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When a dam is built, its safety becomes a constant concern for the owner, the public and for governments. Therefore, continuous observation through routine inspections and safety reviews become necessary. Acting as protectors of public safety, governments and professional organizations save no effort in the promulgation of legislations and laying out guidelines for such inspections and reviews. These issues are discussed here starting with the basic first step of visual inspections by the operators and the follow up of detailed safety reviews by specialists. Careful visual inspections assisted by instrumentation measurements may reveal an early negative issue such as, but not limited to, increased seepage, increased uplift pressure, signs of weakness like cracking in the body of the dam, or dams’ slope sloughing, and even damaged hydraulic control equipment. Documenting and reporting these observation helps in taking remedial measures in good time and may lead to more intensive safety reviews. Suggested check lists for the inspection engineers are given here, but these may be tailored for each dam according to its needs. These lists cover issues common to both embankment and concrete dams, and include other specific issues related to each type of them. Metal equipment take their share by listing such areas as corrosion, fatigue and cracking, tear, and wear and so on. Instrumentation measurements are also given their due consideration by giving brief mention of types of measurements needed and points to be observed in instrumentation control work. Finally, guidelines, rules, and legislations for Dam Safety Reviews are generally discussed giving examples from four countries in the world. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-09-29 (johcin)

Remote sensing is the collection and interpretation of information of an object, areaor phenomenon by a recording device that is not in physical or intimate contact with the object or phenomenon under study. It generally refers to the use of satellite borne or airborne sensors to capture the spectral and spatial relations of objects and materials on Earth from the space. This is done by sensing and recording reflected or emitted electromagnetic radiation from the objects. A brief history of satellite remote sensing is given in this review but the bulk of it is devoted to the scientific satellites launched into orbit and their sensors tracking, and presenting changes in water resources fields. The used technologies and satellite systems for monitoring movements and changes include American GNSS, GPS, the Russian GLONASS, Europe’s European Satellite Navigation System (GALILEO), China’s COMPASS/BeiDou, the Indian (IRNSS); Japan’s (QZSS) and many others. Details are presented on the present (LANDSAT), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), as well as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), and RADARSAT, JERS‐1, and ERS, which are developed by various countries, especially the USA. These sensors have the refined capability of providing estimates of variables, which depending on the purpose and design of the sensor, can follow critical issues related to water management problems. This review presents examples of actual studies carried out including; building databases of small dams and lakes on regional scale, derivation of volume vs. elevation and surface area vs. elevation of hundreds of reservoirs around the world, various bathymetric reservoir surveys, siltation of reservoirs and catchment areas erosion problems, monitoring of water quality changes, and above all monitoring dam deformation and stability problems of dams. The presented case studies cover the use of these different sensor together with the imagery used, their sources, methods of interpretation, validation and gives presentation of the end results. This review, which is only a very brief presentation of satellite remote sensing applications concludes that; in spite of the large volume of research done on this subject so far, which this review cites some of them , the expected future developments in satellite remote sensing technology coupled with advances in algorithms and models used in refining satellite imagery and validating the results will bring more accurate results and less laborious treatment work in addition to wider scope of applications. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-10-08 (johcin)

The use of geophysical methods in dam sites investigations and safety monitory has proved their good value and versatility in many earthfill dam sites as early as the 1920s. In the following years great development has occurred in the methods, application procedures and tools used. They may be considered today as good ways for carrying out observation tasks on existing dams in non-intrusive and much faster and cheaper ways than the traditional geotechnical methods. It is possible using them to discover anomalies in the dam body or its foundation at an early stage and allowing quick intervention repair works. These methods seek to register and present variations in the basic geotechnical material properties in dams such as; bulk density, moisture content, elasticity, mechanical properties of rocks, electrical resistivity and mineralogy and magnetic properties and so forth. Such variations can indicate increasing seepage flow, progression in cracks’ sizes, formation of voids, caverns and other instability manifestations. Depending on how any investigation is carried out and the targeted anomaly, there is now selection of these methods such as: Electromagnetic Profiling (EM), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Self- Potential (SP), Ground Penetration Radar (GPR), variety of Seismic Methods (SM) which can be applied using such equipment as in Seismic refraction, Seismic Reflection, Multi Analysis of Rayleigh surface waves (MASW) instruments, or using Refraction Micrometer (ReMi), macro-gravity method, and Cross-Hole Seismic Tomography. In addition, Temperature Measurements and other less used methods can be used like Microgravity measurement, Magnetic Profiling and Radio Magnetotelluric methods. An attempt is made here to cover the details of these methods, their advantages and limitations and to prove their usefulness in many dam sites all over the world. One observed issue is their adaptability to embankment dams more than to concrete dams and their popularity for checking seepage related problems and material changes within dam bodies and their foundations such as formation of voids and sinkholes. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-09-29 (johcin)

Dam Safety and dam incidents are treated here looked at from the "Human Factors" perspective. An attempt is made to explore these factors as an important drive in impairing dams’ safety and increases their risks. Distinction is drawn between the "Normal Human Caused Incidents" and the "Extraordinary Human Caused Incidents" together with the description of their root origins and subsequent consequences. The first type includes unintentional mistakes, errors and flaws committed by the operators of dams inadvertently, in addition to negligence, lack of experience or overconfidence. Such failings can happen in manual operation of dams, or through the use of their Supervision, Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems as in industrial control system (ICS). They can occur also due to flaws in software or even in the application of information and communication technology (ICT) in remote control operations. As for the second group; the extraordinary human factors, they are defined here as those committed by man with the full understanding of their possible damage. They are done purposely for destabilizing dams after thoughtful and carefully meditated decision making process and they are manifested in acts of war, sabotage and terrorists actions. In this modern age, these acts are characteristics of hackers’ attacks on dam(s) operating systems. This is done through the use of cyberspace by the widespread interconnected digital technology with the accompanying advances in the communication technologies. As such, these technologies have made remote control of such systems possible. Not limited to this, dams remain now, as they were always in the past, the obvious targets in wars and conflicts to inflict losses on the enemy and to use them as weapons, and for terrorism actions for challenging governments. Examples of the aforementioned threats are described with examples given from real cases to elucidate the dangers involved. Lessons to be learned from these incidents are derived and recommendations are presented to be followed to avoid risky situations. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-09-29 (johcin)

Water flow direction and velocity affect and controls erosion, transport and deposi- tion of sediment in rivers, reservoirs and different hydraulic structures. One of the main structures affected is pumping stations within the dams wherein the velocity distribution near the station intake is disturbed. The two-dimensional (2-D) HEC-RAS 5.01 model was utilized to study, analyse and evaluate the effects of pumping rates and flow depth on the flow velocity distribution, flow stream power and their effects in the Mosul Dam reservoir. The pumping station was considered as a case study. The station is suffering from sediment accumulation around, and in, its intake and suction pipes. The main inflow sources to the reservoir are the Tigris River and run-off from the valleys within its basin. The reservoir was divided into two parts for the present study, including the upper part near the pumping station (analysed as a two-dimen- sional zone), while the lower part was analysed as a one-dimensional flow to reduce the simulation period computation time (1986–2011). Different operation plans (i.e. pumping rate and water depth) were considered. The results of the depth-averaged velocity model indicated that when the pumping station was working at a range from the designed full capacity (100% to 25% of its full capacity), the maximum flow ve- locity increased from 75 to 4 times the normal velocity when there is no pumping dependent on pumping rate and flow depth. For the same operation plans, the flow stream power varied from around zero values to 400 times at full pumping capacity and low flow depth. For sediment routing along the reservoir, the considered statisti- cal criteria indicated the model performance in estimating the total sediment load deposition and invert bed level is much better than in the case of erosion and deposition areas for different considered bed sections of the reservoir. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-03-30 (alebob)

Field sampling for evaluation of mechanical behaviour in embankment dams is not easily performed, because the performance and the safety of the structure may be unfavourably affected. A non-destruc...

Transmission electron microscopy linked with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (TEM-EDX) was applied to characterize mineralogical signals of weathering processes in the Di Linh bentonite deposit (Vietnam) and to visualize the effects of Na activation on the smectitic phases. Modelling of X-ray diffraction patterns (oriented mount) was applied in order to refine the computed structural formula. X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) methods were also applied to verify the TEM-EDX results. AnExcel-based routine has been developed in this research to allow fast computation of structural formulae and classification of the investigated clay particles. This routine supports the acquirement of 100–300 TEM-EDX analyses as a representative set of individual particles for each sample. TheExcel-based routine involves end members of different clay-mineral groups and interstratifications with two or three members (e.g.illite–smectite interstratifications – IS-ml; dioctahedral vermiculite–smectite interstratifications – diVS-ml; and kaolinite–montmorillonite–dioctahedral vermiculite interstratifications – KSV-ml). The routine is now freely available. According to the identification procedure, the

Tailings dam disasters are reported almost every year and are triggered by mechanisms, such as overtopping, piping, and others.The failures due to inadequate management cannot be neglected as well. These dams are constructed mostly in a step-by-step constructionmethod that leads to a continuously changing state of vertical loads during construction and may lead to particle breakage and changes instrength. Therefore, a layer of tailings dam today may not be the same tomorrow during the construction phase. To study the effects ofdifferent loads on particle breakage and strength, direct shear tests were performed on remolded tailings samples that were separated intodifferent particle sizes. The tests were performed using different normal stresses that ranged from 50 to 500 kPa. The results indicate that finertailings exhibited slightly more shear resistance than that of coarser tailings irrespective of the deposition method. For normally depositedspecimen, the dilatant and contractant behavior in vertical height was observed when the normal effective stress was less than 300 kPa andgreater than 300 kPa, respectively. Under the vertical deposition method, the finer tailings showed contractant height behavior when subjectedto a normal effective stress of 300 kPa. The friction angle and the cohesion of vertically deposited specimens were slightly higher and slightlylower, respectively, than that of normally deposited ones. The breakage of tailings particles was observed to be proportional to the particle sizeof the tailings. Validerad;2021;Nivå 2;2021-01-01 (johcin)

Iraq relies in its water resources on the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries. It used to be considered rich in its water resources until 1970. Then, the water quantity started to decrease due to the construction of hydrological projects within the riparian countries as well as the effect of climate change. In addition, water management planning in Iraq requires number of strategies that can help to overcome the water shortage problem. In this work, the negative problems are discussed and solutions are given to solve the water shortage problem. Keywords: Water Scarcity, Tigris, Euphrates, Climate Change, Iraq.

The awareness to tailings dam safety monitoring and reviews has increased by the catastrophes resulting from failures of such dams worsened by increasing tailings waste and construction of larger dams. The losses born by the mining industry from high costs of compensations and environmental rehabilitation work have brought this matter into focus. In the present article the need for safety monitoring programs of tailings dam is highlighted and mode of failures and factors leading to them are described. Basic principles of such programs are investigated with all phenomena needing observation described and their impacts explained. As in conventional dams this work is carried out by visual inspections and use of similar methods and instruments. In similar manners in both types of dams’ observation and measurements are done for measuring seepage water quantity and quality, phreatic surface level and pore pressure and total earth pressure values in addition to deformation measurements; and all are done by similar devices and methods such as weirs, piezometers, inclinometers, settlement plates and geodetic surveying. Basic differences between safety monitoring systems of the two types of dam, however, are presented in a tabular form. The continuity of safety monitoring of tailings dams is emphasized not only during the long construction phase but also after that in the abandonment and closure phase which can last indefinitely in order to watch for possible adverse effects on the environment and ecosystem due to the winds eroding and carrying of poisonous tailings contents, in addition to contaminated seepage water entering surface water streams and ground water. Justifications for using real time monitoring systems for recording and transmitting all data to the control center are presented with emphasis given on savings in both labor and time and need for the discovery of warning signs enabling raising earlier the alarm of possible failure or incident and the early taking of preventive measures. In this article it is argued that, in spite of the large investment of installing and running cost of comprehensive dam safety monitoring systems in tailings dams, such costs are justified as they form only a small percentage of the total investment in the tailings facilities projects, and may save huge costs if failure does happen. Such systems may be considered as an additional insurance against such events. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-09-29 (johcin)

Seismic instrumentation of dams and reservoirs sites is accepted today as a valuable tool to understand significant seismic hazards facing existing dams or future planed dams. With the advent of digital seismic accelerometers and recorders, it can now be used today as an integral part of dam safety monitoring systems. Outputs of these instruments help in understanding the dynamic response of dams during earthquake, assessing the damage caused by such events and determining required upgrading works necessary for existing dams and designing of safer dams in the future. Measuring and recording by strong motion seismographs covers the induced Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA), velocity and displacement recorded on time scale to indicate the intensity and frequency of ground vibration at the site during seismic events. Seismometers for such measurements and recordings have undergone considerable evolution and there exist today a variety of these instruments with high degree of refinement which can even provide for remote sensing. In this work, this development is outlined and examples of seismic instrumentation in strategic dams are described. Damages to actual concrete and embankment dams of various types are described indicating the associated PGAs experienced during the mentioned earthquakes. Damages in the form of cracking, increased seepage, additional settlements and displacements are described to show type and extent of possible consequences of such events on dams. The reached conclusion is that seismic instrumentation systems are desirable and highly recommendable for all types of dams; existing and future ones and their high cost is justified by the service they provide. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-09-29 (johcin)

Sedimentation of reservoirs has its negative impacts on dams, first by reducing useful storage, altering the benefit/cost ratio originally calculated for the dam, and second by reducing the dams’ capacity for flood routing; increasing flooding hazards on the dam itself and for the downstream. More problems can be created by sediments and floating debris during floods on outlet structures by clogging them and thus creating dangerous situations, or damage trash screens leading to even more problems. If these debris and coarse sediments are allowed in, then they may damage dam structures such as gates, spillways intakes in addition to chutes, stilling basins and power penstocks by the mechanical abrasion impacts of such sediments on them. Frequent inspections, especially after floods must be made to ensure proper functioning of such structure and take actions for reducing the damage. In small reservoirs, dredging; although it adds to maintenance cost, may ease the problem, but in very large reservoirs, this may prove unpractical. Designers, therefore, have a duty to consider sedimentation problem seriously in the initial stages of design by: checking the anticipated accumulation of sediments, allowing enough storage free from siltation, foreseeing their negative impacts on intakes and outlet structures and taking design measures to reduce these impacts. At the same time, dam stability calculations shall have to provision for the anticipated new conditions of silting up at the face of the dam. Operators of dams, on the other hand, shall have to keep open eyes for all the negative issues created by sediments and floating debris, repairing damages caused by them and take measures to reduce their impacts in the future. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2020-09-29 (johcin)

For understanding and prediction of transport in different groundwater aquifers media, the groundwater flow velocity (magnitude and direction) has to be considered. Halabja Saidsadiq Basin is located in the northeast part of Iraq, which covers an area of 1278 square kilometers with population of more than 200,000 inhabitants. The climate of this area is hot in the summers and cold in the winters. Groundwater aquifers in this area provide approximately 90% of whole water requirements. Therefore, it is important to understand some groundwater features in the area such as groundwater flow velocity, to prevent contaminant transport toward the groundwater aquifers. The main aim of this study was to apply geographic information system technique to estimate the magnitude and direction of the groundwater seepage velocity based on several hydrological and hydrogeological data in the region. The results revealed that the seepage velocity magnitude ranged from (0 to 51) m/d, while the flow direction is from the eastern to the western part of the study area. ISBN för värdpublikation: 978-3-030-51209-5, 978-3-030-51212-5, 978-3-030-51210-1

When performing predictions of future behaviour and assessments of the safety for embankment dams, numerical modelling if often needed as support. For embankment dams a usual issue is to obtain values of the material parameters for the material in the dam. Sampling is not easily performed, and it could also negatively affect the performance and safety of the dam. One way to determine values of the material parameters is to create a digital copy of the dam by utilizing so called inverse analysis. The created numerical model is calibrated towards field measurements. To make the reality and the numerical model correspond to each other, the values of material parameters for constitutive models are calibrated. The calibration is done by an automatized process. Further, the calibrated model could be used in predictions of future dam behaviour. The methodology has been shown to work for field data containing errors of a usual magnitude.

The storage capacity of reservoirs is gradually reduced due to sediment accumulation that causes changes in the area-storage capacity (ASC) curves. Establishing these curves and predicting their future change is an important issue for planners, designers and operators of dams. Many empirical and semi-empirical approaches have been suggested for establishing and predicting the future changes for these curves. In this study four empirical and semi-empirical methods were evaluated and three of them were modified to be used for the prediction of changes in the ASC curves due to sedimentation, based on the existing sedimentation survey data for 11 reservoirs in the USA. For evaluation, these approaches were reviewed and used to determine sedimentation depth and establishing the ASC curves for the Mosul dam reservoir (MDR), which is the biggest hydraulic structure on the River Tigris in northern Iraq. MDR started operating in 1986 with a storage capacity of 11.11 km3 and a water surface area 380 km2 at normal operation stage (330 m a.s.l.). The results obtained from these methods were evaluated using observed bathymetric survey data that had been collected in 2011 after 25 years of the operation of the dam. The evaluation results showed three methods had presented more accurate results for estimating water depth or sedimentation depth at dam site with percentage error about 1.06–3.30%. Whilst for establishing ASC curves, one method presented good agreement result with survey data. Furthermore, ASC and sedimentation depths at dam site of MDR for periods 50, 75, 100 and 125 years were estimated using the modified approaches and the area reduction method. The results of the modified methods provided reasonable agreement when compared with the area reduction method proposed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the agreement became better with an increase in time period. Validerad; 2017; Nivå 2; 2017-04-03 (rokbeg)

Mosul Dam is an earth fill dam, with a storage capacity of 11.11 km3 constructed on highly karstified gypsum beds alternating with marl and limestone. After impounding in 1986, seepage locations were recognized. The dam situation now indicates that it is in a state of extreme relative risk. If it fails, then 6 million people will be affected and 7202 km2 area will be flooded. Grouting operations will elongate the life of the dam but will not solve the problem. Building a protection dam downstream will be the best measures to secure the safety of the downstream area and its’ population.

Prudent management of Iraqi water resources under climate change conditions requires plans to be based on actual figures of the storage capacity of existing reservoirs. With the absence of sediment flushing measures, the actual storage capacity of Dokan Reservoir (operated since 1959) has been affected by the amount of sediment delivered during its operational life leading to an undetermined reduction in its storage capacity. In consequence, there has not been an update on the dam's operational storage capacity curves. In this research, new operational curves were established for the reservoir based on a recent bathymetric survey undertaken in 2014. The reduction in reservoir capacity during the period between 1959 and 2014 was calculated by the mean of the difference between the designed storage capacity and the storage capacity which was concluded from the 2014 bathymetric survey. Moreover, the rate of sediment transported to the reservoir was calculated based on the overall quantities of accumulated sediment and the water discharge of the Lesser Zab River into the reservoir. The results indicate that the dam capacity is reduced by 25% due to sedimentation of an estimated volume of 367 million cubic metres at water level 480 m.a.s.l. The annual sedimentation rate was about 6.6 million cubic metres, and the sediment yield was estimated to be 701.2 t∙km−3∙year. Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-03-06 (johcin)

The Tigris River in Baghdad is a large sand-bed river, supply-limited because of the implementation of a water flow regulation scheme comprising a series of reservoirs and barrages. The significant reduction in the water discharge has affected the hydraulic performance of the river and turned it into an under-fit river of complicated morphology where many islands and bank deposits have been showed up across an 18km reach in addition to the essential sinuosity. Measuring sediment load at individual cross-sections in the river gives misleading estimates and the corresponding sediment rating curve has a locally limited using. A spatially sediment rating by investigating sediment loads over the complicated reach is required to overcome the local limitations. Sediment transport rates have been investigated at 16 cross-sections along the study reach by collecting suspended load, bed load and bed material samples. Velocity profiles were measured at the sampling stations using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). The measurement results indicated that the suspended load is the dominant mode of transport (93.5%). However, bedloads were considered in determining the total loads. A spatial total load rating curve in the form of a power function was established and examined against the sediment measurements. Twenty-two previously published total load formulae where applied at the same sections and of these the Colby1964 formula gave the closest fit to the measured loads. Based on the results from this study a recommended procedure is established for using a spatial total load rating curve to estimate sediment transport rates for similar morphologically complicated rivers. Average annual transport rates during the period 2009-13 was estimated at 3.21 million tons. Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-08-17 (johcin)

Mosul Dam is multipurpose earth fill dam 3.4km long, 113m in height and its storage capacity reaches 11.11 km3 of which 2.95 km3 dead storage. The dam is located on the River Tigris in the northern part of Iraq about 60km north west Mosul city. The dam was built on highly karstified alternating beds of gypsum, marl and limestone. The dam was operating in 1986 and since then, seepage problems started due to the solubility of the gypsum beds, presence of karstification and the effect of the local groundwater aquifer. To stop the seepage insensitive grouting program was put to ensure the stability of the dam. Despite the injection of large quantities of grouting material, it did not stop the seepage. The situation became worse in 2014 when ISIS occupied the dam area and grouting operations were halted. Recent evaluation of the conditions indicates that the dam is in its worst conditions. The failure models of the dam indicate that 6 million people will be affected, and 7202km2 of land will be inundated. It is believed that to stop this catastrophe, grouting operations should be continued intensively to elongate the span life of the dam. As a permanent solution, another dam should be built downstream Mosul Dam so that it can take the wave of Mosul Dam in case of its failure. Validerad; 2017; Nivå 1; 2017-04-03 (andbra)

Selecting a landfill site is an optimal solution for the disposal of solid waste inAl-Mahawil Qadhaa, both to fulfill the environmental and scientific requirements,and to comply with regulations and restrictions in this Qadhaa. Presently,there is no landfill site in the area that meets the scientific site selection criteria.Therefore, in this study, two methods of multi-criteria decision-makingand Geographic Information System (GIS) were used to produce a map ofcandidate sites for landfill. Fifteen criteria were entered within GIS: groundwaterdepth, rivers, soil types; agriculture lands use, land use, elevation, slope,gas pipelines, oil pipelines, power lines, roads, railways, urban centers, villagesand archaeological sites. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is the firstmethod that was applied to derive criteria weightings using the matrix of pairwisecomparisons. The second method was the Ratio Scale Weighting (RSW),which is based on experts’ opinion, in order to identify the criteria weightingsby giving a ratio score value for each criterion relative to the other criteria.Accuracy assessment (Kappa and Overall Assessment) methods were used tocompare the two raster maps which resulted from the two models, and to determinethe percentage value of matching pixels for the two maps. Two suitablecandidate sites for landfill were identified that satisfy the requirementswith an area of 2.218 km2 - 2.950 km2 in order to accommodate the solidwaste generated from the Qadhaa in the period 2020 to 2030. Validerad; 2017; Nivå 1; 2017-02-17 (andbra)

The selecting of a site for landfill is considered as a difficult process because many criteria should be involved. The main aim of establishing a landfill is to protect the human and environment. Al-Qasim district is considered as the study area in this work. It is one of the main districts in Babylon Governorate, Iraq. There is no systematic site as landfill that fulfil the environmental and scientific criteria in this area. Therefore, the most important fifteen criteria that suited the environmental requirements were selected in the current study. These criteria are: groundwater depth, urban centers, rivers, villages, soil types, elevation, roads agricultural land use, slope, land use, archaeological sites, power lines, gas pipelines, oil pipelines and railways. Two methods of multi criteria decision making AHP (analytical hierarchy process) and SRS (straight rank sum) were applied to obtain the weights of criteria in dissimilar styles. The raster maps of the selected criteria were prepared and analyzed within the GIS software. Then, the change detection method was implemented to compare the two output raster maps resulted from AHP and SRS methods. Two appropriate candidate sites for landfill were selected to accommodate the cumulative solid waste until the year 2030 in Qasim district. The areas of these sites were 2.766 km2 and 2.055 km2 respectively. Validerad;2017;Nivå 1;2017-09-04 (andbra)

Much of the seismic activity of northern Sweden consists of micro-earthquakes occurring near postglacial faults. However, larger magnitude earthquakes do occur in Sweden, and earthquake statistics indicate that a magnitude 5 event is likely to occur once every century. This paper presents dynamic analyses of the effects of larger earthquakes on an upstream tailings dam at the Aitik copper mine in northern Sweden. The analyses were performed to evaluate the potential for liquefaction and to assess stability of the dam under two specific earthquakes: a commonly occurring magnitude 3.6 event and a more extreme earthquake of magnitude 5.8. The dynamic analyses were carried out with the finite element program PLAXIS using a recently implemented constitutive model called UBCSAND. The results indicate that the magnitude 5.8 earthquake would likely induce liquefaction in a limited zone located below the ground surface near the embankment dikes. It is interpreted that stability of the dam may not be affected due to the limited extent of the liquefied zone. Both types of earthquakes are predicted to induce tolerable magnitudes of displacements. The results of the postseismic slope stability analysis, performed for a state after a seismic event, suggest that the dam is stable during both the earthquakes Validerad; 2017; Nivå 2; 2017-02-16 (andbra)

Dredged sediments with initial water contents between 200% and 400% were treated with single and composite binders. Samples were subjected to open and semi-closed freeze–thaw (f–t) cycles to investigate the impact of f–t cycling on hydraulic conductivity (HC) and unconfined compressive strength (UCS). A grace period (GP) for thaw consolidation is included to assess healing potential of the affected stabilized mass. Findings of this study show that the impact of f–t cycles depends on initially achieved UCS and HC values prior to the f–t cycling and time of testing after f–t cycles. The HC of specimens with an initial UCS value of 87 kPa increased with number of f–t cycles. The UCS values decreased in the range of 50%–80% when specimens were tested directly after the thaw period and values decreased in the range of 14%–60% when specimens were tested at the end of the GP. The HC of specimens with an initial UCS value of 299 kPa remained almost the same. These samples experienced permanent loss in the UCS values, irrespective of time of testing. Detrimental effects of the freezing action on the UCS were greater under semi-closed than open freezing conditions.

In the very deep borehole (VDH) concept for high level radioactive waste disposal, the combined usage of clay and concrete provides an attractive way of achieving both high strength and low permeability required for sealing the various sections of the hole. The concrete is required for mechanical stability where water-bearing fracture zones are intersected, whereas the clay effectively seals sections in stable rock masses. As both the clay and concrete may be exposed to temperatures in the range of 60–150 °C in various parts of the hole, there is a need to address the stability of these materials under thermally enhanced aqueous conditions. In this pilot study, a new type of organic-free, low pH concrete based on granulated blast furnace slag is tested, which is hardened and altered under hydrothermal conditions in the laboratory. The results presented show that both adequate compressive strength (up to ∼9 MPa) and low hydraulic conductivity (down to ∼5.6 × 10−10) is attained at elevated temperatures ranging up to 150 °C, indicating that clay-concrete sealing can be a successful method used to prevent radionuclides from migrating vertically up through the borehole repository.

Evaluation of the hydrogeochemical characteristics and groundwater suitability for domestic use was conducted in the Halabja Saidsadiq Basin in the northeastern part of Iraq. The total studied area is about 1278 km2 with a specific Mediterranean-type continental interior climate, which is cold in winter and hot in summer. To conduct the required laboratory chemical analysis for groundwater samples in the studied basin, 78 groundwater samples, in total, were collected from 39 water wells in the dry and wet seasons in 2014 and analyzed for major cations and anions, and the results were compared with the permitted limits for drinking water. An examination of the chemical concentrations of the World Health Organization drinking water norms demonstrate that a large portion of the groundwater samples is suitable for drinking, and a preponderance of groundwater samples situated in the class of hard and very hard water types for both seasons. Suitability of groundwater for drinking use was additionally assessed according to the water quality index classification. This showed that more than 98% of groundwater samples have good water quality in the dry and wet seasons. Conversely, the classification of groundwater samples based on Piper&rsquo, s diagram designates that the groundwater type is alkaline water, with existing bicarbonate along with sulfate and chloride. However, water&ndash, rock exchange processes and groundwater flow have been responsible for the dominant water type of Ca&ndash, Mg&ndash, HCO3.

Dokan reservoir is located on the Lesser Zab River NE Iraq. Its drainage area is 11,690 km2 with a storage capacity of 6.87 × 109 m3. Calculation of the volume of the reservoir before the construction of the dam and from the bathymetric survey conducted in 2014 indicates that an annual average of 7 million cubic meters of sediments are deposited within the reservoir. This reduced the storage capacity of the reservoir by 28%.

Badush Dam is a partially completed dam and a unique case of flood reten- tion dams. Its intended main function is to perform flood protection once in its lifetime; that is if Mosul Dam would collapse. In such a case, the Badush dam would temporarily store the whole flood wave and route it safely to the downstream. For this end, the bulk of the reservoir is left dry, while the re- maining volume at the lower part which is intended for power eneration does not give an economic justification for building the full height of the dam. The short duration of the intended use as a protection dam has led to relaxing many design assumptions which have raised concerns over the dam integrity. The current controversy rages now over whether to continue the construction of the dam as it was first designed or to change all that in view of the similar site geology of Mosul Dam. Mosul dam foundations suffer at the moment from the severe continuous dissolution of the soluble materials in its foundation leading to continued maintenance grouting of that foundation. This paper gives an overview of the history of Badush dam, its current design and what new equirements which are needed if it is to replace Mosul Damitself. Validerad;2020;Nivå 1;2019-12-19 (johcin)

Construction of tailings dams is done in stages by raising it layer by layer depending on production rate of a mine. These layered dams may possess different strengths and materials properties in e ...

Solid waste management is one of the most important challenges facing the local administration in the governorate of Najaf. This paper investigates the domestic amount generated in Najaf gover- norate for period 2015-2035 and the required landfill volume for the disposal of the waste. The daily per capita waste generation in Al-Najaf is 0.42 kg, the humidity content about 43% and the ound 473 kg/m3. The total amount was about 5,914,415 ton and the required landfill volume is 11,828,829 m3. Validerad; 2016; Nivå 1; 20160623 (nadhir)

A relationship between electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) was tested for solutions of same salinity levels with respect to different artificial salts with their combinations. Results showed remarkable jumping at the order of the artificial salt sequence specially that of the magnesium type. A computer model is designed with an input of EC and TDS. The output will be the possible prevailing artificial salts. The accuracy of the model was tested by using the groundwater data of Safwan-Zubair area south of Iraq and it proved to be significant at 95% matching. The 5% unmatched results are due to the possibility of having more than one type of prevailing salt. Validerad; 2016; Nivå 1; 2016-11-29 (rokbeg)

The Danish Tertiary Holmehus clay belongs to the series of illite-smectite mixed-layer clays in northern Europe and has a potential to serve as an effective engineered barrier for isolating hazardous waste. Mineralogical specification was made of the components illite/smectite mixed-layer and dioctahedral vermiculite/smectite mixed-layer structures. The lower content of expandable phase than of smectite- rich clays like MX-80 gives somewhat higher hydraulic conductivity and somewhat lower swelling pressure but both are deemed suitable for isolating canisters with high-level radioactive waste in deeprepositories for densities at water saturation of at least 1900 kg/m3. The lower swelling pressure, the potential of being chemically more stable, and the high buffer capacity by providing dissolved Si makes Holmehus clay a candidate for use in both deep and near-surface repositories. Validerad; 2015; Nivå 2; 20140310 (svek)

The arrival of natural snow is often delayed nowadays due to global warming. This causes problems for ski resorts and other places where winter activities in different forms take place. Storing snow provides one solution for the winter business industry to deal with this problem. However, there is so far very little research concerning this question. In this paper a review of current knowledge of snow storage and experiences from mainly Scandinavian snow storages is presented. New results concerning melting losses of stored snow from a trial experiment in the north of Sweden are presented. These results are compared to theoretical calculations. The model used for the calculations is shown to be useful for estimating melting losses of insulated piles of snow. Thus the calculations can serve as an important background when designing an insulated snow depot. The model can also be used to compare different insulating materials and to determine properties such as thickness of the insulating layer needed to sufficiently insulate the snow. By minimizing the surface area of insulated snow depots, melt rate due to heat from the air, sun and sky, which constitute the largest part of the total melt, can be reduced. The quality of insulating materials used will be subject to annual observation. Commonly used insulating materials such as bark, wood chips, cutter shavings and sawdust deteriorate. Validerad;2018;Nivå 2;2018-06-01 (svasva)

The sound design of landfills is essential in order to protect human health and the environment (air, water, and soil). The study area, Babylon Governorate, is situated in the middle of Iraq, and is distinguished by a hot climate and shallow groundwater. The governorate did not have landfill sites that meet international criteria; in addition, the groundwater depth in Babylon Governorate is commonly shallow. Previously, the most important criteria for the study area and GIS software were used to select the best sites for locating landfills in the major cities of the governorate. In this study, the Hydrologic Evaluation of Landfill Performance (HELP 3.95D) model was applied in order to ensure that there was no leakage of the leachate that results from the waste in the selected landfill sites. It is the most commonly utilized model for landfill design, and it is used to estimate water inflow through the soil layers. For the present study, to avoid groundwater pollution by leachate from a landfill site due to the shallow groundwater depth, compacted waste was placed on the surface using two height scenarios (2 m and 4 m). This design was developed using the soil properties of the selected sites coupled with the weather parameters in Babylon Governorate (precipitation, temperature, solar, and evapotranspiration) for a 12-year period covering 2005 to 2016. The results from both of the suggested landfill designs showed an absence of leachate from the bottom liner. Validerad;2018;Nivå 2;2018-01-22 (rokbeg)

The landfill design is necessary to be implemented in various regions to protect public human health and the factors ofenvironment. The suggested design of landfill was performed in the arid areas, where that Babylon Governorate, Iraq was selected as a case study. Babylon overnorate is located in the middle of Iraq. The suggested design for the selected sites for landfill in the arid areas was consisted of the base liner and final cover systems. The HELP 3.95D model was applied on both systems to check if there is any leakage by leachate from the suggested soil layers of landfill base on the water balance in Babylon Governorate for the years 2005-2016. The suggested design of final cover system was implemented based on weather parameters in the arid areas through storing water that coming from the surface within upper layers that have fine particles and over the top barrier without leakage into the waste body, thereby preventing leachate generation. This is allowing to the stored water to evaporate from the surface of soil or transpire through vegetation due to the high temperature during the most months in the study area. The results showed there was no percolation of leachate through the base liner system. The design of final cover system was acted to reduce the runoff on the surface and increase theactual evaporation. Validerad;2019;Nivå 1;2019-03-08 (oliekm)

Grouting of the rock surrounding high-level waste (HLW) can serve to minimize groundwater flow around it and thereby to retard erosion of waste-embedding clay (buffer) and transport of possibly released radionuclides. Earlier attempts have shown the efficiency of superimposing the injection pressure with oscillations for bringing cement-rich grouts into narrow fractures using organic superplasticizers. However, these are short-lived and can produce radionuclide-bearing organic colloids, and should be replaced by inorganic agents. Portland cement in grouts is not long lived and low-pH cements are preferable as is also reduction of the cement content to an absolute minimum. The present study describes the composition and performance of candidate grouts in laboratory experiments with injection into plane-parallel slots with different aperture. The study included development of a simple and quick method for estimating the viscosity on the construction site for adapting the grout recipe to the injectability of the rock. A simple theoretical model for predicting grout penetration gives fair agreement with laboratory data. The longevity of the grout under various conditions is believed to be sufficient for use in HLW repositories implying waste placement in very deep holes.

The northern and northeastern parts of the Iraqi exhibit different types of gorges. Some of them are few kilometers in length and few hundred meters in height. The most significant gorge is the Gulley Ali Bed gorge in Rawandooz area; its length is about 12.1 Km, with maximum and minimum widths of 100 to 155 m, respectively. The water in the gorge flows in two opposite directions, from the north and south through two streams; they meet in the middle of the gorge, and then change the streams direction towards west; for few kilometers before it merges in the Greater Zab River. The gorge runs within very hard thickly bedded to massive carbonate rocks, which belong to Sarmord, Qamchuqa and Bekhme formations (Cretaceous in age). To the right of the southern entrance; stands Korak anticline, whereas to the left occurs Peris anticline. To the right of the northern entrance; stands Handreen anticline, whereas to the left is Bradost anticline; represented by Balikian Mountain. The gorge is developed by continuous lateral and vertical growth of the four mentioned anticlines, with continuous incision of both streams, Rawandooz from the north and Khlaifan from the south. Both shifted their courses, continuously as indicated from the presence of many wind gaps in the aforementioned anticlines.

Reservoirs are usually exposed to sediment accumulation problems that will lead to reduction in their storage capacity. This problem directly affects the performance of the dams and causes shortage of their useful life. The simplest technique to estimate sediment deposition rate is using sediment rating curve with sediment trapping efficiency (TE) of the reservoir. Many empirical and semi-empirical approaches have been suggested for to determine this term depending on the annual inflow rate, reservoir characteristics and features of the catchments area. In this study six different empirical methods depending on the residence time principle (water retention time) were used. These approaches were reviewed and applied to determine TE of Mosul dam reservoir (MDR) for period 1986 to 2011. The monthly operating data for inflow, outflow and water elevations for MDR were used to determine monthly TE and long-term TE for whole period of MDR using the mentioned methods. Furthermore, the monthly inflow rate for River Tigris upstream MDR, its sediment rating curve and sediment feeding from valleys around MDR were used to estimate the amount sediment coming to the reservoir. The results provided by these methods for TE withsediment coming to MDR were used to compute the amount of sediment deposited in MDR on monthly bases during this period. The results obtained were evaluated using observed bathymetric survey data that had been collected in 2011 after 25 years of the operation of the dam. The results showed all the mentioned methods gave convergent results and they were very close to bathymetric survey results for estimating the volume of sediment deposited especially that proposed by Ward which gave 0.368% percentage error. Furthermore, the result computed using monthly TE gave good agreement if compared with that long-term TE where the percentage error was ranging between −3.229% to 1.674% for monthly adopted data and −4.862% to −2.477% for whole period data. It is believed that this work will help others to use this procedure on other reservoirs. Validerad; 2015; Nivå 1; 20150410 (nadhir)

This paper presents three dimensional (3D) and two dimensional (2D) axisymmetric finite element analyses of a corner of a tailings dam. The analyses were performed to: (i) locate tension and/or low compression zones and to evaluate slope stability during sequential raising of the dam corner, and (ii) find whether the results of 2D axisymmetric analyses can be reliable for the dam corner. The corner is a potentially weak section of the dam where tension and/or low compression zones may develop. Development of such zones inside the dam corner can lead to cracks and initiation of internal erosion. The results of both the 3D and 2D axisymmetric analyses indicated that (i) tension and/or low compression zones were located in vicinity of surface of the dam corner mainly above the phreatic level, and (ii) the dam corner is stable up to the planned height if it is gradually strengthened with rockfill berms on the downstream side. The results of 2D axisymmetric analyses showed a fairly good agreement with those of 3D analyses. It is concluded that 2D axisymmetric analyses are appropriate for this dam corner. This implies that significant computational time can be saved by utilizing 2D analyses instead of 3D analyses. Validerad;2017;Nivå 2;2017-10-31 (rokbeg)

The Babylon Governorate is situated in the middle of Iraq. It covers an area of 5,315 km 2 and has 2,092,998 inhabitants distributed throughout its five major cities (Qadhaa). Presently, there is no landfill site in the governorate that meets the environmental criteria for the disposal of municipal and industrial waste. Consequently, GIS (geographic information system) and methods of multi-criteria decision making were used here to select the best sites in each city in the Babylon Governorate that would fulfil the environmental requirements. Two sites were chosen in each city. As the groundwater is very shallow in this area, the design should ensure against groundwater pollution by leachate from these sites. To avoid this problem, soil investigation was conducted at these sites so that the most suitable landfill design could be accomplished. The results of soil investigation in these sites include the soil profile, groundwater depth, chemical properties, allowable bearing capacity, Atterberg limits test results and material characteristics of the soil strata. From the research, it is believed that the best design is one that puts the landfill above ground. Validerad;2017;Nivå 1;2017-07-04 (andbra) Bearing capacity, Atterberg limit, landfill, Babylon, Iraq.

Iraq is one of the riparian countries within basins of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers in the Middle East region. The region is currently facing water shortage problems due to the increase of the demand and climate changes. In the present study, average monthly water flow measurements for 15 stream flow gaging stations within basins of these rivers in Iraq with population growth rate data in some of its part were used to evaluate the reality of the current situation and future challenges of water availability and demand in Iraq. The results showed that Iraq receives annually 70.92 km3 of water 45.4 and 25.52 km3 from River Tigris and Euphrates respectively. An amount of 18.04 km3 of the Tigris water comes from Turkey while 27.36 km3 is supplied by its tributaries inside Iraq. The whole amount of water in the Euphrates Rivers comes outside the Iraqi borders. Annual decrease of the water inflow is 0.1335 km3 year-1 for Tigris and 0.245 km3 year-1 for Euphrates. This implies the annual percentage reduction of inflow rates for the two rivers is 0.294% and 0.960% respectively. Iraq consumes annually 88.89% (63.05 km3) of incoming water from the two rivers, where about 60.43 and 39.57 % are from Rivers Tigris and Euphrates respectively. Water demand increases annually by 1.002 km3; of which 0.5271 km3 and 0.475 km3 within Tigris and Euphrates basins respectively. The average water demand in 2020 will increase to 42.844 km3 year-1 for Tigris basin and for Euphrates 29.225 km3 year-1 (total 72.069 km3 year-1), while water availability will decrease to 63.46 km3 year-1. This means that the overall water shortage will be restricted to 8.61 km3. Godkänd; 2014; 20140328 (nadhir)

Waste impoundments are usually not protected by any growing crops, soil roughness, or wind barriers, and dust due to wind erosion of the surface waste material can be a major environmental problem. The tailings dam in Aitik is highly susceptible to wind erosion when it is dry and windy. Strong dust storms may occur during dry seasons. These events are short-lived but may transport a huge amount of particulate matter and adversely impact air quality in downwind areas. This study estimated material loss from the Aitik tailings dam using SWEEP model. The simulated total material loss, saltation and creep loss, suspension loss and PM10 loss were 4.4941kg/m2, 0.042 kg/m2, 4.4559 kg/m2, 0.264057 kg/m2 respectively. To control the dust generation wind breaks could be suggested to be installed at 800m downwind the upwind edge of the tailings dam to reduce the saltation and creep and it would in turn reduce suspended emission. The measured total suspended material for five days by exposure profiling method was 0.475kg/m2, which had a big difference with simulate a value of 4.4559 kg/m2. Many reasons contributed to the disagreement of simulated value and measured value in this study. In order to use the model for mining industry more tests are needed to validate the modeling result and calibration methods could be useful in adjusting the internal coefficients and empirical equations. Validerad; 2014; 20140304 (nadhir)

Every year a number of breach failures occur in Irrigation Canals in Sindh. Those failures cause displacement of thou-sands of people, destruction of properties, land, and damages costly crops worth millions rupees. In addition to that breach failures are also can cause water shortages when failure occurs during peak demand period. There are various causes of embankment failures that include overtopping, internal erosion, structural defects and piping. State of art for breach failures is presented in this paper and suggestions for prediction of breaches in context to canals in Sindh are discussed. Seepage and slope stability analyses are recommended for long term breach predictions. Every year, a number of breach failures occur in Irrigation Canals in Sindh. Those failures cause displacement of thousands of people, destruction of properties, land, and damage to costly crops that worth millions Rupees. In addition to that, breach failures also can cause water shortages when the failure occurs during the peak demand period. There are various causes of embankment failures which include overtopping, internal erosion, structural defects and piping. State of art for breach failures is presented in this paper and suggestions for prediction of breaches in context to canals in Sindh are discussed. Seepage and slope stability analyses are recommended for a long-term breach predictions. Godkänd; 2014; 20140124 (nadhir)

River Tigris divides Baghdad, capital of Iraq, in two parts. The reach of the river within Baghdad is about 60 km long. Many islands and bars are obstructing the flow of the river within Baghdad. To overcome this problem, dredging operations started along most of Tigris River inside Baghdad City to remove many islands and side bars, which reduced the flooding capacity and the efficiency of water intakes. An examination for the dredging plan under process and two proposed additional plans were performed using HEC-RAS program for a 50km long river reach to investigate whether they can recover the designed flooding capacity of the river or just improving it. Calibration and verification processes were implemented in the model using observed water levels at Sarai Baghdad gauging station and along the last 15 km of the river reach. Comparisons of computed water levels were conducted with those of previous studies and historical data. Some improvement of flood capacity was achieved based on the recorded data of the last three decades. Cautions about the water intakes should be considered to maintain their function with the expected drop in water level due to dredging operations. River Tigris divides Baghdad, capital of Iraq, in two parts. The reach of the river within Baghdad is about 60 km long. Many islands and bars are obstructing the flow of the river within Baghdad. To overcome this problem, dredging operations started along most of Tigris River inside Baghdad City to remove many islands and side bars, which reduced the flooding capacity and the efficiency of water intakes. An examination for the dredging plan under process and two proposed additional plans was performed using the Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis System software (HEC-RAS) for a 50 km long river reach to investigate whether they can recover the designed flooding capacity of the river or just improving it. Calibration and verification processes were implemented in the model using observed water levels at Sarai Baghdad gauging station and along the last 15 km of the river reach. Comparisons of computed water levels were conducted with those of previous studies and historical data. Some improvement of flood capacity was achieved based on the recorded data of the last three decades. Cautions about the water intakes should be considered to maintain their function with the expected drop in water level due to dredging operations. Godkänd; 2014; 20140212 (nadhir)

Water supply network losses are an international problem especially in countries suffering from water scarcitylike Jordan. Jordan is one of the poorest countries in its water resources and it is estimated to be below the waterpoverty line. Jordan is located in the Middle East and has a surface area of approximately 90,000 km2. Its populationis around 6.3 million and it is estimated that the population will be 7.8 million in 2022. The gap betweenwater supply and demand is widening due to development and a relatively high population growth rate. In addition,global climate change is expected to intensify the water shortage problem in Jordan. Thirteen years of completerecords obtained from the Ministry of Water and Irrigation were analyzed. According to these records,water losses in Jordan reach about 50%. In view of the evaluation of the data and the case study conducted inthis research, it is believed that Jordan can overcome the water shortage problem by adopting a water demandmanagement strategy. In this context, efforts should be focused on reducing water losses. If this is achieved, itwill save huge quantities of water and revenue. Godkänd; 2014; 20140214 (nadhir)

Waste management system is not regulated in Iraq. At present, there are various techniques used for solid waste management such as landfill, thermal treatment, biological treatment, recycling etc. Landfill is the most common mode for the disposal of solid waste. However, landfill site selection is quite complex process and it depends on several criteria and regulations. In this study landfill site selection is performed for Al-Mahaweel qadaa using Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) And Geographic Information System (GIS). It should be mentioned however, that the existing landfill in this area, is temporary and does not fulfill the environmental conditions. To select suitable landfill site, several criteria were considered such as Urban centers, Land use, Airports, Pipes, Power lines, Railways, Roads, slope, streams, Surface water, Industrial areas, Oil pipes, Liquid gas pipes, Soil types are prepared. (MCDA) was used to evaluate the relative importance of each criterion. Each map layers were formed with the aid of GIS and final suitability map was created by overlay analyses of each criterion map. According to obtained results, high and low suitable areas were determined in the study area. Field and office checks were performed out to determine the accuracy and suitability of the candidate sites. Godkänd; 2014; 20140617 (nadhir)

Tigris and Euphrates are the main rivers in Iraq. The former has 5 main tributaries while the latter has no tributaries within Iraq. All these rivers exhibit meandering and/ or shifting of their courses due to many reasons; such as mass movements and alluvial fan's development. The meandering and shifting of river courses due to mass movements is dealt with in this study. Many examples are given from different parts of Iraq within different rivers and streams. In each case, the geology of the involved area is described; the reasons of the shifting and/ or meandering of the river course are given. GIS technique was used to determine the coverage of the involved area. Landsat, Google Earth and DEM images were used to indicate the suffered areas from shifting and meandering of the rivers and streams. When possible, age of the shifting and/ or meandering of the river and stream courses was estimated; using exposure age determination; mainly depending on the presence of river terraces, erosional forms, vegetation cover and the maturity of the involved area. Some of the given examples of shifting of river courses were found to be still active; others are inactive. In many cases, indications for very large mass movement phenomena were seen. Moreover, some of the large involved areas are highly populated, others includes few houses and/ or farms. The majority of the meanders are developed due to mass movement phenomena; others are caused by alluvial fans and/ or tectonic features, lime plunging of anticlines. Validerad; 2014; 20140826 (nadhir)

The Middle East (ME) is characterized by its water shortage problem. This region with its arid climate is expected to be the most vulnerable in the world to the potential impacts of climate change. Iraq (located in ME) is seriously experiencing water shortage problem. To overcome this problem rain water harvesting can be used. In this study the applicability of the long-term weather generator model in downscaling daily precipitation Central Iraq is used to project future changes of precipitation based on scenario of seven General Circulation Models (GCMs) outputs for the periods of 2011-2030, 2046-2065, and 2080-2099. The results indicated that December-February and September-November periods, based on the ensemble mean of seven GCMs, showed an increasing trend in the periods considered; however, a decreasing trend can be found in March, April, and May in the future. Validerad; 2014; 20141216 (johsod)

The common practice in geotechnical laboratories is to apply high hydraulic gradients for getting results in reasonable time but this can jeopardize the accuracy. In this paper, the hydraulic condu ...

Jordan is located in the Middle East in the eastern Mediterranean. It has a surface area of approximately 90,000 km2 and its population reaches 6.3 million. Jordan is one of the fourth driest countries in the World and water demand exceeds Jordan's available water resources.Annual per capita water availability has declined from 3600m3/year in 1946 to 145 m3/year today. It is estimated that the population will continue to grow from about 5.87 million in 2008 to over 7.80 million by 2022. Total projected water demand will be 1673 million cubic meters by 2022.Fifteen years of complete records for water consumption was studied to see the supply and demand variation with time. It had been noticed that water demand management will address the actual needs for water. This management program will ensure further reduction in water use, reduce water loses through the distribution supply net, prevent pollution and waste water disposal in nature, efficient use of available water resources, prudent future planning for new water re-sources and finally imposing real cost for water supply that would be acceptable. In addition to the above, public awareness program is to be put in action. Such a program should be used in schools as well as the media. The public are to be aware of the problem and how they can assist to overcome the water shortage crisis. Validerad; 2014; 20131204 (nadhir)

Cement-based materials for use as sealants in underground waste storages must be erosion-resistant and chemically stable. Placement of highly radioactive waste (HLW) in boreholes may require that the rock is cement-grouted and stabilized by constructing concrete plugs. Where smectitic clay seals are in contact with concrete there is mutual degradation, and low-pH cement with inorganic superplasticizers, like talc, are recommended for preparing the concrete. This paper reviews our current state-of-knowledge concerning the grout and concrete sealing very deep boreholes (DBD) for purpose of high-level radioactive waste disposal. In this concept, the lower 2 km section of 4 km deep holes bored in crystalline rock could host waste-containers while the upper parts are sealed by dense clay and concrete.1 The parts of such a hole that intersect fracture-poor rock are sealed with dense expandable clay while concrete is cast where fracture zones are intersected. The paper summarizes the available experimental results concerning the performance of grouts and concrete with talc as superplasticizer in contact with smectitic clay. Validerad;2017;Nivå 2;2017-08-17 (rokbeg)