Factors Controlling the Development of Wine-Glass Forms in the Mountains of the Kurdistan Region, Iraq

The northern and northeastern parts of Iraq are mountainous areas and rugged topography with different erosional and morphological forms; among them are the wine-glass (erosional cirques) forms. They are developed in different shapes, sizes, and depths. In the outlets of the wine-glass forms; usually, alluvial fans are formed. The studied area is characterized by the presence of long and narrow anticlines with NW–SE trend that changes westward to E–W trend. The Cretaceous carbonate rocks form the main carapace of the majority of the mountains; however, locally Paleogene and/or Jurassic rocks form the carapace. In the core, rocks down to Devonian are exposed. In those anticlines where only Cretaceous rocks are exposed, no or very rarely wine-glass forms are developed. This is attributed to the Cretaceous carbonate rocks, which exist in huge thicknesses in many formations, with thickly bedded to massive nature and very hard erosion resisting rocks. Tens of the existing wineglass forms are studied to indicate the factors that control their development, which are the type of exposed rocks, their thicknesses, and hardness. To perform the aim of this study, different satellite imagery with different resolutions was used; besides using GIS technique and field check to improve the acquired date

Remote Sensing Based Analysis of Interactions between Tectonics and Landscapes in Rawanduz River, Northeastern Iraq

تعد منطقة الدراسة والتي تقع على طول الحدود الشمالية الشرقية للعراق موقعًا مثاليًا لاختبار فكرة وجود مؤشر للتنبؤ بالنشاط التكتوني النسبي. تُعتبر منطقة الدراسة هذه منطقة مميزة للغاية حيث تشمل ثلاثة أنطقة تكتونية رئيسية (نطاق الطيات العالية , نطاق التراكب ونطاق التصادم زاكروس) ، اضافة الى كونها تمتاز بمعدلات متغيرة من النشاط التكتوني الناتج عن تصادم الصفيحة العربية مع الإيرانية. تهدف هذه الدراسة إلى تسليط الضوء على إمكانية استخدام برامج أنظمة المعلومات في بناء قاعدة بيانات جغرافية مورفومترية لحوض نهر راوندوز، والذي يعد احد الأحواض الرئيسية لنهر الزاب الأكبر باستخدام نموذج الارتفاع الرقمي لبعثة المكوك الراداري (SRTM) ) , بيانات لتقييم حالة تصريف هذا النهر بمساعدة نظم المعلومات الجغرافية (GIS) والاستشعار عن بعد. تم إجراء التحليل المورفومتري لحوض الصرف راوندوز أثناء قياس الجوانب الخطية والمساحية والتضاريس ، كما نقدم عملية جديدة لتقدير النشاط التكتوني النسبي وفقًا لمؤشرات الجيومورفيك المفيدة في تقييم التشكل والطبوغرافيا. تم تحديد 26 حوضًا فرعيًا في حوض نهر رواندوز. تشمل المؤشرات  الجيومورفية المستخدمة ما يلي: عدم تناسق حوض الصرف (Af) ، ونسبة عرض أرض الوادي إلى ارتفاع الوادي (Vf) ، ومؤشر شكل حوض الصرف (Bs) ، ومؤشر تعرج الجبهة الأمامية الجبلية (Smf). يتم تجميع النتائج من التحليل والتعبير عنها كمؤشر للتكتونيات النشطة النسبية (Iat) ، والتي نقسمها إلى أربع فئات من النشاط التكتوني المنخفض نسبيا إلى العالي.             The study area along the northeast border of Iraq is a perfect location to test the notion of an index to predict relative tectonic activity, as well as being considered a very characteristic area as include three main tectonic zones (High Folded Zone, Imbricate Zone and Zagros Suture Zone). This study area has variable rates of active tectonics resulting from the collision of Arabian and Iranian plates. This study aims at highlighting the possibility of information systems programs in building a morphometric geographic database of the Rawanduz River Basin, which is one of the main basins of the Greater Zab River using Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM), Digital Elevation Model (DEM 90 m) data to evaluate the drainage condition of this river with the help of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing. The morphometric analysis of the Rawanduz drainage basin has been executed during measurement of linear, areal and relief aspects as well as we offer a new process for estimate relative active tectonics according on geomorphic indices useful in evaluating morphology and topography. A total of 26 sub-basins were delineated in the Rawanduz River Basin. Geomorphic indices used include: drainage basin asymmetry (Af), ratio of valley-floor width to valley height (Vf), index of drainage basin shape (Bs), and index of mountain front sinuosity (Smf). Results from the analysis are accumulated and expressed as an index of relative active tectonics (Iat), which we divide into four classes from relatively low to higher tectonic activity

Factors Controlling the Development of Straight Valleys and Streams in the Kurdistan Region, North and Northeast of Iraq

The Iraqi Kurdistan Region is a mountainous area with relief difference ranging from few hundred meters up to 3000 m, and locally more. Almost all of the mountains form anticlines that have NW–SE trend changing westwards of longitude to E–W. The carapace of the majority of the mountains is built up of Cretaceous rocks; however, some of them are of older rocks. Many of those anticlines are crossed by straight valleys and/or are crossed by streams and rivers which form again straight lines and almost coincide with regional lineaments, usually in N–S or NE–SW trend. The studied straight valleys are controlled, most probably by tectonic factors, therefore, exhibit special topographic forms, like straight lineaments crossing many successive anticlines, and also clear bending in some of the ridges in their crossing points to the valleys and/or streams. This paper aims to determine and discuss the factors that control the development of the straight valleys and/or lineaments. To achieve this aim, remote sensing and GIS techniques were followed, using Landsat, QuickBird images as well as geological maps of different scales, and different published articles

River Courses Affected by Landslides and Implications for Hazard Assessment: A High Resolution Remote Sensing Case Study in NE Iraq–W Iran

Abstract: The objective of this study is to understand the effect of landslides on the drainage network within the area of interest. We thus test the potential of rivers to record the intensity of landslides that affected their courses. The study area is located within the Zagros orogenic belt along the border between Iraq and Iran. We identified 280 landslides through nine QuickBird scenes using visual photo-interpretation. The total landslide area of 40.05 km 2 and their distribution follows a NW–SE trend due to the tectonic control of main thrust faults. We observe a strong control of the landslides on the river course. We quantify the relationship between riverbed displacement and mass wasting occurrences using landslide sizes versus river offset and hypsometric integrals. Many valleys and river channels are curved around the toe of landslides, thus producing an offset of the stream which increases with the landslide area. The river offsets were quantified using two geomorphic indices: the river with respect to the basin midline (Fb); and the offset from the main river direction (Fd). Hypsometry and stream offset seem to be correlated. In addition; the analysis of selected river courses may give some information on the sizes of the past landslide events and therefore contribute to the hazard assessment

Improving Lithological Mapping by SVM Classification of Spectral and Morphological Features: The Discovery of a New Chromite Body in the Mawat Ophiolite Complex (Kurdistan, NE Iraq)

The mineral ore potential of many mountainous regions of the world, like the Kurdistan region of Iraq, remains unexplored. For logistical and sometimes political reasons, these areas are difficult to map using traditional methods. We highlight the improvement in remote sensing geological mapping that arises from the integration of geomorphic features in classifications. The Mawat Ophiolite Complex (MOC) is located in the NE of Iraq and is known for its mineral deposits. The aims of this study are: (I) to refine the existing lithological map of the MOC; (II) to identify the best discriminatory datasets for lithological classification, including geomorphic features and textures; and (III) to identify potential locations with high concentrations of chromite. We performed a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classification method to allow the joint use of geomorphic features, textures and multispectral data of the Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection radiometer (ASTER) satellite. The updated map allowed the identification of a new mafic body and a substantial improvement of the geometry of the known lithological units. The use of geomorphic features allowed for the increase of the overall accuracy from 73% to 79.3%. In addition, we detected chromite occurrences within the ophiolite by applying Spectral Angle Mapping (SAM) technique. We identified two new locations having high concentrations of chromite and verified one of these promising areas in the field. This new body covers ~0.3 km2 and has coarsely crystalline chromite within dunite host rock. The chromium (Cr2O3) concentration is ~8.46%. The SAM and SVM methods applied on ASTER satellite data show that these can be used as a powerful tool to explore ore deposits and to further improve lithological mapping in mountainous semi-arid regions

Automatic Extraction and Size Distribution of Landslides in Kurdistan Region, NE Iraq

This study aims to assess the localization and size distribution of landslides using automatic remote sensing techniques in (semi-) arid, non-vegetated, mountainous environments. The study area is located in the Kurdistan region (NE Iraq), within the Zagros orogenic belt, which is characterized by the High Folded Zone (HFZ), the Imbricated Zone and the Zagros Suture Zone (ZSZ). The available reference inventory includes 3,190 landslides mapped from sixty QuickBird scenes using manual delineation. The landslide types involve rock falls, translational slides and slumps, which occurred in different lithological units. Two hundred and ninety of these landslides lie within the ZSZ, representing a cumulated surface of 32 km2. The HFZ implicates 2,900 landslides with an overall coverage of about 26 km2. We first analyzed cumulative landslide number-size distributions using the inventory map. We then proposed a very simple and robust algorithm for automatic landslide extraction using specific band ratios selected upon the spectral signatures of bare surfaces as well as posteriori slope and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) thresholds. The index is based on the contrast between landslides and their background, whereas the landslides have high reflections in the green and red bands. We applied the slope threshold map to remove low slope areas, which have high reflectance in red and green bands. The algorithm was able to detect ~96% of the recent landslides known from the reference inventory on a test site. The cumulative landslide number-size distribution of automatically extracted landslide is very similar to the one based on visual mapping. The automatic extraction is therefore adapted for the quantitative analysis of landslides and thus can contribute to the assessment of hazards in similar regions

Composition of Rare Earth Elements in Fluvial Sediments of the Lesser Zab River Basin, Northeastern Iraq: Implications for Tectonic Setting and Provenance

During the past few decades, rare earth elements (REEs) have gained enormous attention in geochemical studies worldwide as a result of their important role in the manufacturing of high-tech equipment. REEs in river sediment have been widely used for provenance determination and in geochemical studies of continental crust, rock and sediment environments, and anthropogenic pollution. This study aims to elucidate the origin and tectonic setting of Little Zab River Basin (LZRB) sediments by examining 23 fluvial sediment samples of rare earth elements (REEs) collected from both the primary river and the inter-sub-basin regions during the rainy or high-flow season. The ICP-MS method was employed to analyze all samples to identify and assess the compositions of REEs. A fraction of the river sediments, smaller than 2 mm, which is more representative and more homogeneous, was used to carry out geochemical analysis. REE concentrations in the Little Zab River (LZR) and the upper parts of the LZRB were generally higher than those in the lower parts. The concentration of REEs in nearly all samples was lower than that of the North American Shale Composite (NASC), and the Upper Continental Crust (UCC), except for the sub-basin sediment Sbs2, which was higher than these references; also, the sediment sample Zrs4 was slightly higher than NASC. Light rare earth elements (LREEs) display enrichment relative to heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) with a range between 7.15 μg/g and 12.37 μg/g for LZR samples and between 5.95 μg/g and 13.03 μg/g for the sub-basin samples. The REE discrimination diagrams, along with the chondrodite-normalized pattern of the studied sediments, confirm that the sediment is predominantly sourced from the alkaline basaltic unit of the late Cretaceous Walsh group of an arc tectonic affinity