Bashar F. Maaroof
@auiqplatform.com
Ph.D., Associate Professor, Geomorphologist, and Digital Terrain Analyst
Department of Geography, University of Babylon, Hillah, Babil 51001, Iraq
Ph.D., Professor (Associate), Geomorphologist, and Digital Terrain Analyst, Department of Geography, University of Babylon, Iraq.
Major Research Interests: Fluvial Geomorphology, Geomorphometry, Watershed Modeling, Geomorphological Mapping, Geomorphological Processes, Rivers, Water Erosion, Environmental Geomorphology, Ecosystems, Digital Terrain Analysis, and Geoinformatics (GIS).
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Geomorphology and Digital Terrain Analysis.
RESEARCH, TEACHING, or OTHER INTERESTS
Geography, Planning and Development, Earth-Surface Processes, Environmental Science, Water Science and Technology
Scopus Publications
Scholar Citations
Scholar h-index
Scopus Publications
Bashar Maaroof, Makki Omran, Fouad Al-Qaim, Jasim Salman, Bader Hussain, Mawada Abdellatif, Iacopo Carnacina, Ban Al-Hasani, Muhammad Jawad, and Wiam Hussein
National Library of Serbia
In this study, the environmental characteristics of Al-Hillah River were studied using geoinformatics applications, which is one of the geospatial techniques (GST). Applying this methodology, a geographic information system was developed, and it was supplied with laboratory data for the physical and chemical properties of 16 parameters for 2021. These data were linked to their spatial locations, using radar imagery of the Digital Elevation Model (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission), and Landsat ETM+7 satellite image. The results indicated that Al-Hillah River was affected by the liquid discharges of factories, cities, and farms spread on its sides, especially in the cities of Sadat Al-Hindiya, Al-Hillah, and Al-Hashimiyah. The seasonal changes in the climate affected some characteristics, including water temperature, pH, turbidity, total dissolved solids, and total hardness. The study showed that the concentration of sulfate (SO4) has risen above the permissible limits for the waters of Iraqi rivers. There are relatively high hardness and alkalinity values, but they were within the permissible limits. The study also showed that most of the results of environmental parameters that were used in the laboratory, were within the permissible limits of Iraqi water, except for sulfates. The justification for conducting this study is to help government agencies and decisionmakers to adopt a correct vision for development projects that serve Babil Governorate. Also, it is the first time that the environmental characteristics of Al-Hillah River are studied using geoinformatics applications.
Ban Al-Hasani, Mawada Abdellatif, Iacopo Carnacina, Clair Harris, Ayad Al-Quraishi, Bashar F. Maaroof, and Salah L. Zubaidi
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
AbstractThe impact of global climate change on water resources is a pressing concern, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, where water shortages are becoming increasingly severe. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) offers a promising solution to address these challenges. However, the process of selecting suitable RWH sites is complex. This paper introduces a comprehensive methodology that leverages various technologies and data sources to identify suitable RWH locations in the northern region of Iraq, considering both historical and future scenarios. The study employs remote sensing and geographic information systems to collect and process geospatial data, which are essential for the site selection process. AHP is utilized as a decision-making tool to assess and rank potential RWH locations based on multiple criteria, helping to prioritize the most suitable sites. The WLC approach is used to combine and weigh various factors, enabling a systematic evaluation of site suitability. To account for the uncertainty associated with future climate conditions, a stochastic weather generator is employed to simulate historical and future precipitation data for period (1980–2022) and (2031–2100). This ensures that the assessment considers changing climate patterns. Historical precipitation values ranged from 270 to 490 mm, while future projections indicate a decrease, with values varying from 255 to 390 mm. This suggests a potential reduction in available water resources due to climate change. The runoff for historical rainfall values ranged from 190 mm (poor) to 490 mm (very good). In the future projections, runoff values vary from 180 mm (very poor) to 390 mm (good). This analysis highlights the potential impact of reduced precipitation on water availability. There is a strong correlation between rainfall and runoff, with values of 95% for historical data and 98.83% for future projections. This indicates that changes in precipitation directly affect water runoff. The study incorporates several criteria in the model, including soil texture, historical and future rainfall data, land use/cover, slope, and drainage density. These criteria were selected based on the nature of the study region and dataset availability. The suitability zones are classified into four categories for both historical potential and future projections of RWH zones: very high suitability, covering approximately 8.2%. High suitability, encompassing around 22.6%. Moderate suitability, constituting about 37.4%. Low suitability, accounting for 31.8% of the study region. For the potential zones of RWH in the future projection, the distribution is as follows: very high suitability, approximately 6.1%. High suitability, around 18.3%. Moderate suitability, roughly 31.2%. Low suitability, making up about 44.4% of the study region. The research's findings have significant implications for sustainable water resource management in the northern region of Iraq. As climate change exacerbates water scarcity, identifying suitable RWH locations becomes crucial for ensuring water availability. This methodology, incorporating advanced technology and data sources, provides a valuable tool for addressing these challenges and enhancing the future of water management to face of climate change. However, more investigations and studies need to be conducted in near future in the study region.
Bashar Maaroof
National Library of Serbia
This paper studies geomorphometric characteristics of the Al-Shakak drainage basin, which is one of the valleys of the eastern Al-Jazirah region in the eastern parts of the Misan Governorate in southern Iraq. The natural factors, which are represented by surface, geological structure, and climate, have a direct impact on forming these characteristics, such as the stream orders, stream length, mean stream length, bifurcation ratio, stream frequency, drainage density, and channel maintenance. The values of these parameters vary at the level of the main basin and the secondary basins. The total stream orders of the Al-Shakak main basin reached five orders, and their values varied at the level of the secondary basins. As for the lengths of the streams of the main Al-Shakak basin, they reached 175.607 km, most of which were in the large basins. Regarding the average length of the streams, it is measured 0.805 km at the level of the main basin, 0.766 km at the level of the first order, and 0.445 km at the level of the fourth order. The values of the river bifurcation of Al-Shakak basin 1 amount to 3.476, which is the highest value. As for Al-Shakak basin 3, it reached 1.3, which is the lowest value. In addition, the value of the stream frequency of the Al-Shakak basin amounts to 2.253 km/km2, and the drainage density reached 1.786 km/km2, with the channel maintenance being 0.561 km2/km.