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CLASSIFICATION OF THE ALLUVIAL FANS IN IRAQ

Authors:
  • Komar University of Science and Technology

Abstract and Figures

The Iraqi territory exhibits diverse topography in its different parts; from the extreme southeast, where the coastal area along the Arabian Gulf, passing northwards to the Mesopotamia Plain, and more north and northeast to hilly, low mountainous and high mountainous areas, respectively. Whilst towards west, the plateau of the Southern and Western Deserts exist and in the northwestern part is the Jazira Plain. This diversity in the topography with climatic changes has caused development of different systems of alluvial fans, with different ages, stages, shapes, sizes and constituents. This study aims to establish a classification of alluvial fans developed in Iraq depending mainly on the stages, for the main types and the size, shape and covering constituents for the types and sub-types. Consequently, two main types were found: Single Stage and Multi Stage Alluvial Fans. Furthermore, each main type is classified into many types, depending on the size, shape and top covering materials. The age is not included in the classification, because almost all the existing alluvial fans in Iraq have the same age range (Pleistocene – Holocene). Moreover, no accurate dating is available to use for the fan classification. The constituent factor is not used, because it depends on the type of the exposed rocks in the source area. Examples are given for each type and sub-type from different parts of Iraq. Some of the examples have fan names, used in other studies.
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... This fan, with its head in the south and its base in the north and northeast, takes an important role in the transfer of igneous sediments and rock fragments after their erosion from the Arabian shield and deposition in the form of a fan (Al-Gurairy et al., 2017). The Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan was located in the Mesopotamian Zone, and the dominant sediments are the Dibdibba Formation deposits (Sissakian et al., 2014). The research area has a desert environment with high-temperature extremes and precipitation that are modest and seasonal, with low humidity levels and a rise in the number of hours of sun brightness (Abdulameer, 2016). ...
... Wadi Al-Batin Alluvial fan considers the main source in supplying the southern governorates, such as Basra and Samawah with water requirements. It has been studied by many authors like Al-Sharbati and Ma'ala (1983) that recognized four stages of the fan, Sissakian and Abdul Jab'bar (2014), considered Al-Batin alluvial fan as multistage, and large fan which covered by gypcrete. Al-Kinani and Merkel (2017) describe the Hydrochemical and isotopic investigation of groundwater of the Al-Batin alluvial fan aquifer, while Abd Al Karim (2009) pointed out that the fan of Wadi Al-Batin was formed during the rainy period of the Pleistocene era and mentioned a number of dry valleys that cut through its surface. ...
... It starts from Wadi Al-Rummah in Saudi Arabia, passes through the Kuwaiti border and ends in Iraq. Al-Batin alluvial fan is the biggest fan in Iraq in the Southern Desert (Sissakian et al., 2014). It is located between latitude (30 23-30 51) N and (46 43-4715) E. to extend from the line of equal height (100 m) above sea level and even a streak (5m) above sea level to occupy an estimated space (5.573-2 m) inside Iraqi boundary (Al-Sulaiman et al., 1995). ...
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Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan starts from Wadi Al-Rummah in Saudi Arabia and passes through the Kuwait and Iraq borders. The fan represents the southern and northern limits of the Iraq and Kuwait national boundary, respectively, deposited by Wadi Al-Batin on the southern border of the main wide depression formed by the effectiveness of the Abu Jir-Euphrates Fault. The present study aims to evaluate the hydrological properties of the fan and perform a morphometric analysis to find the groundwater flow, structural, and drainage network of the study area based on fieldwork information and satellite images using remote sensing technique and GIS environment. The hydrological analysis shows that the drainage density pattern direction in Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan is from the southwestern to the northeastern parts of the Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan. The morphometric analysis results show that the Wadi Al-Batin fan is divided into five watersheds; each has seven stream orders, watershed 1 has the highest value of stream order, and watershed 2 has the lowest value of stream order. The drainage texture value range between fine, moderate, and very fine, which indicates the geological setting of the region consists of the Dibdibba Formation exposed in the study area. Watershed 3 has the highest value, and watershed 1 has the lowest value of stream frequency. The form factor value for all watersheds is less than 0.5 and has an elongated shape. The watershed 3 has the highest basin relief value, while the watershed 4 has the lowest value of basin relief.
... The stages can be seen and limited clearly; depending on the: 1) tone, 2) drainage density, 3) drainage type, 4) materials of the top cover and 5) cultivation density (Fig. 5). They are multi stages, medium sized alluvial fans covered by gravels [17]. These five parameters are used to recognize the studied alluvial fans, which are not clear in satellite images. ...
... Although the morphological characters of the alluvial fan are vanished ( Fig. 6), but the studied subsurface sections indicated the fan with its lithological details [5,6]. It is one stage large fan covered with gypcrete [17]. ...
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Hundreds of alluvial fans are developed and still under development in the central and eastern parts of Iraq. The fans are of different sizes, types, shapes and stages, laid down by rivers, permanent streams and valleys. The composition of the sediments of the fans differs widely depending on the source of the sediments, the depositional area, size and type of the fan. Some of the alluvial fans have typical fan forms; others are hardly recognized, especially in the field; in nature; and more specifically when the fan areas are occupied as agricultural fields and/ or are very large with very gentle gradient that hinder their occurrences. Majority of the studied alluvial fans in the studied area are not presented on geological maps. This is attributed to the fact that they are not presented on the base geological maps because they are unrecognizable in the field, mainly because they have lost their fan shapes. Others; however, are presented even on the geological map of Iraq at scale of 1:1000000. In this study, the main alluvial fans are presented and described with the reason and form of their deposition. Accordingly, different types of alluvial fans are presented and described including their coverage areas, types, number of stages, shape and constituents. This is performed through interpretation of different types of satellite images, documented field data and the experience of the authors with their long careers and expertize in the field.
... It has been studied by many authors like [4] that recognized four stages of the fan. [5] described Al-Batin alluvial fan as a "multistage, large fan encased in gypcrete". [6] describe the groundwater of the Al-Batin alluvial fan aquifers with a hydrochemical and isotopic investigation, while [7] pointed out the geomorphology and the type of source rock for the volcanic fragments in Wadi Al-Batin. ...
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This research aimed to know the tectonic activity of the Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan using hydrological and morphotectonic analyses. Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan is deposited from Wadi Al-Rimah in Saudi Arabia, which extended to Iraqi and Kuwait international boundaries. The longitudinal and transverse faults that characterize this region were common. The Abu-Jir-Euphrates faults have a significant impact on the region. The faults zone consists of several NW-SE trending faults running from the Rutba in western Iraq to the south along the Euphrates through Kuwait and meeting the Al-Batin fault to the Jal Al-Zor fault. The Hydromorphometric analysis of the present fan shows five watersheds having asymmetry shapes, more elongated and activity from the elongation ratio and asymmetry factor values. In contrast, transverse topographic symmetry and mountain front sinuosity factor have moderate to low activity from the stream length gradient index. The morphotectonic analysis suggests that the Wadi Al-Batin alluvial fan has a moderate tectonic activity due to the tectonic activity of the subsurface lineaments and the oil field activities found in the region.
... According to Fouad (2013), the involved area is located within the inner Platform and the outer Platform of the Arabian Plate [14]. The rate of tectonic movement is 0.2-2.5 cm/100 year as up-lifting [15]. About three longitudinal and other three transvers faults cross the study area [16]. ...
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A 3D velocity model was created by using stacking velocity of 9 seismic lines and average velocity of 6 wells drilled in Iraq. The model was achieved by creating a time model to 25 surfaces with an interval time between each two successive surfaces of about 100 msec. The summation time of all surfaces reached about 2400 msec, that was adopted according to West Kifl-1 well, which penetrated to a depth of 6000 m, representing the deepest well in the study area. The seismic lines and well data were converted to build a 3D cube time model and the velocity was spread on the model. The seismic inversion modeling of the elastic properties of the horizon and well data was applied to achieve a corrected velocity cube. Then, the velocity cube was converted to a time model and, finally, a corrected 3D depth model was obtained. This model shows that the western side of the study area, which is a part of the stable shelf, is characterized by relatively low thickness and high velocity layers. While the eastern side of the study area, which is a part of the Mesopotamian, is characterized by high thickness and low velocity of the Cretaceous succession. The Abu Jir fault is considered as a boundary between the stable and unstable shelves in Iraq, situated at the extreme west part of the study area. The area of relatively high velocity gradient is considered as the limit of the western side of the Mesopotamian basin. This area extends from Najaf-Karbala axis in the west to the Euphrates River in the east. It is found that the 3D stacking velocity model can be used to obtain good results concerning the tectonic boundary.
... The longitudinal profile is slightly concave and transverse profile is arched. Alluvial fans have slopes that are usually less than 10° and best developed in semiarid terrains, whereas, elongate mountain are tectonically active and lack protective vegetation cover, and are subjected to erosion by heavy rain precipitation [9]. Alluvial fans are supposed to act as useful landforms to determine the tectonic activity level [10]. ...
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This is an Open Access Journal / article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. All rights reserved. The study area is located within the northeast part of Iraq, covering 958 Km of its area. The aim of this research is to define the heavy mineral composition of alluvial fans of Peramagroon anticline, and try to determine the origin or the source of these alluvial fans. 10 samples were collected from these alluvial fans, the samples were separated into light and heavy fractions by heavy liquids, the rock fragments were composed mainly of carbonate, chert, igneous, and metamorphic rock. The heavy minerals are mostly opaque's, chlorite, pyroxenes, amphiboles, epidotes, garnet, biotitic, kyanite, staurolite, and muscovit. The north east part of Iraq is known to be tectonically an active area due to its position in the north east marginal part of the Arabian Plate, which is in collision with the Eurasian (Iranian) Plate. This area had suffered from Nontectonic movement, which is indicated by the existence of large alluvial fans such the Qara Chattan and Sutuka. The heavy minerals analysis proved that the studied area is characterized by high tectonic activity.
... The two cliffs are the most significant geomorphological feature in the involved area, forming erosional ridges suffering from different types of mass movements. In between the ridges, the area is covered by a very large alluvial fan of one stage [16], developed ...
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In central part of Iraq within the vicinity of Karbala-Najaf, two cliffs called “Tar Al-Say’ed” and “Tar Al-Najaf” form conspicuous geomorphological forms between the Mesopotamia Plain and the Western and Southern Deserts. The top surfacebetween the two cliffs (tars) is covered by alluvial fan sediments, laid down by Al-Khir Valley when merging in a large depression due to the drop in the gradient of the valley. Consequently, the depression was divided into two parts, to the left is called Al-Razzazah Depression, whereas to the right is called Bahir Al-Najaf. This affected the course of the River Euphrates. The deposition stopped due to an uplift movement which caused the elevation of the two cliffs which are covered by alluvial fan sediments. The two cliffs had and are still suffering from retreating, due to lateral erosion by wave actions in Al-Razzazah Depression. Springs located along a straight line, sag pond, deflected drainage, shutter ridges and pressure ridges can be noticed in the area. The age of both cliffs is estimated to be upper Late Pleistocene—early Holocene.
... The two cliffs are the most significant geomorphological feature in the involved area, forming erosional ridges suffering from different types of mass movements. In between the ridges, the area is covered by a very large alluvial fan of one stage [16], developed ...
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In central part of Iraq within the vicinity of Karbala-Najaf, two cliffs called “Tar Al-Say’ed” and “Tar Al-Najaf” form conspicuous geomorphological forms between the Mesopotamia Plain and the Western and Southern Deserts. The top surface between the two cliffs (tars) is covered by alluvial fan sediments, laid down by Al-Khir Valley when merging in a large depression due to the drop in the gradient of the valley. Consequently, the depression was divided into two parts, to the left is called Al-Razzazah Depression, whereas to the right is called Bahir Al-Najaf. This affected the course of the River Euphrates. The deposition stopped due to an uplift movement which caused the elevation of the two cliffs which are covered by alluvial fan sediments. The two cliffs had and are still suffering from retreating, due to lateral erosion by wave actions in Al-Razzazah Depression. Springs located along a straight line, sag pond, deflected drainage, shutter ridges and pressure ridges can be noticed in the area. The age of both cliffs is estimated to be upper Late Pleistocene—early Holocene
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Mountain-front fans are an important part of the global sediment system, acting as buffers and stores of sediment between upland sources and down-system sinks. Fans emanate from the Hajar Mountains in the eastern UAE and northern Oman which have developed from morphologically and geologically variable catchments and in a range of depositional settings, as well as spanning a wide range of shapes and sizes. There has been little prior research into the drivers of regional fan evolution and morphology at the landform scale, considering specific factors such as source-area morphology and geology and distal settings. We use remotely sensed data to map 438 fans and catchments along mountain fronts in Oman and the UAE. These data provide, for the first time, a regional overview of fan morphology using key morphometric parameters and demonstrate the utility of a remote sensing approach to understanding regional landform morphology of features at a range of spatial scales (10⁻³-10⁴ km²). Comparing this large dataset to studies of dryland fans globally, we show that Hajar fan morphology spans almost every order of magnitude previously recorded elsewhere. It shows statistically the importance of diverse catchment and depositional setting controls on alluvial fan morphology. Across the different mountain fronts of the Hajar range, fan morphology is controlled by 1) catchment morphology and geology, 2) changes in base level and 3) long-term climatic changes and tectonic processes, although the importance of these factors relative to one another is highly spatially variable. The fans of the Musandam Peninsula drain younger rocks, are situated in an area of subsidence and have experienced foreshortening due to Quaternary sea-level variability, hence produce the smallest, steepest fans. Similarly, many of the fans of the Batinah Coast are influenced by distal foreshortening by sea-level rise and demonstrate weak regression relationships with their catchment morphologies. By contrast, the large fans of the Rub'al Khali are mostly distally unconfined and drain large catchments composed of relatively older rock types, thus producing large fans and megafans with the strongest fan-catchment morphometric relationships. The Wahiba Sands fans are similar to those of the Rub'al Khali but are limited in their extent by erosion from an axial river system. As such, the fans of the Hajar are an important natural laboratory for investigating alluvial fan morphology, processes and long-term evolution in response to a range of controls. This includes potentially acting as analogues to extra-terrestrial fan systems due to their large scales in some areas dryland context. For example, the largest megafans of the Hajar display morphometric similarities to large fluvial fans reported on Saturn's moon, Titan, perhaps suggesting comparable long-term controls.
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The Mesopotamian Plain is part of the large Mesopotamia which extends in Iraq and surrounding countries. The plain is almost flat and vast lowland, which has clearly defined physiographic boundaries with the other surrounding physiographic provinces. From the north and east, it is limited by the Low Amplitude Mountainous Province. From the west, the upper part is limited by Al-Jazira Plain, whereas in the lower part by the Western Desert Province. From the south it is limited by the Southern Desert Province. The plain is a huge accumulational geomorphologic unit, where the fluvial, lacustrine, and Aeolian landforms prevail; the fluvial units being the abundant among others. However, estuarine and marine forms also are developed, but restricted to the extreme southeastern reaches of the plain. Moreover, some erosional landforms are developed in different places, but are not well expressed. In the central eastern part, large alluvial fans are developed with five stages covering vast areas along the Iraqi-Iranian international borders. The geomorphic units are classified according to origin, geomorphic position, and lithology. Some of the significant features are described with some details.
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