Determining and Measuring the Shift of the Tigris Riverbanks at the Baghdad University Camp between the Years 1962- 2013 Using the Geometrical Method and GIS

The Tigris River passes throw Baghdad City, from the north entrance to the confluence with Diala River in the south, dividing it into two main parts namely Al-Risafa in the eastern side of the city, and Al-karkh in the western side with about 49 km long. Tigris Riverbanks, like most Rivers in the world, changes its path according to the changes in the river characteristics. The Tigris River has the largest meandering in Baghdad, Al-Jadriyah. So, the Riverbanks are usually exposed to erosion in the Concave (Dora) side and deposition in the convex side adjacent to the Baghdad University Camp (BUC). The study area locates in the central part of Baghdad City, and lies between Lat. (33 17 3.79-33 15 27.16) N, Long. (44 21 20.27- 44 243.73) E. The available data consist of, a Controlled Mosaic Aerial Photograph (dated/1962), and WorldView-1 pan satellite image/2013 were obtained from the Iraqi State Organization on Survey. The aim of this study is to determine and measuring the magnitude of erosion and deposition happened to the Tigris Riverbanks for the period extended between the (1962 2013). For this purpose, a proposed Geometrical Method with GIS Graphic Tools was implemented. The cross-sections are taken for each 250 meters to measure these magnitudes. The results show that, the maximum values for both, (erosion and deposition) were 63 m and 352 m respectively.