Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage and Restore Iraq’s Lifeline

In Iraq, the principal rivers are the Tigris, Shatt Al-Arab and Euphrates. From their headwater sources in the mountains of eastern Türkiye, these rivers descend through valleys and gorges and flow into the uplands of Syria and northern and central alluvial plain of Iraq. The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers confluence to form the Shatt Al-Arab river at Al-Qurnah which flows into the Persian Gulf. From sources in the Zagros Mountains other tributaries join the Tigris from the east. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow in a southeastern direction through the central plain and discharge into the Mesopotamian Marshes, which include permanent marshes, lakes, and riparian habitat. The rivers and their tributaries drain an area of 879,790 km2 which includes almost the entire area of Iraq as well as land in Syria, Türkiye, Kuwait and Iran. The region has historical importance as part of the Fertile Crescent region and where Mesopotamian civilization first emerged. The post war reconstruction efforts in the Yusifiyah township, an important food production region for Baghdad, illustrate the importance of these water resources. In addition, the advent of soil tunnels by Iraqi insurgents within the riverine corridors will make reconstruction of this resource more complex. The primary objectives of this study are to assess lessons learned, manage, and restore the Tigris, Euphrates, and Shatt Al-Arab river system lifeline in Iraq.

The Need for International Cooperation between Israel and Other Middle East Nations to Protect the Jordan River Landscape

The Jordan River, also referred to as Nahr Al Sharieat in Arabic, is a long river in the Middle East that flows from north to south through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea. The Jordan River is bordered by the Golan Heights and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the east and by Israel and the Palestinian West Bank (Judea and Samaria) in the west. Soil tunnels, including those in the Jordan River watershed and on the Israel, Syria, and Lebanon borders, have a long history of use for warfare, as invasion pathways, smuggling, and storage of rockets, missiles and ordnance and are causes of serious political tension between the countries. Soil tunnel construction and destruction often has adverse environmental and human health impacts in the Jordan River landscape. Due to agricultural wastes, the discharge of untreated sewage, and diversion of saline springs into the river water there has been serious deterioration in the water quality in the lower courses of the Jordan River. The primary objective of this research is to encourage the development of a multi-country clean-up, mitigation, and protection plan for the Jordan River.

Karun and Shatt Al-Arab River System: Historic and Modern Attempts to Manage Iran’s Lifeline

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s principal rivers are the Karun and Shatt al-Arab. The Karun River has a 950 km length. The Karun River starting point is the convergence of the Amand, Kuhrang, and Bazoft rivers. From their headwater sources in the mountains of eastern Iran, these rivers descend through valleys and gorges and flow into the plains of Iran. The Shatt al-Arab River drains an area of 879,790 square kilometers which includes land in Iran, Syria, Türkiye, Kuwait, and Iraq. The Karun joins Shatt al-Arab 110 km downriver from the confluence of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers and flows 85 km into the Persian Gulf. The Karun river flows in a southwestern direction through the central plain and provides about 10 per cent of the water balance of Iran’s largest wetland, the Shadegan, which includes permanent marshes, lakes, and riparian habitats. The article summarizes a vast array of publications on the stated topic and this civilizationally important region in order to draw additional attention to its interdependent environmental, economic and political problems the successful resolution of which is only possible with the participation of the entire research community.

How Did Vinh Moc Village, Located near Vietnam DMZ, Protect Their Villagers from United States Air Force Bombardment during the Vietnam War?

The buried village is Vinh Moc where more than 1200 Vietnamese, including soldiers, who lived underground during the Vietnam War (1965 to 1972) were hand dug into red basalt bedrock. The Vinh Moc Village was strategically located on the border of North Vietnam and South Vietnam approximately 14 km north of the DMZ and along the shoreline of the South China Sea. During the Vietnam War, the US Air Force heavily bombed Vinh Moc. The North Vietnamese Army (NVA) had an important military base on nearby Con Co Island. Brave civil volunteers from Vinh Moc would make the 28 km dangerous journey to the island, disguised as fishermen, to deliver supplies to the soldiers stationed there. The people who remained at Vinh Moc dug tunnels into red basalt hills in order to survive this onslaught. The American forces assessed the villagers of Vinh Moc were supplying food and armaments to the NVA garrison on the island of Con Co, which was in turn hindering the American bombers on their way to bomb Hanoi. The US military objective was to force the villagers of Vinh Moc to leave the area. The villagers initially dug the tunnels to a 10 m depth but the American forces designed bombs that burrowed down 10 m before exploding. The soil tunnels were then deepened to 30 m to provide safety for the soldiers and civilians working there during the intense US Air Force bombing. The primary objective of the research study was to determine how the soils and parent material of Vinh Moc Village, protected their villagers from the United States Air Force bombardment during the Vietnam War. In addition, the natural parent material at both the Vinh Moc and Cu Chi were assessed to determine why the tunnels were so resilient. The Cu Chi and Iron Triangle soil tunnels were dug by hand in the Old Alluvium soils and parent material where iron in solution precipitated and became the soil binding material. The Vinh Moc tunnels were hand dug in porous, red basalt (bedrock) hills where the consolidated rock structure itself provided the required binding material. Neither site needed support beams to hold up the ceilings.

Saigon River Valley: A Navigation, Trade, Mitigation, Invasion, Liberation, and Unification Pathway

The Saigon River is located in southern Vietnam with headwaters starting in southeastern Cambodia. The river flows southeast for about 225 km to the South China Sea. Most readers of Vietnam’s history know about the American-Vietnam War (1965-1973). However, centuries before that time, Vietnam fought with the Chinese, the Khmers, the Chams and the Mongols. The history of Vietnam begins in the Red River Delta, where farmers first cultivated rice. A millenia of struggle against the Chinese then followed. The Saigon River Valley was the pathway used by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA) to get from the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Cambodia to Saigon during the 1968 Tet Offensive. The NVA dug Cu Chi and Iron Triangle soil tunnels near Cu Chi in the Old Alluvium terrace to hide from American Forces and Air Force bombers. In 1962, the Tan Son Nhut Air Force base on the northern edge of Saigon received the first shipments of Agent Blue, the arsenic based herbicide, used to destroy the rice crop. The most dioxin TCDD and arsenic contaminated site in Vietnam was Bien Hoa Air Force base on the Saigon River just 30 km northeast east of Ho Chi Minh City. The adjacent Bien Hoa City has a population of over 800,000. The Port of Ho Chi Minh City is the most significant river port in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. The river is navigable by ships which draft up to 9 m. Vietnam only became a united country in the 19th century. Its independence was soon affected by French colonialism and then the destructive American intervention in the Vietnam War. The Vietnam War Archive no. 2 in Ho Chi Minh City houses residual correspondence between the Republic of Vietnam (RV) President Diem’s administration and US President Kennedy’s administration related to the Khai Huang program (hamlet strategy). In addition, the archive contains some of the tactical herbicide spray records of the RV military for the Mekong Delta. The primary objective this study is to document the role that the Saigon River Valley played, in modern warfare. The Saigon River Valley was used as a navigation, trade, invasion, liberation and unification pathway. The Vietnamese people have survived centuries of stormy, troubled times and their power of character has served them well.

Discontinuous mechanical behaviors of existing shield tunnel with stiffness reduction at longitudinal joints

An analytical model is proposed to estimate the discontinuous mechanical behavior of an existing shield tunnel above a new tunnel. The existing shield tunnel is regarded as a Timoshenko beam with longitudinal joints. The opening and relative dislocation of the longitudinal joints can be calculated using Dirac delta functions. Compared with other approaches, our method yields results that are consistent with centrifugation test data. The effects of the stiffness reduction at the longitudinal joints (α and β), the shearing stiffness of the Timoshenko beam GA, and different additional pressure profiles on the responses of the shield tunnel are investigated. The results indicate that our proposed method is suitable for simulating the discontinuous mechanical behaviors of existing shield tunnels with longitudinal joints. The deformation and internal forces decrease as α, β, and GA increase. The bending moment and shear force are discontinuous despite slight discontinuities in the deflection, opening, and dislocation. The deflection curve is consistent with the additional pressure profile. Extensive opening, dislocation, and internal forces are induced at the location of mutation pressures. In addition, the joints allow rigid structures to behave flexibly in general, as well as allow flexible structures to exhibit locally rigid characteristics. Owing to the discontinuous characteristics, the internal forces and their abrupt changes at vulnerable sections must be monitored to ensure the structural safety of existing shield tunnels.