Impact of Climate Changes on the Discharges Of AL-KABEER AL-SHEMALE River

Al-Kabeer Al-Shemale river rises from Aqraa Mountain and coastal mountains, it is considered one of the largest rivers in the coastal area.Its catchment area is 1097 km2, and empties into the sea to the southern of Lattakia.The study aims to determine the impact of climate change on the river discharge. Since the rainfall is the major factor in the runoff formation in the river catchment, the rainfall changes have been studied in climatic stations located within the catchment and its surroundings, and for a period of time exceeding thirty years. The study found that the general trend of rainfall change and runoff with time is decreasing, declining rainfall values ranged in the studied stations between (0.4-12.5) mm per year, and the runoff reached 0.08m3/s in the year. A mathematical equation, predict river discharge after knowing the values of daily precipitation, has been concluded.

Integrated groundwater management and it's role in the reduction of water shortage and insuring increased water demand in Barada and Auvage basin

Barada and Auvage basin, experience of limited water resources against growing of human activities related to increasing of inhabitants, and climate changes influence on precipitation and water balance. This research focuses on the definition of present and expected water shortage in Barada and Auvage basin within the period between 2012-2035 year, and the abilities of its changes regarding the increasing of the gap between supply and demand, and the role of integrated groundwater resources management in facing water challenges, so decreasing of water shortage, taking into account, sustainability of ecosystems, as an important element of integrated water resources management.

CLIMATE RESPONSIVE BUILDING DESIGN STRATEGIES OF VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN SWAIDA CITY, SYRIA

The history of Swaida city in several civilizations was clear through architecture as if it formed a mixture of them all. Each culture had its own way of dealing with the environmental conditions, combining these design strategies accumulatively resulted in a rich architecture that deals with the environment in a very systematic way. On the other hand, the construction strategies dealt with a lot of limitation such as the lack of resources and experiences which were not available during those periods. This report describes the historical and climatical characteristics that Swaida city has, and reviews some design strategies that used to respond to climate challenges.