General assessment of Shatt Al-Arab River, Iraq

Abstract

During the last four decades, the changes in the hydrological system of Shatt Al-Arab River have led to significant shifts in both the quantity and quality parameters in the river water. Therefore, the levels of surface water and the current velocity, water discharge, total dissolved solid and major ions in the river water at four sites have been measured in order to provide the general assessment of water flow in the river. The study indicates that there are spatial and temporal variations of the mixing process between freshwater and seawater within Shatt Al-Arab River. Therefore, the dynamics of the hydrochemical system is often complex and heterogeneous along the river, and the exact measurement of the net water discharge is a very complicated process.