Devastated by the combined impact of massive drainage works and upstream damming since the 1980's, Al-Hammar Marsh, Southern Iraq, has completely collapsed with 94 % of its land cover transformed into bare land and salt crusts by 2000. After a policy initiated to restore the Iraqi marshes again in 2003, the marsh recovered about half of its former area. As a part of the ecological recovery assessment of this newly inundated marsh, it is important to investigate the extend impact of desiccation after 3 years of inundation on water quality as the latter plays an important role in the restoration process of the marshes. Therefore, from a restoration point of view, major and trace element distribution and sourcing as well as seasonal variations were studied in the re-flooded marsh of Al-Hammar. First, the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment Water Quality Index [1] analyses applied revealed threatened or impaired water quality and conditions in the marsh that depart from natural or desirable levels. Second, multivariate statistical techniques such as Agglomerative Hierarchal Cluster Analyses (AHCA) that were used to analyze the data and identify the possible sources of water pollution in the marsh indicated that some elements such as Ca, SO4, Mg, TDS, Cl, Na, Co, and Ni are associated with natural sourcing while other elements such as Cd, Zn, Pb, and turbidity indicated a possible anthropogenic sourcing. Third, seasonal variations investigation displayed that the water quality is affected by natural seasonal processes such as evaporation and rainfall as well as biological activities. Dry season exhibited an increase in TDS, Ca, Mg, Na, Cl, SO4, and Cd due to the concentration by evaporation during the season compared to the dilution by rainfall during the wet season. In contrast, BOD and DO levels showed a considerable decrease in dry season owing to the poor water ability to hold oxygen at high temperature as a result of higher rate of microbial metabolism.
Thirteen morphometric characters of catfish
Ratawi Field is a promising hydrocarbon bearing structure conforming several reservoirs, and lies northwest of the Basrah city and west of Northern Rumaila Field. Kinetic Analysis referred to that the type of Fold of Ratawi Structure similar to the types which are associated with Salt Structure activity.Geophysical Interpretation referred to the presence of Salt Structure beneath Ratawi Structure. The Isopach Maps shows that the crest thickness is less than the limbs, this characteristics is always due to those of salt structures beneath Ratawi field. Both of Tectonic Movement and Salt Structure play a great role in forming and development of Ratawi Structure.
Mukdadiya Formation represents one of the formations that cover a huge area of Iraq. It contains several clastic deposits, such as sandstone, siltstone, and a noticeable amount of gravels. The gravels are considered as the hallmark to differentiate between Injana and Mukdadiya formations. Therefore, the current study focused on these facies to determine the petrography, paleontology , and origin of Mukdadiya deposits. The results of SEM-EDX and XRD analyses showed two types of gravels, namely the siliceous and lime gravels. The highest percentage of gravels belonged to the sedimentary origin (limestone). The elements of Si, Ca, and Fe represented the common elements that formed the studied gravels. The pale
... Show MoreThe current study was conducted on the southern part of Gharaf River in order to define the physical-chemical properties and the impact of the Tigris River’s floodplain water on its ecological characteristics during 2019. Four sites were selected along the southern part of the river. The findings showed a strong connection between the temperature of air and water at all sites. A value ranging from 4.85 - 84.65 NTU was reported for turbidity. The water was found to be oligohaline, low alkaline, and well ventilated due to high dissolved oxygen concentrations. Gharaf River is considered to be of questionable clean water, according to the results of BOD5. The total a
... Show MoreThis study is based on samples taken from one of the main branches of Tigris River; Gharaf River, at Kut Barrage in Wasit Governorate, Iraq. It aimes to study the quantity and quality of the mollusca Invertebrates; furthermore. The study evaluates the molluscan biodiversity of the rivers by using appropriate biodiversity indexes. Thus, the first of its kind study in the evaluation of the diversity of mollusc in Gharaf River assemblage. Monthly samples were collected randomly from the river mud, for 12 months, from January till December 2016. During the collection process; 5 stations on the river were chosen for sampling with 10(±1) Km distance between each of the stations, including Wasit Governorate. The study showed the
... Show MoreA summary of zooplankton research done in Peruvian marine waters is presented. We first provide a brief overview of the evolution of zooplankton studies off Peru before reviewing zooplankton biodiversity, regional distribution, seasonal and interannual fluctuation, trophodynamics, secondary production, and modeling are some of these topics. We evaluate research on various meroplankton, macroplankton, mesoplankton, and microplankton groups and provide a list of species from both published and unpublished sources. Three regional zooplankton groups have been identified: A shelf group on the continental shelf dominated by Acartia tonsa and Centropages brachiatus; A slope group on the continental shelf with siphonophores, bivalves, foramin
... Show MoreThe 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
... Show MoreThe fingerprinting DNA method which depends on the unique pattern in this study was employed to detect the hydatid cyst of Echinococcus granulosus and to determine the genetic variation among their strains in different intermediate hosts (cows and sheep). The unique pattern represents the number of amplified bands and their molecular weights with specialized sequences to one sample which different from the other samples. Five hydatitd cysts samples from cows and sheep were collected, genetic analysis for isolated DNA was done using PCR technique and Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA reaction(RAPD) depending on (4) random primers, and the results showed:
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The Miocene succession of western and southern Iraq is represented by the
Euphrates, Ghar, Jeribe, Nfayil, Fatha, and Injana formations. The Euphrates
Formation (Early Miocene) consists mainly of shallow marine facies; it`s equivalent
the Ghar Formation (Early- Early Middle Miocene) is represented by continental
clastic facies. The Jeribe Formation (Early Middle Miocene) represents shallow
marine environment. The Nfayil Formation (Middle Miocene) also of shallow marine
environment, it`s equivalent the Fatha Formation is represented mainly by supratidal
marine environment. The Injana Formation (Late Miocene) represents the clastic
continental facies.
The studied succession was highly affected by many diagene
The central marshes are one of the most important wetlands/ecosystems in the southern area of Iraq. This study evaluates the bed soil's mechanical, physical, and chemical properties at certain southern Iraqi central marshes sites. This was conducted to investigate their types and suitability for enhancing the agricultural reality of most field crops and for construction purposes. Soil samples were collected from 15 sites at 10-100 cm depth. Hence, numerous parameters were determined: index properties, unconfined compressive strength, direct shear strength, consolidation, texture, and sieve analysis, water content, specific gravity, dry density, permeability, pH, total soluble salts (TSS), organic materials (OM) and total
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