Settling the riverscape of Erbil (Kurdistan Region of Iraq): long-term human overprint on landforms and present-day geomorphological hazard (original) (raw)
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Journal of Maps, 2023
We present the result of the geomorphological mapping of the central sector of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Therein, landscape evolution was mostly overseen by the regional geodynamic, related to the Arabia-Eurasia convergence, and in the Quaternary, regional climate fluctuations contributed to shaping landforms. The combination of such processes affected the distribution, types, and evolution of landforms (related to structural, hillslope, fluvial, and karst processes), with a noteworthy influence on the development of the local drainage network, which belongs to Tigris River catchment. The Great Zab and Little Zab Riversthe main left tributaries of Tigris Riverprogressively cut anticline ridges growing in the area. Our analyses suggest that the structural deformation of the Zagros also controlled the evolution of the low-order channels of the hydrographic network. Since the Holocene, landforms dynamic was altered by intense human exploitation of the landscape and increased fluctuations between arid and humid conditions.
By jason Ur, lidewijde de jong, jessica giraud, james f. osborne and john macginnis In 2012, the Erbil Plain Archaeological Survey (EPAS) conducted its first season of fieldwork. The project's goal is the complete mapping of the archaeological landscape of Erbil, with an emphasis on the Neo-Assyrian and Hellenistic periods. It will test the hypothesis that the Neo-Assyrian landscape was closely planned. This first report emphasizes the project's field methodology, especially the use of a variety of satellite remote sensing imagery. Our preliminary results suggest that the plain was part of the urbanized world of Mesopotamia, with new cities of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Sasanian era identified.
Earth Surface Processes and Landform, 2022
Located along the Tigris River in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the Mosul Dam reservoir is the second biggest dam of the Near East and represents an important water storage for local human activities. The dam was built between 1981 and 1988 north of the village of Eski Mosul, submerging the course of the Tigris River for ca 100 km. The analysis of historical images derived from declassified Corona satellite imagery acquired between December 1967 and August 1968 reveals the pristine pattern of the Tigris River, including the seasonal changes of its riverbed, shifting across the hydrological year from meandering to anastomosing patterns. Geomorphological mapping based on Corona images allowed to estimate the seasonal modification of fluvial elements such as the floodplain and point, middle, and longitudinal bars. The comparison with Landsat data collected since the 1990ies showed the first phases of the basin filling and the control on the present-day aspect of the lake inherited from the setting of the Tigris channel belt and, more in general, the litho-structural control over the evolution of the local hydrographic network; we also document the influence of the original Tigris River course on its recent insertion into the lake. Our work allowed reconstructing the ancient fluvial landscape below the Mosul Dam Lake and the evolution of its riverscape controlled by litho-structural factors and seasonal variations of the river discharge. Finally, this contribution highlights the relevance of declassified intelligence satellite imagery in interpreting natural geomorphic processes and landforms today altered by human agency.
Journal of Maps, 2021
We present the geomorphological map of the northwestern part of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where the landscape expresses the tectonic activity associated with the Arabia-Eurasia convergence and Neogene climate change. These processes influenced the evolution of landforms and fluvial pathways, where major rivers Tigris, Khabur, and Great Zab incise the landscape of Northeastern Mesopotamia Anticlinal ridges and syncline trough compose the Zagros orogen. The development of water and wind gaps, slope, and karsts processes in the highlands and the tilting of fluvial terraces in the flat areas are the main evidence of the relationship between tectonics, climate variations and geomorphological processes. During the Quaternary, especially after the Last Glacial Maximum, fluctuating arid and wet periods also influenced local landforms and fluvial patterns of the area. Finally, the intensified Holocene human occupation and agricultural activities during the passage to more complex societies over time impacted the evolution of the landscape in this part of Mesopotamia.
Remote Sensing, 2020
Nowadays, geospatial techniques are a popular approach for estimating urban flash floods by considering spatiotemporal changes in urban development. In this study, we investigated the impact of Land Use/Land Cover (LULC) changes on the hydrological response of the Erbil basin in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). In the studied area, the LULC changes were calculated for 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014 and 2019 using the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and satellite images. The analysis of LULC changes showed that the change between 1984 and 2004 was slower than that between 2004 and 2019. The LULC analysis revealed a 444.4% growth in built-up areas, with a 60.4% decrease in agricultural land between 1984 and 2019. The influence of LULC on urban floods caused by different urbanization scenarios was ascertained using the HEC-GeoHMS and HEC-HMS models. Over 35 years, there was a 15% increase in the peak discharge of outflow, from 392.2 m3/s in 1984 to 450 m3/s in 2014, as well as the runoff volu...
Assessment of the Geomorphological Effects of Human Activity in Russeifa District, Jordan
Dirasat: Human and Social Sciences
The results of the study showed that the population growth rate in Ruseifa ranged between 13.5% to 8.35% for the period from 1952-1994, due to the displacement of refugees from Palestine and the Gulf due to wars, in addition to the industrial expansion of the area and the decline in land prices. That urban expansion and multiplicity of human activities in the Russeifa district resulted in a change in the features of the region, both topographically and geomorphologically, as the altitudes ranging from 690 to 720 widened from what they were previously, and reached 25%, while altitudes ranging from 600-630 decreased to 3% from the study area, and it witnessed a change in all elevation categories, and the nature of the slopes changed from flat and medium gradients to medium and light gradients, but the northeastern direction of the slope is still the predominant, and it reaches 15.36% in the study area, as the study showed a change in the characteristics of the stream. Over a period of...
Human Impacts on Landscapes: Lessons of Cities from the Past
William Morris Davis – Revista de Geomorfologia
The first cities emerged in the Middle East at the end of the 4th millennium BC. Studies in the field of archaeology, geomorphology, geoscience and history allow us to understand which types of hazards were affecting the cities, and how they had an impact on landscapes in the past, in the Middle East, but also in other parts of the world. There is much to be gained: these studies are fundamental to a better understanding of present-day hazards, to urban development, but also to remembering our heritage. Cities have always been susceptible to nature’s risks and natural disasters but have also – through urban development and through the proximity of great numbers of human beings –, generated their own specific hazards.
Recently developed modules in GRASS GIS combine spatial, climatic, geological, and cultural data in order to estimate how the long-term interactions among these factors contribute to the evolution of landscapes. Additionally, these modules allow users to visualize anthropogenic impacts of extensive agropastoralism on landscapes by subjecting the pre-defined catchment areas to repeated land use activities for a certain length of time. The results emphasize the economic and ecological value of extensive agropastoralism in the marginal landscapes, which make anthropogenic activities more sustainable in the long-term. The results of this research are not only significant for its methodological contributions in anthropological archaeology but also have broader significance for researchers interested in interdisciplinary approaches in assessing the long-term dynamics of human-environment relations.