The tectonic  activity assessment using minimum eroded volume and soil loss in Diyala river basin area

Abstract

<p>The measurements of soil erosion, sediment transport, and soil deposition due to the tectonic activity regions retard the river basin development. The tectonic activity assessment in this area requires the identification of minimum eroded volume (MEV) and the soil loss (Sl) amount. The MEV, LS, and Hi indices have been used to develop relative tectonic activity Index (RTI) to identify probable zones of Hi, MEV, and SL in the Diyala River Basin (DRB). The results show that the north, north-eastern, and northwestern parts of the (DRB) are situated in the high (RTI) zone. The TIN model is used for estimating the MEV in the DRB and the (RUSLE) model is used for estimating the soil loss in the DRB. The MEV results in the DRB vary from 0 to 845 m3 in some areas. The result of soil loss in the DRB is varied from a minimum value of zero to a maximum of 91.34 t/h/y in some areas. The spatial distribution of MEV and SL in the (DRB) is classified into five types (Low Tectonic Activity, Slight Tectonic Activity, Moderate, High, and Extremely Tectonic Activity). From the results, it was observed that about 25.3% and 24.2% of the total study area are located in the very high relative tectonic activity and low relative tectonic activity zones, respectively. The large percentage of soil loss areas are 28.6% and 26.5% of the total study area are located in the very slight and slight, respectively.</p>