Morphology of river islands in Al-Ubaidi District, west of Anbar Governorate, using remote sensing data (RS) and geographic information systems (GIS(

Abstract

     River islands are one of the most important sedimentary and structural phenomena of rivers, resulting from the erosion and sedimentation processes that occur on river banks or bends, as well as the sediments deposited by valleys and other waterways within rivers. The research area falls within the boundaries of Al-Obaidi district in Al-Anbar Governorate, in the western and northwestern part of Iraq. As for the geographic location of the research area, it is situated between latitudes (34°26'15"N) and (36°21'40"N) to the north, and longitudes (40°59'35"E) and (41°10'35"E) to the east. The research area is bordered to the west by Ramana District, to the north by the Al-Jazira Plateau desert, to the east by Al-Safra village, and to the south by the western Al-Anbar Plateau desert, with an area of (150.474) km². The researcher followed a descriptive and analytical approach in his study, and concluded that river erosion and sedimentation processes work to form river islands in the Euphrates River within the Al-Ubaidi District through erosion and sedimentation processes. They also vary in area and shape depending on the type of rocks present on both sides of the river, as well as the direction of the water current. The river islands in 2024 were characterized by a larger area and an increase in their numbers compared to 1980. This was due to the cessation of the natural flood waves that carried out the natural dredging processes through the speed of the water current. The reason for this cessation is due to the dams built by neighboring Syria on the river course, which worked to control the absolute water discharge.