Failaka Island Research Articles

A comprehensive study of optimizing renewable energy-water-heat integration for isolated islands in Persian Gulf

This study evaluates the technical and economic feasibility of implementing a hybrid renewable energy system (HES) with a reverse osmosis desalination unit to address critical energy and water shortages in the remote islands of Failaka, Larak, and Lavan in the Persian Gulf. The purpose is to provide a sustainable solution for producing fresh water, heat, and electricity in these isolated locations. The analysis identified the optimal system configuration for Failaka Island, achieving the lowest Net Present Cost (NPC) of $1.09 million, a Cost of Energy (COE) of $0.091/kWh, and a Loss of Power Supply Probability (LPSP) of 0.064. This configuration also reached the highest renewable energy fraction at 17.8 %. Additionally, Failaka Island's system produced 20,728 kWh/year of excess electricity, the highest among the islands, and maintained the lowest operating costs at $52,360/year. Environmental analysis showed a significant reduction in carbon footprint, with Failaka using 21.6 % less diesel and 1.4 % less natural gas than Larak Island, and 22.2 % less diesel and 2.1 % less natural gas than Lavan Island. Furthermore, implementing heat recovery reduced CO2 emissions by up to 15.2 % on Lavan Island, enhancing the system's overall sustainability and cost-effectiveness.

Modeling of sediment transport direction affecting Failaka island marina bathymetry, Kuwait

Failaka Island has a marina, which was constructed in 1979 and managed by the Ministry of Communication (MOC) in collaboration with Touristic Enterprises Company (TEC). The marina is widely used for its ferry landing facility. The coastal waters around Failaka are turbid, and current velocities tend to be as high as ∼0.5 m/s during spring tide. The marina basin, with axial plane view and dimensions of about 285m by 260m, experiences shoaling of naturally flocculated fine (cohesive) sediment and coarse sand at the entrance of the channel and more generally in the southern half of the basin. Particularly noteworthy is its heavy shoaling zone along the inner side of the south breakwater close to the entrance. The Failaka island marina is suffering from siltation and sediment deposition issues. The study was carried out numerically to assess the annual sedimentation, sediment direction, and longshore current from different locations around the marina and recommend solutions to reduce the siltation and sediment deposition based on sediment transport direction at the marina entrance. The study shows that the sediment is mostly transported to the Failaka marina entrance from the southeast due to wave action. The cumulative sediment transport for the period 2016 to 2020 as depicted from locations 1 and 2, which are vulnerable to the southeast waves, is 9,164 m3 and 12,323 m3. The annual sediment transport direction affecting the marina is oriented from south to north due to wave action.

Technoeconomic Analysis and Optimization of Hybrid Solar-Wind-Hydrodiesel Renewable Energy Systems Using Two Dispatch Strategies

Sustainable generation is impacted by the adoption of renewable energy, the growth of energy markets, and economic strategies. This paper offers a sustainable strategy and a technoeconomic analysis of off-grid hybrid energy systems (HES) in remote islands of Iran, including Lavan, Larak, and Failaka, utilizing PV module, wind turbine, and hydrokinetic turbines. Hourly wind speed, solar irradiation, and hydrovelocity have been implemented under load following (LF) and cycle charging (CC) dispatch strategies in order to ascertain the most appropriate systems. Lavan Island achieves the winning HES with a CC dispatch strategy, which consists of 3 hydroelectric turbines, 1 wind turbine, 349 kW of solar power, 150 kW of generator power, 316 kWh of batteries, and 287 kW of the converter. This ideal HES, which generates a consistent generation profile and reasonable net present cost (NPC) and cost of energy (COE) of M0.160$ and $0.013 kWh, respectively, can be practically attained in these areas. LF-controlled optimal solutions use less fuel than CC-based ones, leading to a higher share of renewable energy. Compared to Larak and Lavan, the CC- and LF-controlled options on Failaka Island generate cleaner electricity with emissions that are 57% and 44% lower. Regarding the ability to recoup the project’s initial investment costs, long-term energy production would be more financially viable than short-term. Short-term projects with higher financial uncertainty due to the salvage cost should use the CC method.

The potential of wind energy in Kuwait: a complete feasibility investigation

Energy prospectors are seeking to diversify the energy resources, reduce air pollution, and protect the economy from unstable crude oil prices. In this regard, the wind energy is an attractive source of renewable energy. In this paper, the potential of wind energy generated in wind farms is statically predicated and assessed. The average speed from four weather stations in Kuwait from 2009 to 2017 is adopted in the investigation, and three of these stations are onshore and one offshore. The value of the dimensionless Weibull shape and scale parameters are calculated. The maximum yearly value for Weibull shape parameter is 4.76, and the maximum yearly value for scale parameter is 8.35 m/s. The highest recorded monthly wind power density is 257.36 W/m2. The analyses indicated that the maximum yearly output energy of 11.71 GW-h can be produced by a 3.0 MW wind turbine. According to the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) classification, the Alsalmi, the Airport, and the Failaka island are not a favorable location for wind turbine location, while the Miribah is fairly good.

Pottery from Tell Khaiber: A Craft Tradition of the First Sealand Dynasty By Daniel Calderbank (Archaeology of Ancient Iraq 1). Ludlow: Moonrise Press 2021. Pp. xii + 282. £ 35. ISBN 978-1-910169-02-5 (cloth).

<i>Pottery from Tell Khaiber: A Craft Tradition of the First Sealand Dynasty</i> By Daniel Calderbank (Archaeology of Ancient Iraq 1). Ludlow: Moonrise Press 2021. Pp. xii + 282. £ 35. ISBN 978-1-910169-02-5 (cloth).

Diversity and distribution of the Isopoda (Crustacea, Peracarida) of Kuwait, with an updated checklist.

Thirty-eight species of Isopoda, belonging to 13 families and 29 genera, are listed from Kuwait based on previous literature records (of 17 species) and collections carried out along Kuwait’s coastal and subtidal zones during the present study. The majority of species belongs to the suborder Cymothoida (23), followed by Sphaeromatidea (9), Oniscidea (3), Valvifera (2), and Asellota (1). In total, 25 species were collected and identified from 12 families and 22 genera from Kuwaiti coastal and subtidal areas. These include eight families, 15 genera, and 21 species recorded for the first time from Kuwait. Isopod diversity was highest in the sandy rock areas, including southern Kuwait, particularly in Al-Khiran and Al-Nuwaiseeb, and in mixed habitat (muddy, rocky, and sandy) intertidal transects such as in Failaka Island. The species number increased from the subtidal and lowest zones into the high tidal zone. Isopods were found in sandy substrata, among shells, cobbles, rocks, dead corals, and algae.

Modeling of Sediment Transport Using Wave Height action in Fialaka Marina

Failaka Island is the second-largest and one of the most important islands of Kuwait from the point of view of tourism located in the north Arabian Gulf. It has a marina constructed in 1979 and managed by the Ministry of Communication (MOC) and a tourism enterprise, and is widely used for its ferry landing facility. The coastal waters around Failaka are turbid and current velocities tend to be as high as ~0.5 m/s during spring tide. The marina basin, with axial plan view dimensions of about 285 m by 260 m experiences shoaling of naturally flocculated fine (cohesive) sediment and coarse sand in the entrance channel and more generally in the southern half of the basin. A particularly noteworthy zone of heavy and visible shoaling is along the inner side of the south breakwater close to the entrance. The marina at Failaka Island is suffering from siltation and sediment deposing issues. This study was carried out numerically to assess the annual sedimentation, sediment direction, and longshore current from locations around the existing marina to help in a suggestion of the solutions to reduce the siltation and sediment deposing based on sediments transport direction on marina entrance. A newly developed numerical solution for annual longshore sediments transport was used to estimate the total sediment transport and its direction. The study shows that the annual sediment transport directions which affect the Fialaka marina entrance are coming from the south to north due to wave action.

Fishing at the Late Islamic settlement in Khar\u0101\u2019ib al-Dasht, Failaka Island, Kuwait

The Kharā’ib al-Dasht settlement, located on the north-eastern coast of the island of Failaka in Kuwait, has been excavated systematically since 2013 by the Kuwaiti-Polish Archaeological Mission. The investigated area yielded remains dated to the Late Islamic period, from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth century. In the northernmost part of the site, a fish processing area was uncovered, while the remains of residential structures (houses 1 and 2), as well as a mosque, were discovered in the eastern part of the site. Concentrations of fireplaces, hearths and ovens were discovered inside the houses and courtyards of what seems to be the centre of the settlement as well as from the periphery of the site. Fishing was evidenced not only by the presence of fish bones but also by recovered fishing technologies, including the remains of stone fish traps that were discovered in the coastal waters near to the site. The excavations yielded 12,182 bones of marine fishes. Twenty eight families are represented, including six families of cartilaginous fishes. Ariidae bones were most numerous followed by Haemulidae, Sciaenidae and Carcharhinidae. The analysis of the assemblage shows that fishing could have been of great importance to the inhabitants of the settlement. Moreover, we attest different patterns in the fish assemblages between the two different parts of the village. The fish processing area can be seen as a workplace, while the daily activity took place in the village. These differences can also be used to shed light on the fishing techniques these people used.

Coastal Vulnerability Index for Kuwaiti Coast

Kuwait is investing significantly for the development of coastal infrastructures in many of its coastal areas. It is essential to know the vulnerability of the coast of Kuwait for the future sea level rise and other physically influencing parameters. For this purpose, a detailed study is carried out and the Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI) is established for the Kuwaiti coast including the coasts of Islands. The CVI is assessed based on the data on coastal geomorphology, historical shoreline change rate, landward side of the coastal slope, mean significant wave height, mean tidal range and the particle size of the sediments along the beach. The total Kuwaiti coastline of 499 km is divided into two groups with a total of 162 coastal segments. The group 1 contains 138 segments and covers the mainland, Boubyan and Failaka Island. The group 2 contains 24 locations and covers Umm Al-Maradim, Qaru and Kubbar Islands. Field data collection is carried out for all these segments. From this study it is found that 5% of the Kuwaiti coastal area in group 1 are very low vulnerable; 34% low vulnerable; 31% moderately vulnerable; 18% highly vulnerable and 12% are very highly vulnerable. Similar results are obtained for group 2 coastal segments. The results of this study will be useful while preparing the Integrated Coastal Zone Management plan for Kuwaiti coast and for its sustainable coastal infrastructure development.

Recent Excavation Results at Sa’ida Village, Failaka Island

AbstractOne of the least known, yet extremely important, archaeological sites in Failaka Island, off Kuwait, is Sa’ida village. A joint Gulf mission started excavation in Sa’ida in 2001. The excavations on Hill 1 then exposed the first Friday mosque discovered on Failaka and in the State of Kuwait. The material data revealed that the village dates to the late Islamic period, specifically to the end of the seventeenth century until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the village was abandoned due to the plague epidemic that swept the region. Since 2016, four fieldwork campaign indicated that the village was inhabited in the early Islamic era in the seventh–eighth centuries and continued until the beginning of the twentieth century, with a few but long gaps. The six campaigns revealed religious and domestic buildings and were sufficient to reassess the chronology of occupation and abandonment of Sa’ida. They provided a valuable insight into the organisation of the site and the lifestyle of the population, with large courtyard houses and small one‐room buildings.

Investigating ancient technology and ceramic composition at Al‐Khidr site (Failaka Island, Kuwait): Geochemical analyses of Bronze Age pottery by pXRF and thin‐section petrographic analyses

AbstractPottery assemblages from the site of Al‐Khidr on Failaka Island, Kuwait, were analysed in order to reconstruct the chemical composition of Bronze Age wares and to build a mineralogical database of Bronze Age pottery dated from Failaka Periods 1–3B (2000–1650 BCE). A total of 145 ceramic sherds from Al‐Khidr, as well as reference groups, were analysed by non‐destructive portable X‐ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry. Preliminarily petrographic thin‐section analysis was applied to four samples to reconstruct possible clay paste recipes and to identify raw materials. The results indicate that geochemical analyses can successfully distinguish subgroups within a typological category of ceramic assemblages. The results identified two subgroups within the Al‐Khidr typological category: the Dilmun Barbar tradition and the Mesopotamian tradition. Future comparative compositional studies can be conducted to explore other aspects of craft specialisation, such as ceramic technological choices and possibly the influence of sociopolitical units.

Egyptian Scarabs Discovered on Kuwait’s Failaka Island and Similar Finds from the Gulf Region

AbstractOver the course of the last three decades, Ancient Egyptian scarabs have been discovered on Failaka Island off Kuwait, as well as at other sites in the Arabian Gulf. A scarab is the most expressive amulet of the cultural identity of ancient Egypt, revealing its influence and its cultural diffusion in the ancient world. Therefore, this paper discusses the reasons for the presence of such exotic products on the island and also answers the question about their origin. Were Failaka scarabs locally manufactured? What is their connection to the Levant? Are they a testimony to the interconnection between ancient Egypt and Arabia?

Al‐Khidr site on Failaka Island in the Bronze Age: Pottery perspective

AbstractThe objective of this article is to evaluate the results of the excavation at the site of Al‐Khidr on Failaka Island that was probably a port or a fishermen’s settlement in the past. A very large number of stone architectural remains and artifacts have been discovered there. Al‐Khidr is a typical Dilmun culture site and the settlement was probably contemporary with the known sites F3 and F6 located on the south‐west coast of the island. Based on the pottery that has been processed, we preliminarily dated the site to a period between the beginning of the second millenium and approximately 1500 BC, although older settlement may have occurred, beginning at the end of the third millennium.

A consideration on the interest of a pottery typology adapted to the late Sasanian and early Islamic monastery at al‐Qusur (Kuwait)

AbstractSince 2011, the French–Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka has aimed at defining the function and the chronology of al‐Qusur, located in the middle of Failaka Island (Kuwait). The central part of the site appeared to be a monastery, mainly occupied in early Islamic times. The creation of a site‐specific pottery typology adapted to this settlement was one of the main objectives of the team. This typology is still in progress and the present paper will highlight the variety of questions that it can address. Certain pottery types provide new information about the monastery’s foundation, probably at the end of the Sasanian period, and abandonment, maybe during the ninth century AD. Pottery studies are also crucial for a better understanding of the monastery’s economic life and the eating practices of the monks. The question of the local or regional provenance of the pottery provides an insight into the inclusion of Failaka in exchange networks.

Failaka Island in the Late Islamic Period. Investigations at the fishing village of Kharaib al‐Dasht

AbstractThe aim of the paper is to present the architectural remains and spatial organisation of the site of Kharaib al‐Dasht, a Late Islamic fishing village dating from the late seventeenth to the nineteenth century. In the course of six seasons of excavation, which started in 2013, there was uncovered a part of this extensive site, revealing remnants of a fish processing area, residential architecture and a mosque. The findings from Kharaib al‐Dasht serve here as a starting point for a discussion on the character of settlement activity on Failaka in the Late Islamic period, which was a time of dynamic change in the political and economic landscape of the region as evidenced by the available written sources.

The site of Al‐Qurainiyah: Topography and phases of an early Islamic coastal settlement on Failaka Island

AbstractThis paper presents the latest finds from the early Islamic site of Al‐Qurainiyah on Failaka Island, Kuwait. Trenches opened to the west of the main late Islamic village led to the identification of residential buildings and a workshop located along the shoreline, while the pottery assemblage suggests a permanent occupation from at least the seventh century CE to the early ninth century CE. The last two years of excavations allowed us to uncover archaeological contexts that seem to indicate a previous occupation, dating to the late Hellenistic period (second century BC). The long‐term occupation, strategic position of the settlement facing a wide and well‐sheltered lagoon, as well as the installation of a stable settlement in the same period of Al‐Qusur—the main early Islamic site of the island—seem to suggest the interpretation of Al‐Qurainiyah as a landing place used both in the early Islamic period and beforehand.

Late Islamic water collection systems on Failaka Island: Preliminary results of the Kuwait–Georgian Archaeological Mission in 2018–2019

AbstractArchaeological investigations on Failaka Island, conducted by the Kuwait–Georgian Archeological Mission, have recorded a variety of sites dating from different time periods, from the Bronze Age to the late Islamic/modern period. The largest proportion of recorded sites consist of late Islamic seasonal settlement structures found in the north‐eastern part of the island. It is possible that they were connected to fishing and associated activities such as stock‐farming and agriculture, which is confirmed by the results of palynological analysis. These sites are divided into two chronological phases: one from the seventeenth to eighteenth century and the second from the nineteenth to the first half of the twentieth century. In 2018, excavations at the water collection systems within these settlements began. The results gathered so far indicate that there were two kinds of well structures. The first are interpreted as shallow filtration well pits; the second are deep wells used for collecting water from deep underground. Both systems were used to collect rainwater, which was then filtered and stored. Marine and freshwater forms of algae were found in the basal sediments of the pits, which offers evidence for the accumulation and filtration of water.

Contribution to the geology of Failaka Island, Kuwait: Evidence from sedimentological and petrographic data from the NE part of the island

AbstractKuwait–Georgian archaeological work at Failaka Island showed the need for geological study. Analysis of sediments related to drinking water‐collecting cisterns was performed on a Late Islamic settlement (NE part of the island) in 2018. Field sedimentological, grain size and XRD analysis of the sediment profiles showed that the shallow (about 1 m deep) cone‐shaped wells are dug in the loose, porous, cross‐stratified calcareous coarse‐grained quartz sandstones. Three upper layers of quartz sandstones in the profile have high infiltration rate and provide a rare yet ideal material for water retention. The fourth dense layer below, composed of very fine sand and silt fraction, tends to hinder water movement and forms a relatively impermeable water‐resistant surface. Thus, the distribution patterns of clay content, grain sizes and porosity of the well‐hosting sediments are favourable for freshwater infiltration and harvesting. An additional petrographic analysis was conducted on different types of rocks discovered on the archaeological site, used as building material and fragments of stone artifacts to identify their origin. It was established that archaeological building material is of local origin, whereas the source rocks for stone artifacts were imported.

Archaeological evidence of an early Islamic monastery in the centre of al‐Qusur (Failaka Island, Kuwait)

AbstractThe history of Christianity in the Gulf is still largely unknown since both archaeological and written sources are sparse. Many questions remain about the development and disappearance of Christian communities, as well as their form. A few sites were identified as Christian because of the discovery of churches or crosses. A church was excavated at al‐Qusur (Failaka Island, Kuwait) by the French Mission to Kuwait in 1988–1989. Since 2011, a new French–Kuwaiti Archaeological Mission in Failaka (MAFKF) has aimed to better understand the site’s phasing and organisation. The discovery of a large refectory and a small tripartite building that is most probably a monk’s cell, as well as the reinterpretation of a church‐like building as a structure perhaps dedicated to the spiritual education of monks has demonstrated that at least the central part was a monastery, making it the second Christian settlement in the Gulf to be proven to be a monastery.

Review on Late Pleistocene‐Holocene relative sea‐level changes in Kuwait: New evidence from Failaka island

AbstractNew results from fieldwork carried out on Failaka island testify to relative sea‐level fluctuations during Late Pleistocene and Holocene. This study is based on analysing, sampling and dating geomorphological sea‐level indicators, including beach ridges or beachrocks. The results have been compared and harmonised with recalibrated data from pre‐existing literature to reconstruct the relative sea‐level local chronology. The vertical displacement identified may have induced coastline mobility and significant environmental changes and impacted the human occupation in Failaka and along the coastal areas of Kuwait. Eventually, the results highlight the impact of large‐scale crustal deformations on regional relative sea‐level variations.