Landsat TM-8 data for retrieving salinity in Al Huwaizah marsh, South of Iraq

Abstract

Mesopotamia marshlands constitute the largest wetland ecosystem in the Middle East and western Eurasia. These marshlands are located at the confluence of Tigris and Euphrates rivers in southern Iraq. Al-Huwaizah marsh is the biggest marsh in southern Iraq covered by an area (2400 Km2-3000 Km2) and depth (1.5 m-5 m). The construction dams by Turkey and Syrian for water storage as well as hydroelectric power generation along Tigris and Euphrates rivers, led to reduce and deteriorate water quality in Iraq's marshes. Salinity has become one of the major problems affecting crop production and food security in central and southern Iraq. The objective of this study to develop a new algorithm to retrieve salinity and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from optical remote sensing Landsat-8 (OLI/TIRS) data based on differential equations algorithms. The mathematical algorithms are linear, power and exponential algorithm. The integration between remote sensing techniques and geographic information system (GIS) to map hydrodynamic and the spatial variation of salinity distribution. There is a pressing need to quantify and map the spatial extent and distribution of the salinity in Al-Huwaizah marsh of southern Iraq during March-2013. The findings of this study proved that the integration between Landsat-8 data and GIS with salinity algorithms could provide a powerful tool for retrieving salinity in marshes zone.