Spatial and temporal variations of Some Chemical characteristics for water quality of Shatt Al-Arab River/ Basrah-South of Iraq
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56714/bjrs.51.2.5Keywords:
Fresh water river, chemical characteristics, Shatt Al-ArabAbstract
Freshwater ecosystems support a diverse range of organisms and constitute vital centres of biodiversity on the Earth. However, these environments are subject to various environmental stresses that have impacted water quality. The Shatt al-Arab River, a main waterway in southern Iraq, is continuously influenced by multiple factors that alter its water characteristics. This study aimed to assess the water quality of the Shatt al-Arab at three stations over the period from August 2024 to January 2025. Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Oiological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Total Hardness, Chlorides, Sulfates (SO₄²⁻), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), Alkalinity (expressed as CaCO₃), Total Phosphorus, and Total Nitrogen (TN) were measured. The results revealed significant spatial variations in dissolved oxygen, was the highest in Al-Salal 13.307 ± 4.088 mg/L and lowest was in Al-Ashar 10.293 ± 4.437 mg/L. Similarly, the biological oxygen demand recorded the highest mean at Al-Sallal, 6.100 ± 3.846 mg/L, and the lowest mean value observed at Al-Ashar, 2.833 ± 2.697 mg/L. Chloride concentrations also had mostly the same trend, where the highest mean concentration was at the Al-Sallal station, 2457.383 ± 588.847 mg/L,and the lowest was in Abu Al-Khasib was1611.683 ± 407.397 mg/L. Conversely, the concentrations of total hardness, sulphate, alkalinity, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen did not differ significantly across the three sites. Monthly variations were significant for most chemical parameters DO (P ≤ 0.000), BOD (P ≤ 0.02), COD (P ≤ 0.001), TH (P ≤ 0.000), Cl⁻ (P ≤ 0.000), Alkalinity (P ≤ 0.013), TP (P ≤ 0.000), and TN (P ≤ 0.000) except for sulphate, which showed no significant monthly fluctuations in the waters of the Shatt al-Arab
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