Integration of interferometry and altimetry techniques for comping and reducing the desertification phenomena in Iraq

Abstract

Iraqi society has always suffered from desertification which has started to spread suspiciously and whose worsening has been brought on by inadequate water resource management. It is essential to mention, that the desert dominates large areas of the western part of Iraq, and the southern part of this desert is very influential on the climate. Therefore, the study area is located in the southwestern part of the desert of Iraq (29°02’17.91 N; 46°25’43.54 E) and covers 65,000 square kilometers. This study investigates novel integrated altimetry and interferometry techniques based on Sentinel satellite data for water resource management and marshland generation. Altimetry satellite data from Sentenel-3A and B was used to determine the Euphrates River’s water surface elevations and contribute to determining the location for the branching of the new river, which supplies the marsh area with water. Furthermore, the determination of the channel path and the location of the marshes depends entirely on the elevations extracted from the digital elevation model (DEM) that was generated by the interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique by using two Sentinel-1 images for the study area. The study’s findings include a topographical map with contour lines produced by a digital elevation model (DEM) with an RMSE value of 0.36 m. Moreover, despite the Euphrates River’s small width, the altimetry outputs and gauge station data exhibit high agreement. The Sentinel-3 satellites showed the following absolute/relative RMSE results: 0.35 m/0.39 m (Sentinel-3A), and 0.29 m/0.37 m (Sentinel-3B). The results demonstrate how integrating altimetry and interferometric methods helps manage and monitor Iraq’s water supplies.