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Analysis of Possible Actions to Manage the Longitudinal Changes of Water Salinity in a Tidal River

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Abstract

In previous studies we have ascertained that inflows and seawater intrusion in the Shatt al-Arab River (SAR) are two key physical factors behind fluctuating and sharply escalating salinities observed in recent years. Such levels require a series of countermeasures and investigative studies to translate physical factors into a salinity dynamics model to understand the problem and its impact as these factors vary in location, time and quantity. A one-dimensional hydrodynamic and salt intrusion numerical model was applied to simulate the complex salinity regime in the SAR based on hourly time-series data for the year 2014. The model was used to analyse the impact of different management scenarios on salinity under different conditions. The results show a high correlation between seawater intrusion and river discharge. Increased use of water upstream and local water withdrawals along the SAR will increase seawater intrusion and salinity concentrations. Improving the quantity and quality of the upstream freshwater sources could reduce salinity levels. Discharging the drainage water into the river could be used to counteract the salt intrusion, considering that its location affects both the salinity distribution and extent. A scenario analysis based on a numerical model constructed for the longitudinal salinity variation associated with different sources in a tidal regime, can efficiently screen alternative water management strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611, AX, Delft, the Netherlands

    Ali Dinar Abdullah, Ioana Popescu, Ali Dastgheib, Pieter van der Zaag & Ilyas Masih

  2. Department of Civil Eng, Basra University, Basra, Iraq

    Ali Dinar Abdullah

  3. Faculty of Civil Engineering, Politechnica University of Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania

    Ioana Popescu

  4. Water Resources Section, Delft University of Technology, Delft, the Netherlands

    Pieter van der Zaag

  5. University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE, Enschede, the Netherlands

    Usama F. A. Karim

Authors
  1. Ali Dinar Abdullah
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  2. Ioana Popescu
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  3. Ali Dastgheib
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  4. Pieter van der Zaag
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  5. Ilyas Masih
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  6. Usama F. A. Karim
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Correspondence to Ali Dinar Abdullah.

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Abdullah, A.D., Popescu, I., Dastgheib, A. et al. Analysis of Possible Actions to Manage the Longitudinal Changes of Water Salinity in a Tidal River. Water Resour Manage 31, 2157–2171 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1634-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-017-1634-5

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