Environmental Degradation in Albu Tarfa Area Thi-Qar Governorate Southern Iraq

Abstract

Albu Tarfa area had and still enduring desertification conditions during the last fifty years ago. This area located in the Mesopotamian Zone (Thi-Qar Governorate) and may represent an isolated past marsh in the area.

This area surrounded by a network of river channels and other means of water supply, as result this area is well vegetated. During the past 50 years ago and due to the climatic changes aridity revolved and the area began to loss its water supply, in which sand dunes occupied most of this area. The main types of sand dunes are of the barchans type, occurring within a barchanoid field. The dimensions of these dunes reach as high as 10m, with later extension of about 20m.

The direction of these dunes is North West – South East as related to the major wind direction in the area.

Mineralogy of the dunes consists mainly of Quartz, Carbonate rock fragments, feldspar, in addition to smaller amount of rock fragments (igneous and metamorphic). The main heavy minerals consist of opaques, chlorite, pyroxene, amphibole, zircon, garnet, rutile, and tourmaline.

This area represent religious tourism location which a tracks visitors from inside and outside of Iraq.

Our recommendations to revive this area is to fix the dunes by vegetation such as Hedysarum Scoparium and organizing the area by constructing roads and maintaining water and electricity supplying to the area.

Keyword: Desertification, Sand Dunes, CCD, XRD, XRF, Dikaka, Cross Stratifications, Molluscs