Iraqi Coasts of the Arabian Gulf, Khor Zubair, Shatt Al-Arab and Shatt AlBasrah are developing areas . Water discharge by boats and ships, marine transportation and ballast water discharges are main sources of pollutants in this area. While, wastewater, industrial and agricultural discharges and dredging are another sources of pollutant in this coastal area. These activities along the Iraqi coasts have caused this area to be exposed to different kinds of pollutants especially heavy metals
Therefore, the objective of this study is to elucidate the distribution of heavy metals (Fe, Zn, Cu, Co, Pb and Ni)
The biggest spill occurred during the 1991Arabian Gulf War, when about 240 million gallons of oil spilled from the oil terminals and tankers off the coast of Saudi Arabia. When oil is spilled into the sea it undergoes a number of physical and chemical changes, some of which lead to its removal from the sea surface
Pollution of waterways of Umm Qasr and Khor Al- Zubair Channel by petroleum hydrocarbons are expected to occur through different operations: land based discharges, atmospheric and natural inputs
(GESAMP, 1993)., as well as activities of human beings which comprise discharged through municipal and industrial wastes, urban and river runoffs. Moreover, the area of Umm Qasr and Khor Az Zubair channel is affected by petroleum hydrocarbons pollutants from fixed installations like Al‐ Shuaibah refineries, offshore production facilities, loading terminals, etc. (GESAMP, 1993).
The aim of the Study
Given the importance of the major ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Al-Zubair, who are among the most important waterways Iraqi and uses extensive in recent times to transport goods, navigation and fishing so it was important to study the quality of water and hydrocarbons, the impact of that spill forth & other sources as well.
Description Of the Study Area
Um Qasr and Khor Al- Zubair are the main targets of this project. The study area is located between (40o 51` – 47o 53`) East and (30o 12` – 30o 13`) North,
. Khor Al- Zubair is an extension of the Arabian-Gulf waters in the lower reaches of Mesopotamia. It has an approximate length of 42 km, a wide of 1 km at low tide, and an average depth of 10-20 m. The lower (South) end is connected with Khor Abdullah.
The northern end receives freshwater influx of average 700 m 3 /sec throughout the tidal cycle. The current in the Khor Z. is characterized by one directional throughout the tidal cycle towards the southern end (Arabian Gulf), with a velocity exceeding 2m/sec during ebb tide and 0.66 m/sec in flood tide. At the Southern end, the water discharge reaches10000 m3/sec with a velocity range of 0.8-5.78 m/sec. [4], with big tidal range at Umm-Qasr reaching 4.3m. Due to the low profile of the shore-line, the tidal floods penetrate the mudflats to a further distance, depending on the state of the tide, covering the halophytic vegetation
Study Area sketch Shown some Pollution sources
