| 1. |
- Abdullah, Mukhalad, et al.
(författare)
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Floods and Flood Protection in Mesopotamia
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 155-173
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Mesopotamia is a land where floods have occurred very frequently. Many destructive floods had been registered by historians, who noted also the food control schemes used in those times. Over history, many structures were built and managed, but this work was taken up again by the General Directorate of Irrigation which was formed in 1917 to manage floods and reduce as much as possible losses, in addition to the development of irrigation works. Plans were made to build a sophisticated flood control and protection system. Several projects were proposed, and since the 1950s they were successfully implemented. Many multipurpose dams were built to mitigate flood conditions in addition to their other functions, such as Mosul Dam, Dokan Dam, Derbendikhan Dam and Haditha Dam. Other projects which were solely planned for flood protection include developing and using natural depressions such as Habbaniyah Lake on the Euphrates River and Tharthar Lake on the Tigris River, to protect Mesopotamia from floods. Moreover, the southern marshes in lower Mesopotamia may be utilized for flood protection. This paper deals only with these natural depressions leaving the dams at the time being.
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| 2. |
- Abdullah, Mukhalad, et al.
(författare)
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Irrigation Major Systems on Euphrates River within Mesopotamia
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 199-219
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Euphrates River is one of the two rivers where the civilization and irrigation had started, many major irrigation systems are still operating for centuries. The most important advancement of irrigation within this area happened after 1920s, where new structures were constructed, new canals excavated, new pumps installed, and salt affected lands were reclaimed. The major irrigation projects in along the reach of Euphrates within Mesopotamia are, Great Abu Ghraib, Great Musayab, Hilla Branch projects, Kifl-Shiniafiyah, in addition to many other medium and small size projects. Besides, some important Barrages have been built for controlling water levels of the Euphrates for proper operation, such as Fallujah and Hindiya Barrages. There is a great need for more reclamation in the lower parts of this territory, as well alternatives are needed to avoid discharging saline drainage water to the Euphrates in some projects.
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| 3. |
- Abdullah, Mukhalad, et al.
(författare)
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Major Irrigation Systems on Tigris River within Mesopotamia
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 175-198
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Several irrigation systems have been built at Tigris River basin within Mesopotamia plain. The upper part of Tigris at Mesopotamia is extensively exploited, and several major projects were constructed since the 1970s. These are Ishaqi, Khalis, Diyala Combined Reach, Nahrawan, Dujailya and Dalmaj. Other projects were partially developed, which are Middle-Tigris, Gharraf projects, Great Amarah and KutButaira. The important barrages in this part are Kut Barrage, as well, as the barrages in Amarah area which are of vital importance for irrigation and navigation. Shaat Al-Arab is one of the most important waterways in Iraq. This river has been suffered from water scarcity and riparian countries actions. Solutions for adaptation to adapt the situation were studied and planned carefully, but still there is need for more work to cope with the situation in Basra area.
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| 4. |
- Abdullah, Mukhalad, et al.
(författare)
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Soil Salinity of Mesopotamia and the Main Drains
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 221-230
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Since early civilization and the farmers in Mesopotamia are suffering from the soil salinity. This problem had caused the transfer of power from the Sumerians to the Babylonians in ancient history. Great efforts and research have been made since the beginning of the 20th century to overcome this salinity problem. Experts have concluded that the main reason for salinity is the salt content of irrigation water and the shallow saline groundwater derived from the irrigation activities. General schemes were planned, which involve building a new system of drains in parallel to the irrigation network. The backbone of the drainage system in Mesopotamia is the Main Outfall Drain (MOD). Large works such as Musayab Main Drain, Main Outfall Drain, Great Gharraf Drain, East Euphrates Drain were implemented, but there are still large needs for much more work to be done.
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| 5. |
- Adamo, Nasrat, et al.
(författare)
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Global Climate Change Impacts on Tigris-Euphrates Rivers Basins
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:1, s. 49-98
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is affecting the hydrological cycle all over the World. The effect on arid and semi-arid regions is relatively more. The Middle East and North Africa region is one of the biggest hyper-arid, semi-arid and arid zones in the world where the long-term average precipitation does not exceed 166mm per year. The Tigris and Euphrates basins are located within the northern part of the Middle East. Future projections indicate the considerable reduction in water resources as a result of drought and population growth. North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is responsible for the change in climate over the Tigris and Euphrates basins. This is causing a decrease in rainfall and a consequence decrease in the flow of the rivers. In addition, the temperature is increasing. All these variables are causing sea level rise, increasing dust storms and deletion of groundwater resources. It is believed that quick actions are required to minimize the effect of climate change. This includes prudent water resources planning and good regional cooperation.
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| 6. |
- Al-Ansari, Nadhir, 1947-, et al.
(författare)
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Hydrogeology of the Mesopotamian Plain : A Critical Review
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 111-124
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Mesopotamian Plain hydrogeologically is a semi-closed basin where most of the groundwater accumulates in the central and southern parts of the plain. However, small part of the groundwater flows out of the basin to the Gulf. This special character has significant effects on the depth and type of the groundwater in the plain. The depth ranges from (<10 – 100)m; however, the depth in the most of the plain ranges from (10 – 20)m. The type of the ground water is mainly salty water with concentrations of (10,000 – 50,000) mg/l; however, in the central part it is even Brine water (> 500,000 mg/l). No fresh groundwater exists in the plain.
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| 7. |
- Elias, Ziyad, et al.
(författare)
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Evaluation of the drainage system of Zagros Basin (Greater Zab River, northern Iraq) and insights into tectonic geomorphology
- 2020
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Ingår i: Arabian Journal of Geosciences. - : Springer. - 1866-7511 .- 1866-7538. ; 13:22
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Geomorphological evaluation was carried out for three drainage basins named Hareer, Dwaine, and Hijran, which are tributaries of the Greater Zab River in the northern part of Erbil Governorate, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, north Iraq. The exposed rocks in the three basins are mainly clastic rocks (sandstone, claystone, and conglomerate, with subordinate gypsum and limestone beds). However, in the uppermost parts of the basins, thick and massive carbonate rocks are exposed. Tectonically, the three basins are located in the Low Folded and High Folded Zones, which belong to the Zagros Fold–Thrust Belt. The main aim of the current study is to deduce the tectonic activity of the area occupied by the studied three basins. We have used and interpreted Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data to perform the geomorphological evaluation. Different geomorphological indices and forms were used to deduce the tectonic activity of the area occupied by the three basins. Accordingly, seven orders of streams were identified in the three basins. The number of the streams with low order (i.e., 1) joining with higher order (i.e., 6 and 7) is considerably higher in the three basins. The Hat values of the three basins are 12,971, 10,479, and 7014 in Hareer, Dwaine, and Hijran basins, respectively. The values of hierarchical anomaly index (Δa) of the three basins are 1.87, 1.35, and 2.37 in Hareer, Hijran, and Dwaine basins, respectively. It was observed that the shape of Hareer and Shakrook anticlines has a significant impact on the main trunk of the channel. Therefore, when an anticline and syncline are close to each other (due to thrust faulting), then the hierarchical anomaly increases because the river trunk receives a lot of first-order streams, e.g., in Dwaine and Hijran basins. The lateral growth in the eastern part of Safin anticline had caused increasing of the Δa. The increased hierarchical anomaly index is attributed to the existence of faults and lineaments, which represent weakness zones. The hypsometric curves of the three basins have a typical shape of old stage with rejuvenation in their central and terminal portions which is changed into mature stage, most probably due to the local uplift which is caused by normal, thrust, and strike–slip (oblique) faults which exist in the study area and the near surroundings. The Bs and Hat values in Hareer, Dwaine, and Hijran basins indicate that the basins exhibit low, medium, and high tectonic activity, respectively.
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| 8. |
- Sissakian, Varoujan K., et al.
(författare)
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Desertification and Salinization of the Mesopotamian Plain : A Critical Review
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 125-142
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Most of the Mesopotamian Plain is covered by Quaternary sediments among which the flood plain sediments of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are the most dominant parts. Aeolian sediments; however, also cover considerable areas at different parts of the plain in forms of sand dunes, sand sheets and Nebkhas. The dunes are the most common form and they are creeping as well as sand sheets in vast areas causing desertification. The main reasons causing this is climate change, abandoning of agricultural areas. Salinization is another significant problem in the plain whereby the affected areas are growing in size and the concentration of the salt in the soil, as well as the groundwater is increasing rapidly. The increase in salinization is due to miss- management of water resources, and the increasing salinity of the surface and ground water which due to the use of irrigation water supplied from Al-Tharthar Depression (lake) and the Main Outfall Drain.
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| 9. |
- Sissakian, Varoujan K., et al.
(författare)
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Economic Potential of the Mesopotamian Plain : A Critical Review
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 143-154
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The main material with economic potential in the plain is the clay. The clay is used for brick production; either with modernized technology or primitive industry. It is also used for cement industry. The creeping sand dunes have decreasing the potentiality of the clay for both uses. Salt is another economic material which is produced from Smawa saltern and other small primitive salt basins. The subsurface oil fields in the plain remain as the main source with economic potential.
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| 10. |
- Sissakian, Varoujan K., et al.
(författare)
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Geomorphology of the Mesopotamian Plain : A Critical Review
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Earth Sciences and Geotechnical Engineering. - UK : Scientific Press International Limited. - 1792-9040 .- 1792-9660. ; 10:4, s. 1-25
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Mesopotamian Plain is part of the large Mesopotamia which extends in Iraq and surrounding countries. The plain is almost flat and vast lowland, which has clearly defined physiographic boundaries with the other surrounding physiographic provinces. From the north and east, it is limited by the Low Amplitude Mountainous Province. From the west, the upper part is limited by Al-Jazira Plain, whereas in the lower part by the Western Desert Province. From the south it is limited by the Southern Desert Province. The plain is a huge accumulational geomorphologic unit, where the fluvial, lacustrine, and Aeolian landforms prevail; the fluvial units being the abundant among others. However, estuarine and marine forms also are developed, but restricted to the extreme south-eastern reaches of the plain. Moreover, some erosional landforms are developed in different places, but are not well expressed. In the central eastern part, large alluvial fans are developed with five stages covering vast areas along the Iraqi – Iranian international borders. The geomorphic units are classified according to origin, geomorphic position, and lithology. Some of the significant features are described with some details.
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