Characterizing of some hydrochemical parameters of Tigris River, Iraq, with the aid of GIS

Abstract

Nine stations along Tigris River in Iraq were selected to study the spatial and temporal changes of some selected parameters for the period 2009-2012. These parameters include discharge, Total Dissolved Solids,(TDS),NO₃,BOD and COD. Water type is of bicarbonate along the northern stations (Feshkhabour, Mosul, Sharkat and Samarra) and transforms into sulfate in the remaining central and southern stations. GIS was used to characterize the temporal and spatial changes of these parameters along the selected River Tigris stations. Discharges values of all stations show significant temporal decreasing patterns and spatial decreasing patterns along these stations were also noticed. TDS values show noticeable temporal changes for the present stations, whereas sharp increasing changes downstream direction were observed. NO₃, BOD and COD spatial and temporal changes show that their values show no indication on pollution and that their values for the high and low flow conditions are within the normal range values.

Keywords, discharge, water type, GIS, spatial analyses, temporal change, Tigris River, Iraq