand sinkhole development.
The poster demonstrated how combining TEM with very low frequency (VLF) electromagnetic data improves our understanding of the processes behind sinkhole development in the Dead Sea area.
Both contributions attracted significant interest from participants, especially those working on groundwater systems, environmental hazards, and coastal aquifers. Discussions during and after the sessions provided valuable feedback and broadened the context of my research.
Attending the Schmucker-Weidelt-Kolloquium allowed me to exchange ideas with international colleagues, connect with researchers facing similar hydrogeological challenges, and raise awareness of the Dead Sea as a unique natural laboratory for studying saltwater intrusion and ground instability.
Jafar Aburajab
PhD student
Institute of Geophysics and Meteorology
PhD project: “Shallow Electromagnetic Induction at Ghor Al-Haditha Region-Dead Sea Basin / Jordan”
Presentation title (Oral): The shrinking dead sea—part A: TEM imaging of saltwater intrusion pathways
Presentation title (Poster): The shrinking dead sea—part B: joint interpretation of TEM and VLF-EM to understand sinkhole development