Iraqi National Journal of Earth Science

The Khazir River Basin is among the most important areas in terms of agricultural importance and diversity of agricultural crops; therefore, groundwater is extensively pumped in this area which is the main resource of water for domestic and agricultural purposes. The purpose of this research was to locate and map this crucial and significant water resource in order to better understand the occurrence and distribution of groundwater potential in the basin. This can be achieved through utilizing remote sensing data from Sentinel-2B with 10m resolution for obtaining Land use/Landcover (LULC) maps and lineament density., DEM (30m resolution) was used for drainage density and estimating the slope map of the area.  In addition, the geological map and interpolated rainfall data were used as well.  GIS has also been used for running the model to obtain Groundwater Potential Zones (GWPZs) map. Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method is used for mapping the potential groundwater zones. The results indicate that approximately 89% of the studied region falls inside a zone with a high or very high groundwater potential.

Drought monitoring is one of the most difficult steps required for optimal planning it must be diligently calculated to ensure success in future plans. In this study, a fuzzy logic control system was developed to monitor drought in the long term based on the values of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI-12) and several climate variables. The system applied meteorological data obtained from the meteorological station of the city of Mosul northwest of Iraq and showed that the predicted data confirms the observed data. To verify this conformity further, the accuracy of the prediction and the errors were calculated to test the validity of this system in drought monitoring and the performance efficiency of the system was found to be equal to 82.3%. The system showed high flexibility and capability to represent several different scenarios because of its wide range in designing and selecting Membership Functions and the number of data variables that can be used as its input. Based on the output data and the accuracy of the operation of the system, this system can be recommended to serve as an effective tool for long-term drought monitoring to develop optimal future plans in environmental and agricultural fields in the study area.

In the current study, remote sensing dataset and GIS are used for measuring the spatial distribution of the concentration levels of PM2.5 and PM10 in a selected area of Mosul City (right and left sides) for the period of September 2020 to February 2021, then compared these measured concentrations with the Iraqi and international standards. These pollutants have a negative impact on the environment, human and societal health. Temtop monitor (model: M2000) was used for measuring the concentration levels of PM2.5 and PM10 in the selected areas whose geographical positions (latitude and longitude) were determined using a GPS (Global Positioning System) instrument (model: GPSmap76CSx). For the purpose of comparison with satellite data, dataset of (PM2.5, PM10) is downloaded from the (European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites: EUMETSAT) which are mainly based on Copernicus that supervised by the (European Space Agency: ESA). The results reveal that all PM10 concentration levels have exceeded the limits set given by WHO as well as the Iraqi standards around all sampling stations except in Al-Maidan and Nergal neighborhoods. The results also showed the high concentrations of (PM2.5 and PM10) measured locally with the data taken from the (CAMS) website based on the satellite dataset.

ABSTRACT
Bathymetry can be defined as the study of water depth, in other words, it is the topography of the bed of sea, ocean and lake floor. In this study, the bathymetry of Terkos lake northern of Istanbul-Turkey was prepared using field work points and remote sensing data. More than 70,000 eco-sound points were collected; manipulated and entered to GIS geodatabase in order to create the bathymetric map, digital Image processing for remote sensing data was also used to produce the map. The shoreline of the lake was detected using Iso Cluster unsupervised classification tool in spatial analyst arc tool from the most recent satellite image captured by Landsat 9 in 25th of March 2022. ARCGIS geodatabase was built in order to create a 0.5m interval bathymetric contour lines showing the bathymetry of the Terkos Lake bed. The Lake level, surface area, water volume curve for the lake was drawn using the results of lake water budget analysis. Results show the possibility of using remote sensing data as an aid to assist in field work related to the production of bathymetric maps, these maps give an indication to decision maker for the amount of sediment in the lake, water bodies data bank also provides a dynamic database of related measurements as surface area, water volume knowing the water level.

This study aims to specify the changes that occurred in the vegetation cover of the Komel River basin located in the northeastern Shikan distract in the Duhok –Kurdistan region in Iraq with a total area equal 536.000 km2. Two images from LANDSAT 8 represent the study area for two different periods: the first one on 7/4/2018 during the spring period and the second one on 2/10/2020 during the autumn period. In this study, the vegetation cover is analyzed for the two periods taking into account the differences in annual temperature and rainfall. The final result of this study shows that there is an agreement between the distribution of the vegetation cover and the annual temperature and rainfall, this compatibility is evident by the study of the area topography and its slopes in addition to rocks and soil types where the correlation coefficient, r =0.61.

Green energy, including wind energy, becomes a vital component of reducing air pollution and enhancing its sustainability. Wind energy production increases rapidly due to its significant turbine technologies, compatible with sources of energy-environment friendly in reducing Carbon emissions. This paper presents an evaluation of wind power potential of Nineveh governorate in the northern part of Iraq based on the GIS technique using 20 years daily wind speed and direction at elevation 10m, 50m on earth surface covering the period of 2000 to 2019 obtained from NASA agency. It is observed that Nineveh Governorate and its surrounding have a wind speed between 2.8 and 3.7m/s at 10m, and wind speed between 3.9 and 5.3m/s at 50m. The annual mean power density ranges from 54 to 124 W/m² at 50m.These results indicate that the monthly variation recorded for the speed is maximum 3.7m/s at 10m and a value of 5.3 m/s at 50m in the northwest direction in Hadhar site which matched with the results obtained by GIS/ IDW interpolation map of the power density.

It is important to determine the location, depth and shape (dimensions) of cavities under subsurface in site investigation phase before construction. This study aims to make a study for properties, analysis and comparison of the results of different electrodes configurations that used in 2-D electrical resistivity Tomography surveys to detection subsurface cavities to determining the appropriate and suitable configurations type that must be conduct in the field to obtain best and accurate results. Two-dimensional synthetic models were created for Geoelectrical resistivity of five different geological features, which reflects the common cases of cavities in nature. These models are (narrow, broad, shallow and deep) cavities adding to one model for multiple cavities.  RES2DMOD program was used to create these models, while RES2DINV program used in Inversion method to obtain the true 2-D inverted resistivity sections for six configuration types of electrode array for 2D electrical resistivity technique, after adding a Gaussian noise ratio of (5%). Generally, we are noticed the possibilities of most tested configuration types for determine electrical anomalies, because the high contrast between the cavities and the surrounding rocks resistivities values. In addition, RMS ratio overall does not exceed 5%, hence, this ratio is an acceptable and indicates to the quality of the inverse process. The Wenner array have high sensitivity to vertical resistivity variations, and Dipole-dipole array have high sensitivity to lateral resistivity variations. While the Schlumberger-wenner have high sensitivity in both lateral and vertical resistivity variations Also, it was noted that the efficiency of all types decreasing with increasing depth of cavities detecting, due to the low percentage of contrast between the cavities and the surrounding rocks. The Wenner beta (WB) configuration is the best choice in terms of inversing true resistivity values, Secondly the Pole-Dipole (PD). While in term of determining the location and shape (approximately dimensions) of cavities, Dipole-Dipole (DD), Wenner-Schlumberger (WS), Wenner Alpha (WA), Dipole-Pole (DP) respectively. However, in case of noisy areas, Wenner Alpha (WA) configuration gives the best result.

Sedimentary rock beds and drainage pattern offset took place predominantly at the southeastern plunge of Bashiqa anticline which indicates shear zone in this area represented by apparent left-lateral fault separation of reverse fault dipping to the southeast. This study will discuss and update the geological information of the impressions of the fault on the surface topography based on the morphotectonic evidences including visual interpretation of the satellite image for the landforms and regional stress analysis of the study area. The variations of landform features are regarded as an efficient geological indicator for tectonic activity in the area.

Iraq is one of the countries with water abundance because it contains water sources distributed between permanent and seasonal flow. The Tigris River is considered as one of these the most important sources, which requires the necessity to monitor the changes that had been taken place in the course of this river and to study the environmental, climatic and erosional changes that were responsible to change the morphodynamic properties of this resource, especially in the rainy years that cause floods and human disasters, such as what happened in the accident of the sinking of the ferry in the city of Mosul. Consequently, the main objective of the current study is based on observing a selected section of the Tigris River basin at the beginning of its entry into Mosul city and studying the effects of changing the water level during different seasons on the banks of the river and its effects on random housing construction near the river. A new European satellite (Sentinel) is used which has high spatial resolution of up to 10 m per pixel, which was the last launch of its series in April 2018. The new QGIS program is also used to process the satellite data, using digital processing methods for interpretation, and to monitor changes in the studied section of the river. Two satellite images are adopted for two consecutive periods (2018 and 2019), corrected and geographically referenced.
The conclusion is that there is an increase of 1.105 km2 in the area of the studied river section between the rainy year and the less rainy year, i.e. an approximate increase in excess of 50%. Therefore, the researchers recommend preventing the construction of any residential or touristic projects on the both Tigris River banks within at city of Mosul, and add to the forbidden areas a distance of not less than 50% of the surface area of  at any section of the river inside the city.

The results of the analysis and interpretation of multi-date satelliteimages for the period between (1987-2007) in the Nineveh’s province to the presence of local spectral anomalies in some areas, reflect a clear change in the pattern of spectral using reflectivity. Analyses of spectral reflectivity using Analytical Spectral Devise (ASD) field Spectro Radiometer for selected samples of soils that have been taken by field work from some sites in the province. They gave spectral anomaly in their profile patterns, compared with other unaffected sites, which have been useful in determining and locating the pollution sites and its classification.
Classification of the above pollution sites has been accomplished depending on the comparison of spectral signature of these samples with the field informations. These classes are shown on Geoenvironmental thematic map prepared at scale of 1:50000. This map includes areas of radioactive contamination and environmental, indusial and other of military activity.

This study aims for building a database of the morphometric characteristics of the valley of Koysenjaq basin throughout the analysis of the digital elevation model (DEM), using a range of geographic information systems, such as (Arc GIS v. 10.3), (Global Mapper v.18), as a means of measuring raster, linear and areal elements. They integrate together to produce a large number of variables and morphometric measurements. The study has adopted digital elevation model data accuracy of distinctive accuracy (14) meters in addition to a range of maps and satellite images.
The basin is located in the southeast southeast of Erbil Governorate and has a small area of about (549.56) km², with a length of (34.26) km and long Perimeter compared with its large area (133.92) km. The basin has characteristics of different morphometric features as a result of the different climate change, geological nature, morphology, and characteristics of the soil, which indicates that the basin is at the beginning of its geomorphological cycle. The quantitative analysis shows that the value of the elongation is (0.68), circulation is (0.38) and the form factor is (0.46). This means that it is rectangular, and irregular in shape, and it obvious from the study of the characteristics of terrain that the value of basin relief is high (28.27) m/km, and passes in the early stage of maturity according to hypsometric integration value. The study shows the characteristics of the drainage network in the basin consists of (433) tributary distributed (6) arranged according to Strahler classification with low-density drainage (1.13) km/km² and stream frequency for basin (0.78) stream/km². This indicates that the number of tributaries of water is few compared with the area of the basin, so that the basin was not exposed to floods. 
The study recommends the use of more geographic information systems in determining the extent of seasonal drainage of the basin valleys in order to control the future flood risk, and good planning of the investment of these valleys in different fields through the construction of dam at the end of the basin for the purpose of harvesting water, and conducting morphometric studies compared to other river basins in Erbil Governorate to understand in detail its morphometric properties. 

The aim of the present research is to calculate the Relative Accuracy (R.A) and Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) for the location of Technical Institute, Mosul in Nineveh Governorate, Iraq.  at the northern part of Mosul city by using surveying Instruments (GPS ₁₂₃₀ , Total Station ₀₆ & Level _NAK2), to calculate the coordinates and elevations of (16) Ground Control Points which covered the study area.
The field data, remote sensing techniques and GIS software (Arc Map GIS_10.3) are used to check the digital map of study area that helped the administrator to take the correct decision, determining positions of the future expansionist for buildings, roads, measuring lengths, areas and there coordinates, directions as well as the total costs estimation needed for any development from the final map.
The gradient percentage between the highest and lowest points is calculated to be (9.954%). Relative accuracy for the based measured points (R.A) = 1:60000), and Root Mean Square error in Easting coordinates (RMS_E) = ± 0.102_m, in Northing coordinates (RMS_N) = ± 0.096_m, the Root Mean Square for the resultant (RMS_R) = ± 0.099_m, and Root Mean Square _{for Elevations} ( RMS_RL)= ± 0.005_m.
We Matched and correlated (10) measured points from study area with their graphic data positions on the aerial photo, determining the offsets for position and elevations as follows: (RMS_E = ± 0.076_m), (RMS_N = ± 0.125_m), (RMS_R = ± 0.088_m), and (Root Mean Square _{for Elevations} = RMS_RL= ± 0.045_m).
This research enable us after checking the results to produce new maps from Aerial photograph or Digital Image to use it for land uses and future extensions in whole study area.

The current study is based on the use of statistical techniques to study and identify factors controlling the concentrations of dissolved major elements in Tigris River water within a wide range of the river course, starting from Fishkabur region in the north to Baghdad city in the south.
The Results show that the rock compositions of the river basin mainly control the concentrations of the dissolved major ions in the river water with limited effect of anthropogenic factor, represented by human activities, that controls the nitrate ion concentration. The results also indicate the presence of spatial and temporal variations in the dissolved major ions concentrations, along the study area.  

A detaild morphotectonic study has been carried out for the Mushora Dagh Anticline. This anticline is situated to the northwestern part of Iraq about (95) km from Mosul City. The morphotectonic map deduced from the enhanced space imagery showing the existence of seven morphotectonic units, differences in their lithologic and morphologic characteristics, which has been affected by local and regional tectonic movements.
The morphotectonical analysis method included: first, study of directional analysis of structural lineaments and relation between their direction and the tectonic movements through the successive geological periods. Furthermore, upward concavity of the longitudinal profiles represents evidence of the appearance of some anomalies that can be attributed to a number of geologic and tectonical factors. Finally, three high anomaly values appeared while determining the index sinuosity of the Tigris River. These values agree with the first appearance of the surfaces of the transverse and longitudinal faults of Mushora-Dagh Anticline and the axis of this anticline.