Shatt Al-Arab River Research Articles

Investigation of the impact of extreme flood flow on the Shatt Al-Arab River and Marsh system

Investigation of the impact of extreme flood flow on the Shatt Al-Arab River and Marsh system

Evaluating the characteristics, trends and challenges of marine fisheries in Iraq

The characteristics, trends and challenges of the marine fisheries of Basrah province, Iraq were studied in this study. Information on fish landings was gathered from the main landing site of the marine fisheries at Al-Fao port from January 2023 to December 2023. The total landing of marine fisheries was 29,446 tons for 28 fish species and two shrimp species. Threadfin bream constituted 10.87% of the landing, followed by Mullets (9.72%) and Emperor (9.39%). Shrimp formed about 13.87% of the total catches. The landings of Threadfin bream and Emperor, as well as shrimp, significantly increased in 2023, while the contribution of historically more important species such as the landing of river shad has decreased to the lowest level. Therefore, from a fisheries management perspective, it is crucial to manage the stock of various species, especially River shad by ensuring the right amount of water is obtained from the upper Tigris and Euphrates Rivers to marine waters through the Shatt Al-Arab River, implementing national fishing regulations to deter illegal fishing methods and safeguard the fish during their migration, reproduction, and in their nursery habitats in inland waters.

Mineral Composition and Distribution of Silt and Oxides in Shatt Al-Arab Deposits, Basra, Iraq

Understanding the mineral composition and distribution of river deposits is crucial for environmental management, resource utilization, and geological studies. This study aims to investigate the mineral composition and distribution of silt and oxides in the deposits of the Shatt al-Arab River, specifically in the Faw area of Basra Governorate. Samples were collected from depths of 0-30, 30-60, and 60-90 cm. The silt fraction (2-53 micrometers) was isolated, and mineral analysis was conducted using XRD and a point-counting device. Morphological characteristics were determined using a polarized light microscope. XRD analysis revealed the presence of minerals such as quartz, calcite, dolomite, smectite, kaolinite, chlorite, illite, hematite, magnetite, and albite at varying depths. Polarized light microscopy identified additional minerals within light and heavy fractions. The study found a dominance of monocrystalline quartz and opaque minerals, with magnetite being more prevalent than hematite across all depths and a high correlation coefficient with depth (0.96). Depth-specific variations in mineral composition suggest the need for further research in different locations and at greater depths. These findings provide insights into sedimentary processes and potential resource utilization in the region, making this study significant for regional geological and environmental research. Future research should focus on the temporal changes in mineral composition and their impact on sediment dynamics to enhance the understanding of regional geological history and resource management.

Modeling Water Supply in Adjacent Areas of Shatt Al-Arab River in Southern Iraq Using Geomatics Techniques

Modeling Water Supply in Adjacent Areas of Shatt Al-Arab River in Southern Iraq Using Geomatics Techniques

Monitoring Environmental Changes in the Shatt al-Arab River Using the Organic Pollution Index (OPI) and Two Species of Benthic Invertebrates Melanoides tuberculata and Neritina violacea

Monitoring Environmental Changes in the Shatt al-Arab River Using the Organic Pollution Index (OPI) and Two Species of Benthic Invertebrates Melanoides tuberculata and Neritina violacea

Study of Fish Assemblages in Two Selected Stations in the Shatt al-Arab River After the Decline of Salt Incursion

Study of Fish Assemblages in Two Selected Stations in the Shatt al-Arab River After the Decline of Salt Incursion

Application of Water Quality Index in Assessing water Quality: A Case Study of the Shatt Al Arab River.

This investigation pertains to the evaluation of water quality in the Shatt Al-Arab River, located in the Basrah province of southern Iraq, from 2017 to 2022. Its quality should be assessed regularly, and the condition of water resources should be maintained accordingly. The most common analytical method for describing and assessing general water quality is the Water Quality Index (WQI). Various physicochemical parameters like pH, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, chloride, and total alkalinity are considered for the present study. The Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index Technique is used to evaluate these data. For checking the portability of the parameters within the acceptable limit, WHO is adopted. According to the study mentioned above, the quality has been found to be very low compared to the WQI value. It is also observed that the water was found unsuitable for drinking purposes, and it is considered harmful to human health; therefore, it requires some kind of processing before use. This study will be beneficial to policymakers for identifying and providing details about water quality in the form of a specific value.

2D Hydrodynamic and Eutrophication Modeling in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq

2D Hydrodynamic and Eutrophication Modeling in the Shatt Al-Arab River, Basrah, Iraq

Designing and Developing an Advanced Drone-Based Pollution Surveillance System for River Waterways, Streams, and Canals Using Machine Learning Algorithms: Case Study in Shatt al-Arab, South East Iraq

This study explores pollution detection and classification in the Shatt al-Arab River using advanced image processing techniques. Our proposed system integrates Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithms. The Shatt al-Arab River in Basra, Iraq, faces increasing pollution from human activities, including oil spills, debris, and wastewater. We conducted extensive surveys of the river and its tributaries using a DJI Mavic drone, amassing over 1000 images to train machine learning models. The results indicate that RF excels with 94% accuracy for oil spills, 92% for wastewater, and 95% for debris. SVM also performs well, achieving 92%, 88%, and 94% accuracy for the respective pollutants. KNN, though insightful, lags with 85%, 89%, and 86% accuracy. Trained on this novel image dataset, these models show promising accuracy in detecting various pollution types from drone footage.

Assessment of heavy metals in sediments and water accumulated by effects shipwrecks in Shatt Al-Arab River, southern Iraq

In this study, the total concentration of seven heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Zn) in sediment and water was taken to determine how much the environment is impacted by rising levels of heavy metals that are not naturally occurring in five stations representing the large shipwrecks in Shatt Al-Arab River in Basra South Iraq by using atomic absorption. The heavy metals concentration in the five sediment stations is ordered as follows: Fe>Mn>Ni>Zn>Cu>Cd> Pb. While, the heavy metals concentration in the five water stations is ordered as follows: Fe>Ni>Mn>Cu>Pb>Zn>Cd. The current results of the study indicate that the concentrations of Cd, Fe, and Pb (slightly contaminated) metals in water are higher than the Iraqi standards (Iraqi standards for drinking water) and international standards (WHO, U.S. EPA, E.U.). An increase in heavy metal concentrations is attributed to the raw materials from which sunken ships are made near stations and these ships being exposed to military bombardment. The level of pollution in the sediment was assessed by employing the Geo accumulation index (I-geo), Contamination factor (CF), and Enrichment factor (EF). The calculated results of I-geo indicate that Cd can be considered to be moderate – strongly polluted except S5 considered strong to extremely polluted. However, Cu, Fe, Pb, Mn, Ni, and Zn showed almost unpolluted levels across all stations. The CF values indicate that this environment is very highly contaminated with Cd, while CF values for Cu, Fe, Pb, and Mn display low contamination. while CF values for Ni are moderate contamination except for S1 is low contamination. The pollution level for Zn is S1and S5 is low contamination and S2,3,4 is moderate contamination. The EF values refer to Cd at S5 indicating extremely severe enrichment and other stations refer to severe enrichment and minor enrichment for Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn. Copper (Cu) has minor enrichment at S2 but no enrichment at the other stations. Conversely, Lead (Pb) shows no enrichment at any of the stations.

Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage and Restore Iraq’s Lifeline

Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage and Restore Iraq’s Lifeline

Karun and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage Iran’s Lifeline

Karun and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage Iran’s Lifeline

Accouterments of organic pollution on autotomy and regeneration of Sesarma boulengeri (Calman, 1920) in Shatt al-Arab, Basrah, Iraq

Sesarma boulangeri (Calman 1920), a type of freshwater invertebrate, was collected between January and December 2022 from three stations at the Shatt AL-Arab River, Basrah/ Iraq in order to conduct the research. The goal of the study was to determine the effect of organic pollution on autotomy in this species of crab. The organisms were subjected to varying levels of organic contamination in the river that came from sewage, farming activities, boat traffic, and transportation of products and oil derivatives using the organic pollution index (OPI). The left fifth leg's object was the reason for the autotomy. According to the characteristics of the water quality impacted by the oscillation, the cut creatures have varied indicators in response to the aquatic species. As a result, an extended period of growth for the regenerated portions is caused by the rise in organic contaminants in the water. Thus, the present findings indicate that S. boulengeri exposed to high amounts of organic pollution has a slower rate of replacing the cut component than control animals, that the growing bud is more vulnerable to distortion, and that the period of compensating for the cut part is longer. According to the OPI result shows that the first station has significant difference (P<0.05) as compared to the sconed and third stations wish did not difference.

Temporal and Spatial Analysis of Vegetation Cover Distribution Patterns in Northern Basrah Governorate Using Geomatics Techniques

The study conducted within the administrative boundaries of Basrah Governorate, Iraq extending from the southern borders of Al-Haritha district to the northern borders of Al-Qurna district along the Shatt al-Arab River and its adjacent areas with a total area of approximately 354,450 Km2 . Landsat8Satellite imagery data were acquired processed and analyzed for the study area for the year 2022 covering four time periods with a temporal interval of three months each. The data were obtained from the Earth-observing sensors, specifically the Operational Land Imager (OLI). Subsequently a vegetation cover index was derived for the purpose of temporal and spatial monitoring and analysis aiding in the acquisition study and interpretation of agricultural activity patterns. The results revealed a clear temporal variation as the vegetation cover index showed an increase in the months of October and April, while the lowest values were recorded in January and July across all study stages. Field of remote sensing and vegetation analysis helps reduce the effort and time required.

Spatial distribution and population density of submerged aquatic vegetation in Shatt Al-Arab River

Submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is an integral component of aquatic ecosystems and provides essential habitats and ecosystem services. This study investigated the distribution and abundance of SAV in the Shatt Al-Arab River, located in Southern Iraq, and examined its relationship with changing environmental factors. Monthly surveys were conducted at three stations from October 2015 to September 2016 to assess the percentage cover of vegetation, biomass, and the physicochemical properties of water and sediment. Three SAV species belonging to the Potamogetonaceae family have been recorded. Canonical correspondence analysis showed a negative relationship between Potamogeton perfoliatus and depth/reactive phosphorus. The abundance of plants in this area was significantly lower than that reported in previous studies. Species richness and abundance were analyzed at all stations during the same period using biodiversity indices. The analysis revealed differences in species richness between the stations. This decline in abundance was likely due to increased salinity, nutrients, and anthropogenic pressures. This study demonstrates the impact of environmental changes on ecologically important SAV and emphasizes the necessity of implementing conservation and management strategies.

New model of long-term changes in spatiotemporal patterns of water quality across Shatt-Al-Arab River by applying GIS technique, from 1976 to 2020

PurposeUsing a combination of the geographical information system (GIS) and the Canadian water quality index (WQI), the current study sought to provide a long-term general assessment of the water quality of the Shatt Al-Arab River (SAAR), focusing on its suitability for living organisms. Likewise, SPSS statistics was used to develop a nonlinear WQI regression model for the study area.Design/methodology/approachThe study required four decades of data collection on some environmental characteristics of river water. After that, calculate the WQI and conduct the spatial analysis. Eight variables in total, including water temperature, dissolved oxygen, potential hydrogen ions, electrical conductivity (EC), biological oxygen demand, turbidity, nitrate and phosphate, were chosen to calculate the WQI.FindingsThroughout the study periods, the WQI values varied from 55.2 to 79.83, falling into the categories of four (marginal) and three (fair), with the sixth period (2007–2008) showing the most decline. The present research demonstrated that the high concentration of phosphates, the high EC values, and minor changes in the other environmental factors are the major causes of the decline in water quality. The variations in ecological variables' overlap are a senior contributor to changes in water quality in general. Notably, using GIS in conjunction with the WQI has shown to be very effective in reducing the time and effort spent on investigating water quality while obtaining precise findings and information at the lowest possible expense. Calibration and validation of the developed model showed that this model had a perfect estimate of the WQI value. Due to its flexibility and impartiality, this study recommends using the proposed model to estimate and predict the WQI in the study area.Originality/valueEven though the water quality of the SAAR has been the subject of numerous studies, this is the only long-term investigation that has been done to evaluate and predict its water quality.

Calculation of Tidal Constituents Using a Numerical Model in the Shatt al-Arab River Estuary

Calculation of Tidal Constituents Using a Numerical Model in the Shatt al-Arab River Estuary

Bioremediation of Heavy Metals Using Staphylococcus sp. in Shatt Al-Arab River

Many species are resistant to heavy metals in their surrounding polluted environment and Staphylococcus sp. is an example. This study aimed to isolate and characterize bacteria resistant to heavy metals in the Shatt Al-Arab River in southern Basra, Iraq. Based on the morphology and using Vitek II system, and due to their high resistance to heavy metals (mercury and chromium), two species of Staphylococcus (Staphylococcus lentus and Staphylococcus lugdunensis) were chosen and isolated. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the isolates against Hg and Cr was determined after 72 h. of incubation in solid media. All isolates were resistant to Hg (2000 mgL-1) and Cr (4000mgL-1). Living biomass of S. lentus and S. lugdunensis was used to remove the heavy metal ions in various concentrations (5, 10 and 25 mgL-1) of the solutions of aqueous metals. After 72 hours incubation, the removal percentage of S. lugdunensis was 98.91 and 78.78% for Hg and Cr respectively. That for S. lentus it was 77.83% for Cr after 72 hours, and 98.84% for Hg after 24 h. of incubation. The scanning electron microscope approved that the removal of these metals causes morphological changes in bacteria.

Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) from Iraq: a new record for the Arabian Gulf, with a highlight on it genetic origins and description of two skeletal deformities

ABSTRACT The natural distribution of Lates calcarifer (barramundi or Asian sea bass), ranges from western India, around Sri Lanka to the Bay of Bengal, and through the whole of Southeast Asia to Papua New Guinea and northern Australia. It is not known to be native to the Arabian Gulf, although the species has recently been introduced for aquaculture production in Iran. In 2019, 12 adult barramundi were caught from freshwater in the Shatt al-Arab River, its estuary and marine waters bordering Iraq. This is the first wild-capture record of this species for Iraq’s inland waters and the northern Arabian Gulf. The specimens were morphologically described, while genetic structure analyses indicated that the specimens likely originated from Australian and Thailand genetic stocks and thus probably were aquaculture escapees from farmed populations. Among the L. calcarifer collected from the freshwater environment on the Shatt al-Arab River, one specimen exhibited saddleback syndrome, and another showed abnormality in the left operculum. The results are interesting and useful in reminding people to prevent aquaculture escapees. The aim of this study was to morphologically describe the specimens and undertake a genetic analysis to determine the likely provenance of the fish.

Removal of Turbidity from Raw water by Novel Coagulant Based on PVC Pipe Waste and Sodium Alginate

In the current study, waste polyvinyl chloride pipes were used as a primary material in the reactions, which are widely used for water supply and drainage systems where the waste pipes were prepared by cleaning them from suspended materials and grinding them into small particles, then reacting natural polymers from a plant; Alginic acid. We have obtained modified polymer (PVC/Alginate) or AL-PVC which have been grinded to obtain a powder. Four methods were used to characterize the properties of natural and prepared polymers: Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetry (TGA-TG). The effectiveness of AL-PVC polymer as a coagulant flocculant in the treatment of surface water has been studied. Tests were carried out in the laboratory on two kinds of water (50 NTU and 100 NTU). The first one is the synthesis of water mixed with high and low concentrations of bentonite, simulating thus turbid water. The second one is raw water from the treatment station of the Shatt Al-Arab River. The performance of the coagulation-flocculation process has been assessed by measuring the supernatant turbidity for different pH, doses, and flocculation times of the AL-PVC polymer. The obtained results show that AL-PVC polymer effectiveness was strongly dependent on pH and the doses of AL-PVC polymer, the initial turbidity, and the water quality. The physical and chemical methods used in the present study of water treatments are mainly due to their simplicity, ease of use, low cost as well as excellent removal efficiency.