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AN-Najaf city is located 61 meters above the sea level in the dry desert of Iraq. It is one of the most important cities in Iraq due to religious tourism and continuously developing urban areas by constructing multi-storey buildings, bridges and shopping malls. This study aims to create a mapping database for sulfate in An-Najaf soil (Najaf centred and Al-Kufa cities’ soil). To evaluate the spatial variability of data, 464 boreholes and in situ tests were selected and analysed using Geographic Information System ArcGIS 10.2.1. The adopted method consisted of four steps: (1) data collection; (2) geotechnical data georeferencing; (3) interpolation methods and (4) establishment of maps. Nine maps were produced for depths 0-35 m for sulfate content in soil. In addition to two maps for sulfate content in groundwater and organic matter content for depths 0-2. Results showed that all the study area and for depths 0-2 meter has very high sulfate content in the soil. Sulfate values varies between 0.36%- 14% where all the results were higher than the permissible limit which is 0.2%. The sulfate content decreases with the depth yet still effective in some areas. Therefore, precautions have to be adopt to avoid risks. One of the precautions is to use sulfate resistance Portland cement (SRPC) for all concrete works that have contact with soil. Groundwater sulfate content in the study area was ranging between 84-239 %. These values were ineffective because they are lower than the permissible limit, which is 1460%. The organic matter content values vary between 0.05-2.34, the greatest part of the study area was lower than the permissible limit 1% and therefore ineffective. The PH values indicate that all the study area was alkaline so it is uninfluential. http://dx.doi.org/10.30572/2018/kje/090308

Water harvesting (WH) and aquifer recharge (AR) have been promoted in recent decades as solutions to the overexploitation of groundwater resources in many countries around the world. Remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) enable the analysis of many parameters to identify potential WH and AR sites and suitable zones for site-specific and cost-effective recharge structures. Iraq is located within an arid and semiarid region and thus suffers from water scarcity and absent surface water resources. The use of RS and GIS technology for detection of appropriate sites for WH and AR could potentially increase water availability. The criteria selected for determining appropriate WH and AR areas were runoff, drainage, geology, groundwater depth, slope, soil texture, and land use/land cover. The selection of these criteria was found to be more important and more frequent in a literature review for WH and AR, and the weightage of each criterion should be based on the opinion of experts. The obtained results indicated only five optimum sites for check dam construction for WH, due to their locations in suitable land class, slope (

The unified soil classification system (USCS) first proposed by Casagrande and subsequently developed by the Army Corps of Engineers. It widely used in many building codes and books. An-Najaf city is the most important city in Iraq due to its religious and spiritual value in the Muslim world, so it is fast expanding and continuous developing city in Iraq. The data from 464 boreholes in the study area for depths of 0–26 m have been used. 13 Soil samples were collected from each borehole with 13 depths level (0–26) m with 2 m intervals. The USCS was applied to the soil samples from 13 depth levels borehole. This research aims to create a geodatabase for soil properties for An-Najaf. The ArcGIS 10.5 software was used to interpolate the spatial data to produce 33 geotechnical maps for fine soil, coarse soil and USCS for 13 depth levels. For numerical soil data, Ordinary Kriging has been used for interpolation mapping of Fine and Coarse percentage data for each depth. For non-numerical (nominal) soil data (USCS class), the Indicator Kriging method is used. The results show that the coarse soil occupied 85–95% for depth 0–16 m and consist of (SP, SP-SM, SM) while fine soil occupied 5–15% consisting of (OL, CH, ML) subsequently, this soil when compacted has a permeability of pervious to semi impervious, good shearing strength, low to very low compressibility and acceptable workability as a construction material. The results also show that after 16 m depths until 26 m, the fine soil percentage increased to 40% with a coarse soil percentage of 60%, indicating changes in soil characteristics as the permeability became semi-pervious to impervious, fair shearing strength, medium compressibility and fair workability as a construction material. The study results will provide help and saving time, efforts and money in preliminary engineering designs. Validerad;2020;Nivå 2;2020-03-13 (johcin)

Brick factories distributed within the study area use fuel oil to complete the burning of the bricks, were high amounts of gases and suspended particles with different concentrations of heavy elements are produced and cause air and soil pollution. It is noted that the workers suffer from respiratory diseases and other health problems. This study is an attempt to detect the sources and concentrations of pollutants and to propose modalities for their treatment and reduction. Air and soil samples were collected from different sites in Abu Smeache brick factory in Al-Kifl area to the south of Babel city, Iraq, during two seasons (summer and winter). The process also included collecting and modelling of dust and soil samples from two depth, surface and sub-surface, to detect pollution and the mobility of heavy elements across the different depths. Heavy elements (Pb, Ni, Co), along with gases (CO, CO2, NO2, SO2) and total suspended particles (TSP) in the air, were analyzed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The air results showed high pollution with all the studied heavy elements, while the levels of TSP and SO2 were higher than global and Iraqi limits in most of the studied stations, especially in the winter. The results also showed significant pollution in the soil with lead along with slight contamination with nickel and cobalt. Soil contamination was evaluated using several contamination indices; the values of contamination factors (CF) for the lead were very high, while CF values for nickel and copper indicated low to moderate pollution. Also, the high values of PLI ˃1 in the soil indicated high pollution with heavy elements, which provides clear evidence of the impact of industrial human activities on the environment of the region. In addition, low values of i-geo indicated a moderate contamination with lead and an unpolluted status for both nickel and copper. These results indicate a great need to develop strategies to prevent and reduce pollution by heavy metals in the areas under rapid industrial and urban development.

The area which located along the road area between the cities of Najaf and Karbala areas are very important from hydrogeological used towards the groundwater reservoir which called Dibdibba formation. The reveal part of this sandy formation allows for replenishing and keeping its water by the rainwater penetration and surface flood. Groundwater movement flows through the reservoir from the West to the East and Southeast direction, so, it is unconfined aquifer which means the top surface (water table) is open for permeable materials. This area between the two cities invested for decades due to its importance in addition to the hydrogeological feature of the water reservoirs and hydraulic specifications. Many groundwater wells were drilled in this area to use this water resource for many purposes of farming in particular. There are many water wells in this infiltrated water reservoir upper region represented by the composition Dibdibba formation have been exploited as a sandstone fan or fan-shaped (alluvial fans) according to its sedimentary environment. This water-based reservoir in part on natural nutrition where the rains start this reservoir depletion of stocks over exploited of water in addition to the low levels of nutrition and natural reservoir groundwater and the exposure portion of the formation Dibdibba Sandy helped to renew and sustain its groundwater during the penetration of rainwater and surface water. This water-based reservoir in part on natural nutrition rain then this stock began gradually decreasing and downward due to over exploitation of water in addition to low natural nutrition levels of the groundwater reservoir. Groundwater quality in this reservoir characterized to be higher concentrated with dissolved salts. The results of Water quality index (Wqi) values display that the groundwater of present study location predicted to be severely contaminated and non-suitable for drinking usage at all sites of the wells.

Groundwater flows from high to low hydraulic head regions. This flow is controlled by Darcy velocity equation. Darcy velocity represents the flow velocity within the cross-sectional area of the soil. Actually, however, groundwater flows at a higher velocity than that of Darcy’s, called seepage velocity. Seepage velocity considers the real area (pores area) that is available for groundwater flow in calculations. There are many applications which are affected by the seepage/Darcy velocity, e.g., underground thermal energy storage systems and contaminants transfer in soil. In spite of the importance of Darcy/seepage velocity in many applications, there is no specific method to depict these velocities on a large-scale map. This paper proposed a tool that can be used to depict the seepage velocity on a large scale. The considered tool is offered by ArcMap/GIS software. To explain how this tool works, Babylon (Iraq) was considered as a study area. ISBN för värdpublikation: 978-3-030-51209-5, 978-3-030-51212-5, 978-3-030-51210-1

Seismic vulnerability is very important for buildings, especially old and dilapidated buildings that did not take into account the impact of earthquakes. In the past years, the seismic effect has not been taken into account, and recently Iraq has experienced a growing seismic activity. For this reason, it is crucial to create a seismic database for all cities. The present paper used SPT-N test results to assess seismic vulnerability for Al-Najaf city by producing five geotechnical maps using the GIS program for all seismic design categories. The data utilized in this research are obtained from 130 boreholes at 30 m depth distributed in the study area. The results show that the new RC frames must be designed as moment-resisting frames to resist future earthquakes. All the existing RC buildings are vulnerable to earthquake effects and need to be strengthened to act as seismic-resistant systems. The strengthened structure should act as ordinary reinforced concrete moment frame (ORCMF), intermediate reinforced concrete moment frame (IRCMF), or special reinforced concrete moment frame (SRCMF), depending on the building location and its risk category type. The use of soil investigation data to assess the site class of soil (instead of assuming D for unknown soil) gave more economical choices for the reinforced concrete moment-resisting frames. Hence, for buildings types I, II, and III in some regions of the city, ORCMF can be used instead of IRCMF. In the same areas, IRCMF can be used instead of SRCMF for building type IV.

Malignant hypertension (hypertensive emergency), is an extreme elevation of blood pressure under certain conditions that can lead to organ damage and other serious consequences. It is a common condition that affects about one in three Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An elevation of systolic blood pressure above 180 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure above 120 mmHg is considered a hypertensive emergency. This article addresses the case of a 61-year-old female patient who presented to the ER with a semicomatose and gasping condition and response to painful stimuli with an unclear voice. She also had unstable vital signs, with a blood pressure of 370/200 mmHg, a pulse rate of 115, a respiratory rate of 22, and a pulse oximetry of 96%, but no fever. Her son provided a brief history and reported that a stressful condition had occurred at home one hour before; she had begun to scream and been brought to the ER by ambulance in the condition described above. Cardiac monitoring and an electrocardiograph were performed and indicated a normal condition besides the unstable vital signs. Oxygen was administered via a nasal cannula with 20 mg of intravenous hydralazine, and the patient’s blood pressure improved progressively. Moreover, she regained consciousness with no end-organ damage. A hypertensive emergency is usually associated with end-organ damage, such as heart, kidney, eye, or brain damage. However, in this case, despite the extreme elevation of her blood pressure, the patient suffered no organ damage. It is essential to manage the extreme elevation of blood pressure as soon as possible and monitor the patient for consequences.

Myopericarditis remains a prominent infectious inflammatory disorder throughout a patient's lifetime. Moreover, viral pathogens have been proven to be the leading contributors to myopericarditis in the pediatric and adult populations. Despite the current comprehensive knowledge of myocardial injury in viral and post-viral myopericarditis, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2-induced myopericarditis are poorly understood. This report presents a case of coronavirus (COVID-19) fulminant myopericarditis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) in a middle-aged male patient: a 51-year-old man with a history of hypertension who arrived to the emergency department with a dry cough, fatigue, dyspnea, and a fever. A real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay confirmed a diagnosis of COVID-19 infection, resulting in the patient's admission to the airborne isolation unit for clinical observation. When his condition began to deteriorate, the patient was transferred to the cardiac care unit after electrocardiography detected cardiac injury, demonstrating diffuse ST-segment elevation. Laboratory evaluations revealed elevated troponin T and BNP, with an echocardiogram indicating global left ventricular hypokinesia and a reduced ejection fraction. The patient was treated with hydroxychloroquine, azithromycin, dobutamine, remdesivir, and ventilatory support. This specific case highlights the severity and complications that may arise as a direct result of COVID-19 infection.

Al-Hawizeh Marsh is considered a major marsh in the south of Iraq with a longitude of 47° 32″–47° 45″ and latitude of 31° 30″–31° 42″, length of 80 km and width of 30 km, while the depth is from 1.5 to 4 m. It has a significant impact on the ecosystem and provides habitat for several types of living creatures. The surface water and the agricultural lands surrounding this marsh suffered from high level degrees of salinity. In the last decades, radical deterioration of water quality in this marsh happened because of the post-war-related events and several human activities. Landsat-8 data was used to predict and evaluate the spatial variation and map distributions of the salinity, SO4 and CaCO3 within Al-Hawizeh Marsh during the two seasons in the year 2017 based on the development of salinity and minerals mathematical equations. The evaluated values for salinity, SO4 and CaCO3 are found to be minimal in winter and maximum in autumn. The values of correlation coefficient (R2) between the real data and the equation results for the salinity, SO4 and CaCO3 during the two seasons are 0.95, 0.96 and 0.92, respectively.

This study was undertaken by analyzing data from satellite image (Landsat-8 OLI) and geographical information system (GIS) to find the relationship between water parameters and water indices of spectral images. The main purpose of this research was to develop a model for the physical and chemical parameters of Gharraf stream in Iraq. The water parameters used in this study included: acidity (PH), Total Dissolved Solids (T.D.S), Alkalinity(ALK), Electrical Conductivity (E.C), Calcium(Ca), Chloride (CL), Sodium (Na), Sulfate (SO4), Potassium (k), Total suspended solid (T.S.S), Total Hardness (TH).Where the samples were taken to seventeen stations with two seasons and at the same time took a satellite image on 4/FEB, 11 / MAY.GIS techniques were used in the beginning to project the coordinates of seventeen stations along the stream in Landsat-8 satellite image for extract data. Then, these data are treated in SPSS software for purpose finding correlation and regression equations. Positive strong correlations between the reflectance of the satellite image and the water parameters in 4/FEB and 11/ MAY with five stations, helped to build six regression models. These models could be used to predict these six water parameters (PH, E.c, CL, SO4, Na and K) at any point along the stream in Iraq from the satellite image directly.

In many parts of the world, groundwater quality is decreasing due to urbanization industrialization and use of agricultures in rural areas. This subject has formed an urgent need to determine the suitability of groundwater for various purposes. The aim of this study is to determine a groundwater index for groundwater use for irrigation in agriculture. The study is carried out in an agricultural area; near Al Kufa city, North of Al Najaf province, Iraq. Many chemical variables are used in this model, including (total dissolved solids TDS, electrical conductivity EC, sodium Na, potassium K and iron Fe), in addition to some of the heavy metals (cadmium Cd, lead Pb, chromium Cr, and nickel Ni), that also added to the index. The weight’s parameters are determined using analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and classified into five groups based on the human health significance of these parameters and negative effect on agriculture. The result of this study indicates that the water quality index (WQI) records values between (0 and 4.33), and in which the value of (2.16) represents the limit between unpolluted and polluted groundwater. This study confirms that all groundwater samples over the study area are suitable for agriculture. The final WQI values are exported to ArcMap environment to prepare the final WQI maps of study area.

Inattentive spells are neurological disorders affecting the neuronal pathways that lead to a decrease in neuronal conduction velocity. The pathways of attention normally function systematically by utilising an electrical conduction system, in order to transmit and process neuronal information. A defect in the attention pathways leads to cognitive impairments that have a detrimental effect on the patient’s health and well-being. Interestingly, patients with a defective attention pathway reported higher incidence of motor vehicle collisions and injuries. The authors report the case of an index patient, 26-year-old female, with chief complaints of frequent prolonged gaze, mild anxiety, insomnia, poor concentration and a decrease in attention span, to assess the correlation between neuronal pathway defects and the efficacy of Omega 3-6-9 treatment. Also, to facilitate the conduction velocity between the neurons. The patient’s symptoms and progression were observed during a five months period. This patient after being treated with Omega 3-6-9, noticed a drastic improvement in concentration, mood, and circadian rhythm. However, after an abrupt interruption of the treatment, her symptoms recurred over a short period of time.

In recent years, the problem of rising salinity levels in the Shatt al-Arab river in southern Iraq has been repeated, which has directly affected the living and health situation and the agricultural activity of these areas. Six sampling stations were selected along Shatt al-Arab to estimate the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the river; these stations included the following: Qurna, Labani, City Centre, Kateban, Corniche, and Sihan. In addition, three Landsat-8 satellite images which were taken at the same time as collected samples also used for detecting the salinity in the river. After processing of atmospheric correction and inserted remote sensing indices, the reflectance of water extracted from satellite images was used to express the spectral characteristics of different TDS concentrations. Correlation and regression were used to obtain accurate models for detecting the salinity depending on the spectral reflectance of Landsat 8 operational land image OLI. The results presented Pearson correlation (r) value of 0.70, 0.97, and 0.71, and correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.56, 0.94, and 0.85 between field data with spectral data of salinity index 2 (SI-2) derived from the green and blue bands of Landsat obtained in 2015, 2017, and 2018 respectively. In conclusion, remote sensing and GIS technologies coupled with spectral modeling are useful tools for providing a solution of future water resources planning and management, and also offer great undertaking as a means to improve knowledge of water quality and support water decision making.

Most of the third world countries having rivers passing through them suffer from the water contaminant problem. This problem is considered so difficult to get the water quality within the standard allowable limits for drinking, as well as for industrial and agricultural purposes. This research aims to assess the water quality of the Tigris River using the water quality index method and GIS software. Twelve parameters (Ca, Mg, Na, K, Cl, SO4, HCO3, TH, TDS, BOD5, NO3, and EC) were taken from 14 stations along the river. The weighted arithmetic method was applied to compute the water quality index (WQI). The interpolation method (IDW) was applied in ArcGIS 10.5 to produce the prediction maps for 12 parameters at 11 stations along the Tigris River during the wet and dry seasons in 2016. The regression prediction was applied on three stations in the Tigris River between observed values and predicted values, from the prediction maps, in both seasons. The results showed that the regression prediction for all parameters was given the acceptable values of the determination coefficient (R2). Furthermore, the state of water quality for the Tigris River was degraded downstream of the Tigris River, especially at the station (8) in Aziziyah in the wet and dry seasons and increase degradation clearly at Qurnah (Basrah province) in the south of Iraq. This paper considers the whole length of the Tigris River for the study. This is important to give comprehensive knowledge about the contamination reality of the river. Such that it becomes easier to understand the problem of contamination, analyze it, and then find the suitable treatments and solutions.

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)

Al-Hillah Qadhaa is located in the central part of Iraq. It covers an area of 908 km2 with a total population of 856,804 inhabitants. This Qadhaa is the capital of Babylon Governorate. Presently, no landfill site exists in that area based on scientific site selection criteria. For this reason, an attempt has been carried out to find the best locations for landfills. A total of 15 variables were considered in this process (groundwater depth, rivers, soil types, agricultural land use, land use, elevation, slope, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, power lines, roads, railways, urban centres, villages and archaeological sites) using a geographic information system. In addition, an analytical hierarchy process was used to identify the weight for each variable. Two suitable candidate landfill sites were determined that fulfil the requirements with an area of 9.153 km2 and 8.204 km2. These sites can accommodate solid waste till 2030.

The main objective of the paper is to create geotechnical maps for three soil chemical properties in An-Najaf and Kufa cities’ soil by utilizing of GIS tools. This properties are the chloride concentration, calcium carbonate (CaCO 3) and total soluble salts where they affect the durability of reinforced structural elements. This paper provides an easy accurate way to represent soil properties levels for different depths of soil and create reliable database that will help engineers and decision makers. The data included in this paper were collected for (464) boreholes with depths up to 35 m distributed on residential areas in all of An-Najaf and Kufa cities. Arc-Map of GIS 10.2.1 was used to produce the maps. It has been concluded that chloride content in the soil of the study area range from - 0.01 to 0.99% and with an average of 0.5. The maximum value found in at depth 4–6 m while the minimum value found in location at depth 4–6, 8–10 and 14–16 m. The chloride content in most of An-Najaf province has exceeded the permissible limit and for all, this required taking percussions to protect foundations. While calcium carbonate content in the soil of the study area range from 53 to 0.18 and with an average of 26.6. The maximum and the minimum values found at depth 4–6 m. Calcium carbonate content is within the permissible limits in most locations except in some locations. Validerad;2019;Nivå 2;2019-06-10 (oliekm)

Underground thermal energy storage (UTES) systems are well known applications around the world, due to their relation to heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) applications. There are six kinds of UTES systems, they are tank, pit, aquifer, cavern, tubes, and borehole. Apart from the tank, all other kinds are site condition dependent (hydro-geologically and geologically). The aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) system is a widespread and desirable system, due to its thermal features and feasibility. In spite of all the advantages which it possesses, it has not been adopted in very shallow groundwater (less than 2 m depth) regions, till now, due to the susceptibility of the storage efficiency of these systems to the in-site parameters. This paper aims to find a reliable method that can be used to find the best location to install ATES systems. The concept of the suggested method is based on integrating three methods. They are, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), the DRASTIC index method, and ArcMap/GIS software. The results from this method include a criterion that summarizes the best location to install an ATES system. This criterion is depicted by ArcMap/GIS software, producing raster maps that specify the best location for the storage system. The suggested method can be used to find the best location to install the thermal storage, especially in susceptible aquifers.

There is a global attention that the future energy systems will be based on renewable energy like solar and wind. The large-scale utilization of renewables in space heating and cooling requires large Thermal Energy Storage TES to overcome the varying supply and demand. The process of producing the best Underground Thermal Energy Storage UTES system pass through two steps: first, finding the best type of UTES system, second, finding the best locations to install UTES system. Both of these two steps depend extremely on the site specific parameters such that the depth to the groundwater, transmissivity, type of soil, the depth to the bedrock, and seepage velocity. The purpose of this paper is to explain some of the site specific parameters that the type of UTES-system depends on and explain the suitable type of UTES systems. This study considers Babylon province (Iraq) as study area. This province has electricity deficiency due to Heating Ventilating and Air Conditioning HVAC applications. The methodology of this study includes reviewing the literature that consider the study area, and using Arc Map/GIS to visualize some of the in-site parameters. The results indicate that the best type of UTES system for the considered region is either aquifer or pit type, due to the type of the soil and the depth to the crystalline bedrock. The hydraulic conductivity and the seepage velocity in the considered region are (0.0023–2.5) m/d and (1.3 × 10−6 – 3.45 × 10−3) m/d respectively. These conditions satisfy the standards which regard aquifer type.

The polluters of total suspended particles (TSP) and some heavy metals (Cd, Co, and Ni) concentrations were studied in the areas of Al-Fatha, Al-Alam and Baiji, Iraq. These concentrations were measured for selected 22 sample locations for two periods, January and July 2013. The analyzed values of (TSP) and (Cd) exceeded the limits of Iraqi National and the World Health Organization (WHO) for the two periods. Also, (Ni) values exceeded the limits for July only, while (Co) values were under the limits for the two periods. The difference between the two periods reflects the effect of the wind speed and direction, rainfall, and the intensity of the dust storms during the two months respectively. GIS technique makes optimal predictions possible by examining the relationships between all the sample points and producing a continuous surface of polluter’s concentration. Therefore, GIS was used to produce predictions and probabilities maps for the critical polluter values in the study area Validerad; 2016; Nivå 1; 20160128 (nadhir)

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.

A total of 73 soil samples were initially analyzed for lead (Pb) concentration as an indicator of the environment impact of smelter activity in the Port Pirie, South Australia. Chemometric techniques were used to assess the ability of near-infrared (NIR) reflectance spectroscopy to predict soil Pb using spectrally active soil characteristics such as soil carbon (C). The result indicated a strong linear relationship between log-transformed data of soil Pb and spectral reflectance in the range between 500 and 612 nm with R2 = 0.54 and a low root-mean-square error (RMSEv = 0.38) for the validation mode with an acceptable ratio of performance to deviation and ratio of error range (1.6 and 7.7, respectively). This study suggested that NIR spectroscopy based on auxiliary spectrally active components is a rapid and noninvasive assessment technique and has the ability to determine Pb contamination in urban soil to be useful in environmental health risk assessment. Validerad;2018;Nivå 2;2018-05-21 (andbra)

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)

The global impact of shale oil has revolutionized the world’s energy markets, resulting in significantly lower oil prices, higher global gross domestic product, changing geopolitics and shifted business models for oil and gas companies. Further and developed research initiative is required to fill critical gaps in knowledge at the interface of shale oil development along with environmental protection, so countries can prepare better for its energy future. This paper explores the characterization of Iraqi originated oil shale using various analytical techniques, such as mass spectrometry (MS), infrared spectroscopy (IR), and Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrography (GC/MS). Based upon analytical results, it is found that the majority of chemical structure is in aliphatic hydrocarbon forms. Validerad;2018;Nivå 1;2018-02-05 (rokbeg)

Comparison of two conventional analytical techniques such as X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) for measuring Pb concentrations in soil samples was achieved using field and laboratory work. Seventy-three samples were collected from urban areas surrounding the large lead smelter at South Australia, as an indicator of the environment impact of smelter activity. Soil Pb concentrations were determined using hand-held XRF analyser under laboratory conditions. ICP-MS analysis on digested soils (using a microwave-assisted nitric acid digestion-extraction) was applied to validate p-XRF data. The analysis showed that Pb concentrations determined by XRF correlated with high linearity with Pb concentrations determined by ICP-MS measurements (R2 = 0.89). Statistical test (t test) was applied to the data of both methods applied without any significant difference between the two techniques. These results indicated that ICP-MS corroborated XRF for Pb soil measurements and suggests that XRF was a reliable and quick alternative to traditional analytical methods in studies of environmental health risk assessment, allowing for much larger sampling regimes in relatively shorter times and could be applied in the field. Validerad;2017;Nivå 2;2017-06-27 (andbra)

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 highly depends on its surface water resources. Now it is facing water shortage problems. For these reasons, the utilization of groundwater will be increasing with time. Karbala Governorate is located in the central part of Iraq. It covers an area of 5034 km2 and the population exceeds one million. It is characterized by an arid or semiarid environment. Karbala Governorate lack surface water resource and consequently, groundwater is the only available resource. The main groundwater aquifer within the area is Dibdibba formation. It is composed of poorly sorted sand and sand stone with gravel. In this research hydrological and hydrogeological information were used to find out the magnitude and the direction of groundwater seepage velocity. The results indicate that groundwater flow toward the flood plain to the east of the study region. The seepage velocity ranges from 0 to 0.18 m/d, with a general increase when moving from the west to the east. Validerad; 2017; Nivå 1; 2017-04-07 (rokbeg)

Groundwater is one of the main resources from the earth, especially for arid or semiarid countries. For this reason, it is very important to keep it unpolluted. Drastic Model is one of the widely used models to detect groundwater vulnerability to the contaminants that are found on ground surface. In this model, it is assumed that the vulnerability of the groundwater is affected by seven hydrological parameters. They are: depth from the surface ground to groundwater, net recharge into the aquifer from the surface, aquifer media, soil media, area topography, impact of vadose zone and aquifer hydraulic conductivity. In this study, the DRASTIC model was applied on the northern part of Babylon governorate in Iraq, to predict the vulnerability of Groundwater in that area. The results indicate that the vulnerability is very low to low grade. Validerad; 2017; Nivå 1; 2016-12-29 (andbra)

Babylon Governorate covers an area of 5315 km2 with a population that reaches about 1,974,490 inhabitants in the central part of Iraq. Iraq produced 31,000 tons/day solid waste in 2013. The Governorate of Babylon produces annual 483,221 tons of solid waste. Management of collection and disposal of waste in Babylon Governorate is done through open dumping of waste and poor collection process. These sites do not conform to the scientific and environmental criteria applied in the selection of landfill sites. To find out how much solid waste is expected in the future, two methods were used to calculate the population growth in Babylon Governorate to the year 2030. The results showed that the total waste in 2030 will be 761,104 tons and 943055 tons while the cumulated quantity of solid waste expected till 2030 was 12,494,521 tons and 14,095,437 tons according to the first and second methods respectively. Validerad; 2015; Nivå 1; 20150717 (nadhir)

Selecting a landfill site is a difficult task because the process depends on many factors and restrictions. Landfill is an optimal solution for the disposal of solid waste in Al-Musayiab Qadhaa, which is located in the northern part of Babylon Governorate. At the moment, there is no landfill site in that area that follows the scientific selection site criteria. For this reason, in this research, fifteen variables were considered (groundwater depth, rivers, soil types; agriculture lands use, land use, elevation, slope, gas pipelines, oil pipelines, power lines, roads, railways, urban centers, villages and archeological sites) using geographic information system (GIS) to find out the best suitable landfill site. In addition, two methods of multi-criteria decision-making were used to derive weights for criterion’s maps on GIS to obtain potential landfill sites. The first method is analytical hierarchy process (AHP) which was used to identify the weight for each criterion from the matrix of pairwise comparisons. The second method was the simple additive weighting (SAW) which is a simple method to solve the problem of the selection landfill sites. After comparison of the results obtained based on combining two final maps resulted from methods of AHP and SAW using GIS environment to determine the pixels percentage of matching and non-matching for two maps, two suitable candidate landfill sites were identified that satisfy the requirements with an area of 7.965–5.952 km2. Area of these sites can accommodate the solid waste generated from the Qadhaa up to 2030. Validerad; 2017; Nivå 2; 2017-03-06 (andbra)

Irrigation Water Quality Index (IWQI) for groundwater within the Geographic Information System(GIS) environment is proposed so that it can be used in assessing the groundwater vulnerability. Themodel was applied to the Damman aquifer in the western part of Iraq. Thirty nine sites were chosen forthe investigation of the Damman aquifer. Triplicate ground water samples were collected from eachsite (during wet and dry seasons of 2013). Variables tested in each sample include: pH, EC, totalhardness Ca+2, Mg+2, Cl-, Na+ and SAR. The final water quality map constructed for the aquifershowed that there are three major regions. The first is in the northeastern part of the area while thesecond region is confined to the southeastern part. Finally, the third region extended along the westernpart of the study area. When this map was converted according to the suggested model, it showed thatthe water quality of the Damman aquifer is marginal for use for agriculture purposes.Journal Validerad; 2014; 20141118 (nadhir)