Facies Analysis and Depositional Environments of the Ubaid Formation, Western Iraq

The Early Jurassic (Liassic) sequence crops out in numerous anticlines of the high folded zone of north and north-east Iraq and in the Rutba subzone (including Ubaid Formation) in west Iraq. The present study deals with siliciclastic / carbonate rocks of the 58 m-thick Ubaid Formation at Zor Hauran valley in south western Iraq. The formation consists of two parts; the lower part is composed of pebbly coarse sandstone and greenish to yellowish soft marl alternated with marly dolostone, while the upper part is characterized by light brown, well bedded dolostone, with stromatolite structure in some locations. Oval, light to dark brown nodules of chert are also present. A detailed field lithological description and facies analysis of the Ubaid Formation were performed for thin sections. It is composed of five main microfacies; dolomitized mudstone, dolomitized bioclastic wackstone, dolomitized pelloidal packstone, dolomitized oolitic grainstone, and bindstone, in addition to two lithofacies: marl and pebbly sandstone. These facies reflect the deposition from the environment of the lower supratidal to intertidal zone and the encompassing shallow scaffold secured shoal - marine environment with cautious water circulation.

Surface Basins Evaluation of the Southern Desert, West Iraq

The results of the present study show that the highest elevation point is (912) meters (a.s.l.) inside Wadi Al-Khur basin while the lowest elevation point is (6) meters (a.s.l.) inside Wadi Abu-Talha basin. The biggest catchment area is represented by Wadi Al-Khur (48840 km²) whereas the smallest catchment area is Wadi Taqtaq (1748 km²). The stream direction of all streams trends from South-West towards North-East. The soil available water capacity (AWC) (Moisture Deficit) in the studied area was15 mm. The average annual rainfall was133.11 mm, the average annual temperature was 25.65 Co, the total depth amount of E Apanwas 3691.85 mm/year, the relative humidity was 40 %, the average annual sunshine is 7.9 hrs., and the average annual wind speed is 2.7 m/s. The water surplus of the total studied area 46800 km) was about 488.592 m³⁄year, while the runoff amount was about 442.190 m³ ⁄year.

Karstification Problems in the Haditha Dam, West Iraq

Haditha Dam is constructed on the Euphrates River in the western part of Iraq completed in 1988 and located 14 km west of Haditha town. Haditha Dam is a combined earthfill and concrete dam with a total length of 9064 m. The maximum height of the dam is 57 m from the deepest point at the river channel and dam crest level is 154.00 m (a.s.l.). The storage capacity is 6×109 m3 at normal operation water level of 143 m (a.s.l.). The exposed formations in the dam site and reservoir area are the Euphrates (Lower Miocene) and Fatha (Middle Miocene) formations. Both formations are well known in Iraq to be karstified at different intensities. The right bank of the Euphrates River is severely karstified with tens of sinkholes of different shapes, dimensions and activities. The presence of the karstified rocks is the main reason the dam has a very long grout curtain which extends along its entire length and includes the concrete powerhouse and spillway structure in the river channel, and the right and left bank extensions. The right bank extension of the grout curtain is exceptionally long due to the extent of the sinkhole area. Grouting was performed here in boreholes drilled at one-meter spacing to reduce water penetration and movement through the flank of the dam. The grout curtain under the embankment in the river section was done in two rows, while under the concrete structure it is comprised of three rows of holes. The left bank extension has two rows. The depths of all parts of the curtain varied following the karstification zones and intensities. The main aim of the current study is to elucidate and discuss the influence of the karstified rocks at the dam site and reservoir on the design and especially the length of the dam and the need for side extensions.

Evaluation of sediment transport empirical equations: case study of the Euphrates River West Iraq

Sediment transport in rivers is an important and complex process. It is very important to know the nature and quantities of sediments transported in course of rivers to achieve prudent water management. Due to the presence of most of the important projects on or near the banks of the river in the study area, so there is always a fear that these projects will be affected by the processes of erosion, transport, and sedimentation among the decision makers. Therefore, there is a need to develop our knowledge of the suitable equations that can be applied with acceptable accuracy to obtain satisfactory results for monitoring the processes of erosion, sedimentation, and transport that occur in River path to monitor and anticipate the changes taking place in the areas of the riverbanks. This study was carried out to check the reliability of different sediment transport formulas using data collected from the Euphrates River at the thermal power station in Al Anbar province, Iraq. The study also aimed to select the best formula for this site. Hydrological data have been collected. These were used for computing the total sediment load in the river at a specified cross-section using common sediment transport formulas ascribed to Ackers-White, Bagnold, Yang, Colby, Shen and Hung, and Engelund-Hansen. The performance of these formulas was assessed based on the accuracy of the predictions of the observed sediment load within a limited discrepancy ratio. The evaluations showed that the Engelund-Hansen formula represented the best formula for this river reach.

Hydrochemistry of the Dammam Unconfined Aquifer Southern Desert, West Iraq

The type of groundwater in the studied area is slightly brackish. In general, the dominant water type is calcium-sulfate. The reasons behind these different chemical groundwater types can be referred to the active ion exchange between the groundwater of the Dammam aquifer and Rus Formation. The groundwater of the Dammam unconfined aquifer is not suitable for human drinking in all the parameters properties. The groundwater class is fair in the Qasir Al-Ukhaider area, while the Shebcha area and Al-Salman area are poor class except the eastern part of Al-Salman area is very poor.

Using Geographic Information System (GIS) to estimate the volume of water for Al Dammam unconfined Aquifer within Al Salman basin, Al- Muthana Governorate, South West Iraq

The groundwater represents the main source of water in the study area due to lack of surface water. The Dammam unconfined aquifer represents the main aquifer in the study area and Southern desert because of the regional extent, the quantity and quality of water. Many groundwater wells have been drilled in the study area to coverage the huge demand of water for agricultural purposes. The Geographic Information System (GIS) was used to estimate the volume of water which calculated (25.6964 × 109 m3) within the study area , automate calculation of the area of Al Salman basin using digital elevation models, derive the thickness maps of AlDammam unconfined aquifer from Key holes (KH) and Bore holes (BH), draw the groundwater head and flow map in the study area. Such data derived from GIS can help authorities and researchers for groundwater management and further development within the study area.

Hydrochemical of Groundwater for Al Dammam unconfined Aquifer within Al-Salman Basin, Al-Muthana Governorate, South West Iraq

The quality of groundwater is just as important as its quantity. The kinds and concentration of salts in groundwater depend on the environment, movement, and the source of the groundwater. During the field work, 20 samples have been collected from water wells from Al-Salman basin for two seasons represent wet and dry seasons in November 2017 and April 2018. After water well samples have been analyzed the Electrical conductivity values range from (2260 to 5500) μS/cm for dry season and range from (2540 to 5630) μS/cm for wet season, the Total dissolved solids values range from (1289 to 3582) ppm for dry season and range from (1710 to 3960) ppm for wet season, and pH values range from (7.11 to 7.3) for dry and wet seasons. The Hydrochemical classification which applied using Piper's Diagram revealed there are three type of water (sulphate type Ca+2 – Mg+2 – Cl- – SO4, sulphate type Ca+2 – Mg+2 – Cl- - SO4, NaCl), and two water type by applying Chadha's diagram (sulphate type Ca+2 – Mg+2 – Cl- - SO4, Na+- Cl-), the variation of water type in the study area due to influence of Rus Formation which consists of anhydrite, and structure roles where made precipitation concentrate in Al-Salman depressions and streams flow faults that ended with playa.

STVI calculating the changes in vegetable cover for a vegetated environment in west Iraq

Remote sensing provide the best means to monitoring change in vegetation over a wide range of temporal scales over large areas. In this study, the vegetation index which has been applied known as the Stress Related Vegetation Index (STVI) on in the area around the Euphrates River and part of Al-Habbaniyah lake which located at western side of the river in Ramadi city, Al-Anbar province at Iraq to study the vegetation cover changes and detect the areas of changes, using two satellite sensors multispectral images such as TM and ALI, after geometric correction procedure to rectifying these images. The STVI-4 index result was the best than other vegetation indices (STVI-1 and STVI-3) to discriminate the vegetable cover distribution. The differencing image and statistical characteristics have been implemented to delineate and calculate the areas of changes in agriculture land.

The stony Nature of the stone tools and new archaeological discovery in the suthern desert nearby Nugrat Al- Salman , Samwa, South west Iraq.

Ancient human in early stages of his life depended on stone (Kottak, 2006). He used some stone made tools to overcome the natural environment and prevention from any possible danger. In addition to provide his daily needs (Mohammed 2005). This use developed and passed many stages of stony ages like the old stony age and the Middle stony age and the modern stony age. He began to use stone in building and in preparing his stony tools like, hummer, grinder, mill and others. Among the most important stones used are the Granite, Basalt, Nice, limestone, sand stone, and Sawan stone. Some stony tools were found in some archaeological sites (Braidwood and Howe, 1972) like Cave Shanidar, Solecki- 1953, Al ani-1986) and Kareem shahr (Howe 1983) and Tel Alnisr , the archaeological, nearby Alrutba city western Iraq (Alzubaidi 2012). In Egypt, stone was used in building the temples and cemeteries like Granite stone, Limestone, Dolostone, marble, sandstone, gypsum and bazalt (Dollinger 2000). Types of building stones differ from place to another depending on the available stones in the nearby natural environment. (Wahby, 2004). Limestone is one of the sedimentary stones composed of calcium carbonate and the crystalline system (Hexagonal) and dissolves in dilute Hyloric acid; it has different colors (Dear et al- 1969)