No abstract

Currently, desertification is a major problem in the western desert of Iraq. The harsh nature, remoteness, and size of the desert make it difficult and expensive to monitor and mitigate desertification. Therefore, this study proposed a comprehensive and cost-effective method, via the integration of geographic information systems (GISs) and remote sensing (RS) techniques to estimate the potential risk of desertification, to identify the most vulnerable areas and determine the most appropriate sites for rainwater conservation. Two indices, namely, the Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Land Degradation Index (LDI), were used for a cadastral assessment of land degradation. The findings of the combined rainwater harvesting appropriateness map, and the maps of NDVI and LDI changes found that 65% of highly suitable land for rainwater harvesting lies in the large change and 35% lies in the small change of NDVI, and 85% of highly suitable land lies in areas with a moderate change and 12% lies in strong change of LDI. The adoption of the weighted linear combination (WLC) and Boolean methods within the GIS environment, and the analysis of NDVI with LDI changes can allow hydrologists, decision-makers, and planners to quickly determine and minimize the risk of desertification and to prioritize the determination of suitable sites for rainwater harvesting.

Water is an essential source of sustaining life and used in generating electricity, agriculture, industry, and the daily domestic uses. This study was prepared to determine the water consumption of Anbar Province in the west of Iraq according to agricultural, industrial, and domestic demand. In addition, the study is evaluating the expected future water consumption by demand sites within study area. The results showed the domestic water demand will increases by 32% from 267.30 million m 3 /year in 2021 to 352.70 million m 3 per year in 2035, with a deficit of 24.5% in the year 2035. Furthermore, the study had appeared the agricultural demand was 1404.38 million m 3 /year according to the limited cultivated area, which equals 42.93% from the total available area of 221,250 hectares. The agricultural demand increases to 2611 million m 3 /year when uses all available area, and this cause occurs deficit in water demand reach to 1591 and 1715 million m 3 /year in the years 2030 and 2035 respectively. In contrast, the study referred to necessary apply other irrigation methods as drip and sprinkler irrigation, which has high irrigation efficiency. In addition, using lined channels and pipes to transport water to reduce losses by leaching and evaporation.

Recently, Archimedes screw turbines have been developed to operate as small hydropower stations, because of its reliability to operate with the low head( less than 5 m) and its low cost of design and operation. In the present study, the influence of the flow rate, shaft inclination angle, and the number of blades is studied using physical model and numerical model to determine the performance of Archimedes screw turbine at Ramadi Barrages in Iraq. The physical model was made of stainless steel with the following parameters: (the radius ratio is 0.536, the pitch is 70 mm, the shaft angles are 30? ,35? ,40? ,45?). The experimental work on the physical model is achieved with different flow rates and angles .The results showing that the highest efficiency is 81.4 % At the angle of 35? and the flow rate is 1.12 l/s . The maximum energy obtained is 25.13 w at the angle of 45?, the e flow rate is 2.065 l/s, and the efficiency was 72%. Also the results show that the increase in the number of blades increases the torque and efficiency of the turbine.

Water resources are of great importance in the world's agriculture, especially regarding the scarcity of these resources. That calls for attention appropriate for analysis, study, and research in all issues and aspects that would contribute to the development and maintenance of those resources and achieve the maximum possible levels of quality and efficiency of use. The study was conducted during the fall season of 2020 to study groundwater quality (well water) in the city of Al-Qaim of Anbar Province to explain its suitability for agricultural exploitation in the region. The study included seven sites in Al-Qaim (Rtemi, Medicis, Eastern Akash, Okesha, Sawab, Albu-Hayat, and Al-Karah) to assess the validity of irrigation. The pH, Electrical conductivity (EC), positive ions (K+, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+), and negative ions (HCO3, Cl-2, SO4) and CO3 were measured. The results showed that the studied well water is acceptable for irrigation purposes in terms of pH value, as for the electrical connection, it was six wells within the class (C2), which is adequate for irrigation for medium-salty crops, except for one well, which is a fine well within class C3 suitable for irrigation of high salinity crops. The total hardness values were low and did not pose any risk; as for the positive and negative ions, they were within the permissible limits within the specified classifications. By measuring the positive ions, the Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) value was calculated and determined to be within the class S1, which means that the groundwater in the region is suitable for irrigation.