Varoujan K. Sissakian

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• M.Sc., Komar University of Science and Technology Sulaimaniyah KRG Iraq.
• Senior Researcher at Komar University of Science and Technology

This study uses seven criteria (i.e., rainfall data, water runoff, slope, drainage density, geology, soil, and land use/cover) to investigate rainwater harvesting in the Erbil Watershed in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The Triangulated Irregular Network (TIN) layer was used to calculate the storage capacity of each dam. The drainage densit...

Al-Adhaim River is one of the main tributaries of the Tigris River, it has three main tributaries: Khassa Soo, Aq Soo, and Tuz Chia, all of which are seasonal streams. The course of Al-Adhaim River and its three tributaries flow in a very rugged topography, especially in the upper courses with high gradients. The exposed rocks in the catchment area...

The Erbil Citadel is located in the center of Erbil City; the capital of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The shape of the citadel is a large, oval hill. The Citadel was inhabited more than 6,000 years ago and is thought to be one of the longest-continuously inhabited sites in the world. Therefore, the Citadel was announced in 2014 as a World Heritage...

In a previous study, the stability of eleven Haibat Sultan Road Crossing stations was assessed using Bejerman's Method. Amongst these 11 studied stations with the highest potential for slope failures, four stations (4, 5, 6, and 9) could be evaluated using kinematic analyses in another previous paper. This study focused on comparing the analysis re...

The Iraqi territory forms the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate, which is in collision with the Eurasian Plate. The collision of the plates has formed the Zagros Foreland Basin, which includes the Zagros Fold–Thrust Belt. The belt covers the majority of the northern part of Iraq (Kurdistan Region of Iraq) and parts of the central part of Iraq....

The Hamamok Dam is an earthfill dam with a height of 25 m and length of 125 m; constructed in 2011; located northwest of Koya town on a deep canyon-like valley that flows along the southeastern plunge of the Bana Bawi anticline; which forms Bawagi Mountain. The exposed rocks in the site belong to the Pila Spi and Gercus formations; however, rocks o...

Denudation involves weathering mountains and soil formation over long periods and is classified as soil degradation. This study focuses on the relationship between uplift and denudation using the hypsometric index (HI) and river profile steepness as key points to describe erosional processes and their relationship with environmental land degradatio...

Groundwater is an essential water source in many areas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI). The groundwater can be used for many purposes such as municipal, agricultural, and domestic. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of groundwater in the Kani-Qirzhala area. The study area covers 60 km 2 , and includes twenty-seven water well...

The Iraqi Western Desert (IWD) is characterized by enormous geodiversity types in different geological aspects; including geomorphology, lithology, structural geology, mineral deposits, karst forms, and geological hazards. Within each of the mentioned aspects, different forms of different shapes, sizes, and origins can be seen in different parts of...

The Safeen Mountain is one of the main mountains in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, it forms one of the long anticlines trending NW – SE. The exposed formations on the top of the mountain are Qamchuqa, Bekhme, and Shiranish, with carbonate rocks of different types and thicknesses. Sampling took place in the exposed rocks on the top of the mountain wher...

Iraq covers an area of 437072 km 2 in the northeastern part of the Middle East. Its population now is more than 40 million. It relies mainly on its water resources from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. Recently, Iraq has been experiencing a severe water scarcity problem. This is mainly due to climate change, increased hydrolog...

The Khurmala Formation is exposed in restricted areas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, usually between the Kolosh and Gercus formations. One of those exposed areas is the Haibat Sultan Mountain which extends from Koya town and eastwards to Sulaymaniyah city with NW-SE trend, where it passes to the Sinjar Formation. The rocks of the latter are used...

Erbil Governorate is one of four governorates in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, it is the capital of the region. Different data about the population and water consumption in Erbil Governorate and those of Erbil City were reviewed to write the current article. The coverage area of the governorate is 14,872 km2, whereas that of Erbil City is 1131.44 k...

This paper presents a geomorphological reconstruction of the urban landscape of Erbil (Kurdistan Region of Iraq), aimed at explaining how human groups settled the region since the prehistory and contributed modifying natural surface processes. Our reconstruction on landforms evolution is based on satellite and historical aerial images and field con...

Iraq is located in the extreme northeastern part of the Arabian Plate, which is in collision with the Iranian (Eurasian) Plate. The collision, which is still ongoing has created tens of folds some of which exhibit different types of faults. The exerted compressional forces are believed to be decreasing southwestwards as being far from the collision...

Iraqi territory is located in the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate covering the collision zone with the Eurasian (Iranian) Plate in the northeast. This collision, which is still active with convergent tectonics, has caused deformation in the rocks of the Zagros Mountains with different intensities. The deformation intensity decreases southwes...

Iraq is part of the Fertile Crescent with the two large rivers: Tigris and Euphrates and their tributaries that secure the required quantity and quality of water to the Iraqi population for their different uses; including agriculture, industry, and other domestic requirements. During the last decades, however, the quantity and quality of water in t...

The Qara Chough anticline is a part of the Qara Chough Range, which consists of three parts; the middle one is in the form of a small dome called Makhmour Dome, whereas the northern and southern parts are long and narrow anticlines and are called Qara Chough North and Qara Chough South anticlines. The Qara Chough South anticline is a double plungin...

Al-Adhaim River is a tributary of the Tigris River, it has three main tributaries: Khassa Soo, Aq Soo, and Tuz Chia, all of which are seasonal streams. The course of Al-Adhaim River and its three tributaries flow in a very rugged topography, especially in the upper courses with high gradients. The main present rocks in the catchment area are soft c...

The Bradost and Chinara mountains are two well-known geomorphic features in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), forming two anticlines, besides Shireen and Sare Musa anticlines, which are located north of the Bradost anticline, all four anticlines trend NW – SE. The four anticlines are dissected by the Greater Zab River that swings along its course w...

The Bradost and Chinara mountains are two well-known geomorphic features in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), forming two anticlines, besides Shireen and Sare Musa anticlines, which are located north of the Bradost anticline, all four anticlines trend NW – SE. The four anticlines are dissected by the Greater Zab River that swings along its course w...

The Iraqi Western and Southern deserts are part of the Iraqi Stable Shelf (Inner Platform) that belongs to the Arabian Plate. Therefore, both deserts lack tectonic forms like folds and faults; however, very rarely faults and regional lineaments can be seen in both deserts. Although both deserts are tectonically stable, tens of Neotectonic indicatio...

raq, like most Middle Eastern countries, is suffering from the effects of Climate Change. The effects are in form of deterioration and degradation of lands, including agricultural lands, an increase in dust storms, an increase in daily temperatures, decreasing annual rainfall, decreasing annual snowfall, decreasing annual water income in the main r...

The Sinjar anticline is a double plunging, trending almost E-W in the northwestern part of Iraq. It extends in Syria for about 42 km, whereas in Iraq, its length is about 91 km, and the width is about 31 km. The northern limb (45˚-80˚) is steeper than the southern limb (15˚-25˚), with average plunges dip of 35˚ and axial plane dipping of 47.5˚ sout...

Safeen anticline is one of the largest anticlines in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), with NW – SE trend. The anticline shows clear lateral growth as deduced from different anomalous drainage patterns and forms, besides different geomorphological forms, which are indicative of lateral growth. Among those forms are water gaps, wind gaps, abandoned...

Visual interpretation of satellite images is a very significant technique to recognize and interpret structural features, which indicate lateral growth of folds, the origin of folds, and dating of folds using the exposure dating method. In this study, Landsat 8 (ESSRI) and Google Earth images are used to recognize structural features at Pira Magroo...

The Pirmam and Bana Bawi anticlines are two elongated anticlines located in the central northern part of the Kurdistan Region of north Iraq (KRI), in the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate. We have used satellite images and geological maps to interpret the presented data and to calculate the rates of uplift and down wards (subsidence) amounts,...

Received: 19 August 2022 In the valley of the Euphrates River to the south of the Haditha city (West Iraq), the dissolution of the carbonate rocks which underlie residual soil gives rise to numerous sinkholes. These sinkholes are a potential hazard to human safety and damage to the existing infrastructure. The exposed rocks in the area under consid...

Climate Changes have impacted our planet since the beginning of time. These were manifested by cyclic Ice Ages and Warm Periods ever since. The changes were caused by natural forcing such as, continental drift, plate tectonics, major volcanic eruptions, and internal dynamics of earth and oceans interactions with the atmosphere. The present warm per...

Received: 19 May 2022 The structural forms (folds and faults) in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region exhibit more complexity in the northern and northeastern parts of the region; accordingly, complicated geomorphic forms were developed too. This is attributed to the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates with a convergent boundary that runs about 35-4...

Iraq depends on its water resources from the water of the Tigris and Euph-rates Rivers and their tributaries. Now, the flow of these rivers is decreasing, and Iraq is experiencing a water shortage problem. The situation is expected to be graver in the future if no action is considered. It is expected that the population will be about 70 million in...

Erbil city is constructed in a flat plain with moderate gradient increasing northwards, the plain is dissected by tens of ephemeral wadis. The maximum elevation in the high lands NE of Erbil city is 1062 m (a.s.l.), whereas the elevation of the center of Erbil city is 420 m (a.s.l.). The average gradient from the highest part to the center of the c...

The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) forms the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate that is colliding with the Eurasian Plate. Due to the ongoing collision, the whole KRI territory is folded; accordingly, long anticlines are developed in NW – SE trend, they change west wards to almost E – W. The Cretaceous carbonate rocks form the bulk of the antic...

The Sinjar Anticline (Mountain) is an outstanding structural and geomorphic feature in the northwestern part of Iraq. The anticline is a double plunging with almost E – W trend dividing the gently rolling plain in which it is developed into two parts, Al-Jazira Plain in the south and Rabi’a Plain in the north. The Sinjar anticline is asymmetrical w...

Besides several causes, the researchers believed that erosion is a vital reason of land degradation. Therefore, understanding the nature and type of land erosion processes will benefit many sectors of society in a concerned region. The current study estimated the mean annual loss of soil in Al-Khabur River Basin (KhRB) in the northwest side of the...

Visual interpretation of satellite images is a very significant technique to recognize and interpret geomorphological features. We have used Esri World Imagery and Google Earth images to recognize geomorphological features at Pira Magroon, Surdash, and Azmar anticlines in Sulaymaniyah vicinity, Kurdistan Region, north of Iraq. The mentioned anticli...

The Korek and Pirat mountains are two outstanding geomorphic features in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), forming two anticlines. The two anticlines are separated by the Gulley Ali Beg stream. Both anticlines form right-hand en-echelon plunging as the Korek anticlines is concerned. The oldest exposed rocks in the core of both anticlines belong to...

Al-Anbar Governorate has the largest coverage area among the 18 Iraqi governorates. The coverage area is about 138 579 km2 forming about 32% of the whole coverage area of the Iraqi territory. The governorate forms the western part of Iraq representing the Iraqi Western Desert and a small part north of the Euphrates River within the Jazira Plain....

Al-Anbar Governorate has the largest coverage area among the 18 Iraqi gover-norates. The coverage area is about 138 579 km2 forming about 32% of the whole coverage area of the Iraqi territory. The governorate forms the western part of Iraq representing the Iraqi Western Desert and a small part north of the Eu-phrates River within the Jazira Plain....

The Iraqi territory is located in the extreme northeastern part of the Arabian Plate which is in collision with the Iranian (Eurasian) Plate. The collision which is still ongoing has created tens of folds some of them exhibit different types of faults. The exerted compressional forces are believed to be decreasing southwest wards as being far from...

The Iraqi Western and Southern deserts are part of the Iraqi Stable Shelf (Inner Platform) that belongs to the Arabian Plate. Therefore, both deserts lack tectonic forms like folds, faults; however, very rarely faults and regional lineaments can be seen in both deserts. Although both deserts are tectonically stable; but tens of Neotectonic indicati...

Safeen anticline is one of the most complicated anticlines in Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), with NW–SE trend. Structur�ally, the anticline is truncated by diferent types of faults; some of them are deep-seated faults, which have complicated the subsurface form of the anticline. The anticline includes two domes with two parasitic anticlines and syn...

Safeen anticline is one of the most complicated anticlines in Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR), with NW–SE trend. Structurally, the anticline is truncated by different types of faults; some of them are deep-seated faults, which have complicated the subsurface form of the anticline. The anticline includes two domes with two parasitic anticlines and sync...

The study area lies in the Lower Folded Zone of the Outer Platform of Iraq, which belongs to the Arabian Plate. The Outer Platform is a part of the Zagros Fold-Thrust Belt, which is in the Zagros Foreland Basin. Due to the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates, tens of folds were developed among the anticlines that occur in the study area. T...

There are many hazardous roads in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR) which traverse through mountainous terrains. One of these roads was selected for a geotechnical assessment in this paper. The road crosses the Haibat Sultan Mountain, north of Koya town in IKR; it is one of the most dangerous roads in this region. Annually, traffic is blocked by var...

The Climate change is a global issue affecting different parts of our planet where we are living. However, the reasons of climate change and consequences differ at different parts too. In Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, the reasons for the climate change are due to man-made and natural effects, where the rates of CO2 emission and those of oth...

A new highway is under construction since few years to join the capital; Erbil city with many main towns connecting; in the plan to the northern boarders of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. It is a double lane road constructed according to modern standards. It crosses many mountains, and two tunnels are already completed, one is almost completed and ano...

Iraqi northern and northeastern parts (Kurdistan Region) are mountainous areas with exposed igneous and metamorphic rocks with which the other sedimentary rocks witness hundreds of metallic mineral showings. Tectonically, the region is under the influence of the collision of the Arabian and Eurasian (Iranian) plates. The collision has caused thrust...

he Pera Magrun and Sara are two anticlines in the Sulaimaniyah Governorate in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Both of them are NW–SE trending double plunging anticlines with a very steep southwestern limb; locally overturned. The anticlinal ridges are mainly developed within the rocks of the Qamchuqa Formation and partly within the rocks of the Kometan...

Many geological formations are exposed in the Pira Magroon anticline (Mountain); in the northeastern part of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The components of the exposed formations are carbonate rocks, especially limestone, which might be utilized for different industrial uses. To have an industrial assessment for the exposed limestone beds in the Pir...

The Bekhme Formation forms almost the bulk of the Shakrook anticline, especially the limbs. The current research deals with studying the exposed beds within the Bekhme Formation at the Shakrook anticline to check the suitability of the exposed rocks at the northeastern limb of the anticline for the cement industry. Twenty rock samples from a sectio...

Al-Najaf Governorate covers a large part of the western side of the Southern Desert of Iraq and extends to the Iraqi-Saudi Arabian borders. The western and southern western parts have almost a desert environment with flat terrain, which is dissected by tens of valleys; all trend in SW- NE direction and drain to the Euphrates River. The area under c...

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Climate change impacts on Earth's atmosphere have caused drastic changes in the environment of most regions of the world. The Middle East region ranks among the worst affected of these regions. This has taken forms of increasing atmospheric temperatures, intensive heat waves, decreased and erratic precipitation and general decline in water resource...

The Shakrook anticline has very a complicated structural form, this is attributed to three thrust faults, and the presence of four anticlinal axes with the main anticlinal body. The most northwest existing anticline is called in the current study the Sisawa anticline, the main two anticlines are called the Shakrook East and Shakrook West, whereas t...

Mosul Dam is located in the northwestern part of Iraq impounding the Tigris River; about 60 km north of Mosul city. This project is multipurpose project; to provide water for irrigation, flood control and hydropower generation. The dam is 113 m high and 3650 m long including the spillway. The dam is earth fill type with a mud core. The dam was d...

The Qamchuqa Formation is widely exposed in Kurdistan Region (IKR); north of Iraq. The formation along with the Bekhme Formation form the bulk of the main mountains (anticlines) in the IKR. Among those anticlines is the Ranya anticline, which has a NW – SE trend, where the Qamchuqa Formations has a thickness of about 700 m. The main lithological fa...

Mosul Dam is located in the northwestern part of Iraq impounding the Tigris River; about 60 km north of Mosul city. This project is multipurpose project; to provide water for irrigation, flood control and hydropower generation. The dam is 113 m high and 3650 m long including the spillway. The dam is earth fill type with a mud core. The dam was desi...

Climate changes are one of the most significant aspects, which cause a threat to all human beings living on the planet Earth. Climate changes could happen due to both natural internal processes and external forcing, or due to persistent anthropogenic changes. The identified drastic temperature changes, increase in the emitted greenhouse gasses, and...

The Kurdistan Region in Iraq is located in the extreme northeastern part of the Arabian Plate which is in a collision since the Late Cretaceous with the Iranian Plate. Therefore, large ophiolite bodies have been thrust along the northeastern margins of Kurdistan Region; accordingly, different metallic mineral can be associated with igneous and meta...

The main lithological composition of different formations in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region is the carbonate rocks; some of those rocks are suitable for cement production; such as Qamchuqa Bekhme, Sinjar, Pila Spi and Anah formations. However, the six existing cement plants in are using limestone beds, five of those plants are using limestone from the...

Haditha Dam is constructed on the Euphrates River in the western part of Iraq completed in 1988 and located 14 km west of Haditha town. Haditha Dam is a combined earthfill and concrete dam with a total length of 9064 m. The maximum height of the dam is 57 m from the deepest point at the river channel and dam crest level is 154.00 m (a.s.l.). The st...

The road that crosses the Haibat Sultan Mountain in the northern part of Iraq; is one of the dangerous roads in this region. To perform a slope stability analysis for the dangerous parts of the road, we have used Bejerman’s Method. We have reviewed satellite images of the road and all those potential areas were checked in the field; accordingly, el...

Implementation of a Quality Assurance (QA) program in geological investigation is very significant and essential, especially when the investigation is carried out for selection and evaluation of strategic and vital project sites. The current work is a case study for selection and evaluation of a strategic site in Iraq where a QA program was impleme...

Many stone tools were found on a hill south of the Hor Al-Dalmaj which is located in the central part of the alluvial plain of Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The types of rocks from which the studied stone tools were made are not found in the alluvial plain, because it consists of friable sand, silt, and clay. All existing se...

The Mesopotamian Plain is part of the Mesopotamia which extends for vast area bigger than the plain. The plain is almost flat and vast lowland, which has clearly defined physiographic boundaries with the other surrounding physiographic provinces. The plain is a huge accumulation geomorphologic unit, where the fluvial, lacustrine, and the Aeolian la...

Shanidar Cave is located in north Iraq (Kurdistan Region), it is one of the most well-known caves in the region due to its archeological significance. It is an archaeological site which is located within Bradost Mountain north of Erbil city. In the cave, eleven skeletons of Neanderthals, have been found dating back to 65000 – 35000 years B.C., they...

Korek Mountain is one of the outstanding mountains in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region; located north of Erbil city. It faces the entrance of the famous Galley Ali Beg gorge with its beautiful waterfall. The exposed rocks at the entrance of the gorge belong to the Bekhme Formation which consists of many types of carbonate rocks with a total thickness of...

Iraq is located in the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate, which is colliding with the Iranian Plate. The collision between the two plates has developed the tectonic framework of the Iraqi territory. Accordingly, two major tectonic divisions are developed: Inner Platform (Stable Shelf) and Outer Platform (Unstable Shelf). The former (Inner plat...

Silica-sand is one of the main additives in cement production. Cement plants in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region had been using silica sand which is 98% quartz that was quarried from the Iraqi Western Desert. However, during the last decade, it was not possible to supply these cement plants with material from this location; therefore, the silica sand was...

Badush Dam is uncompleted combined earthfill and concrete dam, it is located on the Tigris River. The dam is planned and designed to be a protection dam downstream of the already existing Mosul Dam to protect population and infrastructure downstream of Mosul Dam. Thisa is attributed to the safety concerns of Mosul Dam which suffers from severe kars...

Climate changes are one of the most significant aspects, which cause a threat to all human beings living on the planet Earth. Climate changes could happen due to both natural internal processes and external forcing, or due to persistent anthropogenic changes. The identified drastic temperature changes, increase in the emitted greenhouse gasses, and...

The Hareer anticline is one of the first raw anticlines within the High Folded Zone, facing southwards towards the Low Folded Zone. Both zones are part of the Outer Platform (Unstable Shelf) of the Arabian Plate. Moreover, both zones are part of the Zagros Fold – Thrust Belt located within the Zagros Foreland Basin. Although the Hareer anticline is...

A stream survey was conducted in the Sidakan vicinity in the northeastern part of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, which covered the catchment area of the main stream. The covered area is about 450 km2. The exposed rocks in the study area are mainly igneous with subordinate sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. The catchment area was divided into 14 sub-ba...

Gara and Mateen are 2 major anticlines in the northern part of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, located in the vicinity of the town Amadiyah. Both anticlines are oriented in an almost east–west (E–W) trend with a steep southern limb. The length and width of the Gara and Mateen anticlines are 87 km and 63 km, and 11 km and 9.5 km, respectively. The 2 ant...

Geomorphological evaluation was carried out for three drainage basins named Hareer, Dwaine, and Hijran, which are tributaries of the Greater Zab River in the northern part of Erbil Governorate, the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, north Iraq. The exposed rocks in the three basins are mainly clastic rocks (sandstone, claystone, and conglomerate, with subordi...

Iraqi Kurdistan Region is located in the northeastern part of the Arabian Plate which is colliding with the Eurasian (Iranian) Plate and is located within the Zagros Foreland Basin. This collision, which is still active with convergent type of tectonic boundary, has caused deformation of the rocks in the Zagros Foreland Basin with different intensi...

Mosul Dam is an earth fill dam, with a storage capacity of 11.11 km3 constructed on highly karstified gypsum beds alternating with marl and limestone. After impounding in 1986, seepage locations were recognized. The dam situation now indicates that it is in a state of extreme relative risk. If it fails, then 6 million people will be affected and 72...

Sedimentation of reservoirs has its negative impacts on dams, first by reducing useful storage, altering the benefit/cost ratio originally calculated for the dam, and second by reducing the dams' capacity for flood routing; increasing flooding hazards on the dam itself and for the downstream. More problems can be created by sediments and floating d...

When a dam is built, its safety becomes a constant concern for the owner, the public and for governments. Therefore, continuous observation through routine inspections and safety reviews become necessary. Acting as protectors of public safety, governments and professional organizations save no effort in the promulgation of legislations and laying o...

The awareness to tailings dam safety monitoring and reviews has increased by the catastrophes resulting from failures of such dams worsened by increasing tailings waste and construction of larger dams. The losses born by the mining industry from high costs of compensations and environmental rehabilitation work have brought this matter into focus. I...

Tailings' Dams are mining waste impounding structures. They differ from conventional dams in purpose, design and operation. Percentage wise their failures are higher and posing considerably more safety concerns, causing long lasting devastation on communities, environment, and animal and plant ecosystem. Two basic types of embankment tailings struc...

Dam Safety and dam incidents are treated here looked at from the "Human Factors" perspective. An attempt is made to explore these factors as an important drive in impairing dams' safety and increases their risks. Distinction is drawn between the "Normal Human Caused Incidents" and the "Extraordinary Human Caused Incidents" together with the descrip...

Seismic instrumentation of dams and reservoirs sites is accepted today as a valuable tool to understand significant seismic hazards facing existing dams or future planed dams. With the advent of digital seismic accelerometers and recorders, it can now be used today as an integral part of dam safety monitoring systems. Outputs of these instruments h...