The land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers has been called many things over the years--Eden, the Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia. It's one of the sites where Western civilization as we know it rose and spread across the world, and it was known in history as one of the most fruitful areas for farming, herding and fishing.
Now, the Mesopotamian region is a part of Iraq, and is more salt marsh than fertile field. Rising salt levels in the soil and water over centuries have made the once-pastoral landscape less and less welcoming to wildlife, vegetation, and, by extension, the half a million people who even recently made a living from the land.
Michigan Technological University graduate student Sinan Abood is studying the region in hopes of gaining insight into the salinity levels of the Tigris-Euphrates river valley, using high-resolution satellite imagery--and, maybe, applying that insight eventually to helping the area become fertile again.
It's an issue close to home for Abood, who is originally from Iraq. He is analyzing 100 square kilometers of the marshlands with the help and financial backing of
DigitalGlobe, a satellite imaging company. The company chose Abood's research from a worldwide student competition, one of 10 proposals using satellite imaging in an innovative method.
He is comparing images taken in 2003 with new DigitalGlobe images taken in 2010 to determine how the water supply and salt levels are changing, and what relationships can be established with the soil salinity.
"Soil salinity is a major environmental hazard," Abood says. "It has a severe negative impact on water quality and crop production. There are extensive areas of salt-damaged soils on all continents, but their extent and distribution has not been well studied in the Iraqi marshes."
The project aims to get a better understanding of the marshlands, for which study in-person, on the ground, is not feasible. It also may help detect which soils are at risk for becoming saline in coming years, so that preventative actions can take place.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Sinan Abood, Michigan Technological University
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