Mesopotamian Journal of Marine Science

Water erosion is one of the most important environmental problems that cause soil degradation in the areas of water basins in the Syrian coast. The present study aims at determining the spatial distribution of the risk of water erosion of the lands of Al-Hawiz Basin (Jableh region) using the CORINE model. The CORINE model is based on calculating all factors that affect water erosion: soil erosion factor, erosion factor, inclination factor, ground cover fac tor. The soil susceptibility factor for erosion was calculated by estimating both the soil texture, soil depth and gravity percentage for preparing a potential risk map. The feasibility of both the soil susceptibility factor map and the slope map prepared from the use of DEM and the value of the erosion factor were calculated using system technology Geographical information. Then the ground cover map was prepared and classified into two rows according to the degree of protection. The actual risk map was prepared from the seriousness of the potential danger map and the land cover map. The study showed that 12.79% of the studied area is under the control of severe erosion while 32.10% of which had an average risk of erosion, and the risk of erosion was low in the largest part of the area (55.11%). The areas of severe erosion have been concentrated in the central western region of Lake Al-Sadd. It has been shown that vegetation is the most influencing factor in erosion, as it worked to reduce the high risk of possible soil erosion by 50.83%.

Samples of water were taken during February 2018 to November 2018 at ten stations in Al-Dalmaj Marshes, to cover all the marsh area. Physical and chemical properties including the natural water quality parameters, Total Dissolved Solids (8270-10781 mg/l), Turbidity (2.63-5.72 NTU), Electrical Conductivity (12.92-17.12mS/cm), Total Hardness (3204-4034 mg/l), Water Temperature (18-40 ºC), Air Temperature (20-45 ºC), Salinity (1.72-10.94 PSU), pH (6.98-7.61), Total Alkalinity (396.8-443 mg/l), Calcium (468-607 mg/l), Magnesium (492-687 mg/l), Chloride (2977-4286 mg/l), Sodium (568-1221 mg/l), Potassium (29-84 mg/l), Bicarbonate (137-1210 mg/l) and Sulfates (706-984 mg/l). The above values show the seasonal variations of water variables at the study stations using statistical methods to verify the results, and these results provide important reference information for further study.

The study was conducted to explain the variations of ten variables of WQI in four stations at Al-Hilla River which is the major branch of the Euphrates River, and located in the middle of Babylon Province. It extends for 101 km long. Water samples were collected from the river from June 2016 to May 2017. Ten of the physicochemical parameters were analyzed; dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, the potential of hydrogen, calcium, magnesium, nitrates, phosphates, turbidity and total alkalinity. The range of water quality index values of Al-Hilla River is 48.63 was recorded at station 1, the values indicate good water quality to very poor (85.67) at station 4, according to weighted arithmetic. The results indicated that there were significant differences between the first and fourth stations. The results values of WQI were 56.61 and 82.81 at stations 2 and 3 which indicate poor at station 2 and very poor status at station 3, respectively. The values of water quality index within turbidity ranged from 133.7 at station 1 to 192.04 at station 4 and the results values of WQI were 206.39 and 156.30 at stations 2 and 3. Significant (P<0.05) relationships were noted in the water quality index among the stations.

Caspian Turtles Mauremys caspica (Gmelin, 1774) are classified as an endangered species on the IUCN red list, by a variety of dangers including hunting, deliberate killings and infectious diseases. The present report included the Opportunistic bacterial isolation which caused clinical signs on the M. caspica Turtles caught from the East Al-Hammar freshwater marshes, during summer 2017. It was suffering from a fracture of the external shell, tissue damage, bacterial growth and acute inflammation of the body tissues. The common clinical signs were external hemorrhage, histopathological changes revealed degeneration and necrosis in all organs associated with chronic inflammatory cell infiltration and Melanomacrophage cells were detected in all turtle tissues. The most common macroscopic lesions found on the skin of the turtle and ulcerative skin, the result in abscesses and dermatitis, regenerative changes on skin lesions and ulcerative deep necrotic and gangrenous changes in the turtle examined. Four different genera of family Enterobacteriaceae which identified by the VITEK II system, with a probability level of 94-99%, Citrobacter freundii (29.06%), Klebsiella oxytoca (25.58%), Serratia fonticola (24.41%) and Enterobacter cloacae (20.41%). The result showed that of a total of sixty-five bacterial isolates from the necrotic lesions skin tissue, some of them which are considered a potential threat to the public health.

The current study was conducted to estimate the concentrations of three trace elements; nickel, lead and cadmium in the groundwater of eight wells, the six wells from w1 to w6 were close to the refineries at about half a kilometer to three kilometers and w7 and w8 wells were about 12.5 km away from the area (control wells) in the surrounding area of Southern Refineries (Al-Shuaiba), Al-Zubair district, Basrah Governorate, southern Iraq. Water samples were collected quarterly. The highest concentrations of lead was 0.933 μg/l in well W1 in spring whereas the minimum concentration of the lead was 0.208 μg/l in well W7 in summer while the rates of nickel concentrations ranged between the highest concentration of 0.445 μg/l in well W1 in winter and the lowest concentration 0.055 μg/l in well W8 during the fall. Cadmium recorded the highest concentration of 0.496 μg/l in well W3 in spring while the lowest concentration was 0.053 μg/l in well W8 in summer. It was concluded from the study that the oil refineries have a significant impact on pollution events. The hydrocarbon pollutants in the nearby wells water originated from these refineries.