This work focused on anthropogenic influences of the trace metals distribution in the soils of Kirkuk city. Sequential extraction technique was used to determine the distribution of the chemical fractions of Ag, Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn, As, Cr and V in soil of Kirkuk city. This area is affected mainly by burning oil trash. Results show that these heavy metals were primarily restricted to surface horizons and mostly associated with the residual fraction (28.8 – 50%). The remnant fractions (13.8 – 33.1%) linked to the organic matter, 7.9 – 27.2% was bound to Fe-Mn oxide, 0.7 – 27.9 was bound to carbonate. Only a small amount of the total metals in the soil is exchangeable (0.5 – 4.2%) and water soluble (0 – 4.1%) fractions. Ag, Cd, Cu, As, Cr and V mainly associated to organic matter fraction; Co, Ni and Zn mostly bound to Fe-Mn oxide fraction; Pb primarily bound to the carbonate fraction. Metals that are bound to the organic matter fraction could be released under oxic conditions, while those associated with Fe-Mn oxide and carbonate fraction could be leached out by changes in the ionic composition and pH. The mobility factors for the metals in the surface soil ranged from 0 to 36 for Ag, 22.2 to 43.6 for Cd, 5.3 to 20.8 for Ni, 16.1 to 41.2 for Pb, 7.3 to 37.9 for Zn, 10.4 to 22.9 for As, 3.2 to 12.3 for Cr and 2.4 to 9.4 for V. The high level of metals remnant as residual fraction coupled with low values of mobility factors, indicate that these metals do not cause any environmental risk or hazard.
Iraq has a range of small and large marshes, which can be divided into two groups, a group of marshes feeding water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and a group of marshes fed by the seasonal valleys coming from the desert plateau and the aljazera plateau.
The marshes have go through major changes, some of them turning into industrial lakes to store the flood waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Others have been dried up and turned into agricultural land. Others have dried up and the water has been returned to them in less quantities than before.
The purpose of this research is to but light on the changes that have occurred in these marshes, with the mention of marshes turned into industrial lakes or agricultur
... Show MoreA survey of fish species in the Iraqi marine waters was carried out for the period from November 2014 to March 2018. The list included 214 species representing 75 families.
The family Carangidae dominated the marine fishes in Iraq, which was represented by 24 species, followed by Haemulidae with 11 species, and then Serranidae and Sparidae with nine species for each, while 34 families contained a single species only.
the shear strength parameters of the treated and untreated gypsum soil under the effect of four soaking and drying cycles has studied in this paper, moreover examined the effect of wetting and drying cycles on the collapse potential of the soil and comparing between the behavior of the treated and untreated gypsum soil under the effect of the two conditions. Gypsum soil sample brought from Sawa lake in Al Muthana governorate with the content of gypsum 65.5%, the polyurethane polymer (PP) was used with different percentages 3, 6, and 10% to enhance the mechanical properties of gypsum soil, model was prepared to achieve four soaking and drying cycle to the samples before testing, this model consists of an Aluminum plate base with dimensions 7
... Show MoreCoronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a massive global socio-economic tragedy that has impacted the ecosystem. This paper aims to contextualize urban and rural environmental situations during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region.
An online survey was conducted, 6770 participants were included in the final analysis, and 64% were females. The majority of the participants were urban citizens (74%). Over 50% of the urban residents significantly (
The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of the heavy metals copper, cadmium and cobalt when added individually, in combination and in combination on the growth and reproduction of the aquatic fungus Saprolegnia hypogyna.
Iraqi oil crudes have some of the physical and chemical characteristics that distinguish it from other types of oil crudes in the world. Some of these features such us molecular composition, rheological, viscosity and emulsions are studied carefully by researchers. In this work, a comparative study of the linear and the non-linear optical properties for typical heavy and light crude oils of Iraqi origin was studied utilizing Z-scan technique. The He -Ne laser of wavelength 632.8 nm had been used for this purpose. These samples were collected from Basra and Kut oil fields. The values of the non-linear refractive index (n2), non-linear absorption coefficient (β), and third-order electrical susceptibility (χ3) were e
... Show MoreSoil compaction is one of the most harmful elements affecting soil structure, limiting plant growth and agricultural productivity. It is crucial to assess the degree of soil penetration resistance to discover solutions to the harmful consequences of compaction. In order to obtain the appropriate value, using soil cone penetration requires time and labor-intensive measurements. Currently, satellite technologies, electronic measurement control systems, and computer software help to measure soil penetration resistance quickly and easily within the precision agriculture applications approach. The quantitative relationships between soil properties and the factors affecting their diversity contribute to digital soil mapping. Digital soil maps use
... Show MoreUnsaturated soil can raise many geotechnical problems upon wetting and drying resulting in swelling upon wetting and collapsing (shrinkage) in drying and changing in the soil shear strength. The classical principles of saturated soil are often not suitable in explaining these phenomena. In this study, expansive soil (bentonite and sand) were tested in different water contents and dry unit weight chosen from the compaction curve to examine the effect of water content change on soil properties (swelling pressure, expansion index, shear strength (soil cohesion) and soil suction by the filter paper method). The physical properties of these soils were studied by conducting series of tests in laboratory. Fitting methods
... Show MoreThe production of polyhydroxyalkanoates PHAs from biopolymer degrading bacteria was examined