Dr. Issam Bou Jaoude
Although it was our first road trip together, George Veni confessed that he loves the absence of rock. His declaration brought a smile. In response, I confessed I also love the absence of rocks, as a well as their presence. The combination has created a lifetime passion for me.
Working the fields with my dad in a small village, I got to interact with gray rocks and white soils at an early age. Later in life I discovered that the rock was limestone, and the soil was white from the limestone’s calcium. Fast forward to my education and my scientific interaction with rocks, it all started when I found myself studying geology for my Bachelor’s degree at the American University of Beirut. My real passion was only triggered when I finished my Master’s degree in Structural Geology and started going into those empty spaces in between the rocks, the spaces of the absence. They were cold, tight and I was not well equipped, but something transpired, and it kept me going.
After working and exploring the caves of the Middle East for a couple of years I moved to Canada, where I did my second Masters in Hydrogeology in the Civil Engineering Department at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario. Then I returned to Lebanon, working, teaching, exploring caves, and studying karst. In 2015 it was time for me to begin a PhD, which I completed again in the Civil Engineering Department at Queen’s University.
Mixing my love of adventure, with my love of rocks and their absence, is a high that keeps me moving forward. It could not have been a coincidence meeting my long-life partner in those empty spaces. Ever since my life has taken many twists and turns, before ending up in the cave city, “Carlsbad,” working for the National Cave and Karst Research Institute.
Being a cave and karst specialist, I have been given the opportunity to study both the presence and absence of rocks of many different regions in the world and now the USA.
Education
Ph.D., Civil Engineering, Queen’s University 2019
Master of Science, Civil Engineering, Queen’s University 2006
Master of Science, Geology, American University of Beirut 1999
Bachelor of Science, Geology, American University of Beirut 1996
Selected Relevant Publications
The Beckoning Darkness of Jeita Cave., 2018. Bou Jaoude, I., Karanouh, R. & Karanouh, W.
Caves of Lebanon, 2011. English and Arabic versions. Karanouh, R. & Bou Jaoude, I.
Assessment of Groundwater Resources of Lebanon, 2014. Published by the UNDP & MoEW.
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State of the environment of Lebanon – 2011 conducted by ECODIT, Chapter 6: Land Resources, Contributing author as Hydrogeology and Karst Specialist.
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Bou Jaoude I., 2022. Examples of Successes and Failures of Dams in the Karst of Lebanon. 17th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst
Bou Jaoude, I., & Karanouh R., 2022. EL Kassarat Cave: From Destruction to Protection. 18th International Congress of Speleology, France, Vol. I pp161-164
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Bou Jaoude I., Novakowski, K., and Kueper, B., 2022. Comparing heat and solute transport in a discrete rock fracture of variable aperture. Journal of Hydrology, 607, 127496.
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Bou Jaoude, I., Novakowski, K., and Kueper, B., 2018. Identifying and assessing key parameters controlling heat transport in discrete rock fractures. Geothermics, 75, 93-104.
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Bou Jaoude I., 2002. Analysis of mesofractures data for determining the upper crustal deformation of the Lebanese restraining bend. Lebanese Science Bulletin.
Bou Joaude I., Karanouh R., Momjian N., Chehadeh A., and Cheikh Husseen S., 2010. Understanding the leaks in Chabrouh Dam through Detailed hydrogeological analysis of the Qana Plateau (Lebanon). In Advances in Research in Karst Media. Eds. B. Andreo et al., Springer 2010. DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-12486-0
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Benda P., Abi Said M., Bou Jaoude I., Karanouh R., Lučan R., Sadek R., Ševčík M., Uhrin M., & Horáček I., 2016. Bats (Mammalia: Chiroptera) of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East. Part 13. Review of distribution and ectoparasites of bats in Lebanon. Acta Soc. Zool. Bohem. 80: 207–316.
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Karanouh, R. & Bou Jaoude I., 2008. Geological Imprints on the speleogenesis of Mgharet Afqa. AL-Ouat’Ouate Magazine, 14, 126-131.
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Karanouh, R. & Bou Jaoude I., 2009. Roueiss Cave: Potential similarities with Afqa Cave. AL-Ouat’Ouate Magazine, 15, 128-133.
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Bou Jaoude, I., Novakowski, K., and Kueper, B. 2018. The effect of fracture aperture variability on heat transport in discrete rock fractures under natural groundwater flow conditions. Abstract EGU2018-11416/ HS8.2.2 in European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2018, Vienna, 9-13 April 2018.
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To see Issam’s complete publication record, visit his Google Scholar profile.