Virtual Water Trade and Food Security for Iraq

Iraq depends on its water resources from the water of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries. Now, the flow of these rivers is decreasing, and Iraq is experiencing a water shortage problem. The situation is expected to be graver in the future if no action is considered. It is expected that the population will be about 70 million in 2050 and about 90 million in 2070. In such a case, thus, the quantities of water available in the future will not be sufficient to produce most of the requirements of food security, whether that be from agricultural or animal products. To overcome this problem, water management planning should be based on scientific background to overcome the present and expected problems. One of the main factors to be considered should be based on scientific studies of the virtual water footprint of different food crops to provide the largest possible amount of virtual water and avoid the acute shortage of its national water from surface and ground irrigation water (blue water) and rainwater (green water), in addition to working hard to provide the largest possible amount of desalinated water and refined sewage (gray water). In addition, any strategic plan for sustainable development in the country must be comprehensive so that it is not satisfied with improving the situation in the field of food security related to water security, but rather among its other elements is community development that directly affects food security, including setting policies to reduce consumption by reducing the steady increase in population where the population rate is 2.97% now. Collective awareness and guidance programs in all the fields of water and food security are very important to be adopted, so that everyone knows that the issue of food security and what derives from it are an existential issue related to the survival of Iraq as a state and people. In this research, facts are stated so that action is to be considered to minimize the water shortage problem. The new strategic water resources management plan is to be adopted that considers existing and future expected problems.

Effects of climate change and land-use changes on spatiotemporal distributions of blue water and green water in Ningxia, Northwest China

Water resources are a crucial factor that determines the health of ecosystems and socio-economic development;however,they are under threat due to climate change and human activities.The quantitative assessment of water resources using the concept of blue water and green water can improve regional water resources management.In this study,spatiotemporal distributions of blue water and green water were simulated and analyzed under scenarios of climate change and land-use changes using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT)in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region,Northwest China,between 2009 and 2014.Green water,a leading component of water resources,accounted for more than 69.00%of the total water resources in Ningxia.Blue water and green water showed a single peak trend on the monthly and annual scales during the study period.On the spatial scale,the southern region of Ningxia showed higher blue water and green water resources than the northern region.The spatiotemporal distribution features of blue water,green water,and green water flow had strong correlations with precipitation.Furthermore,the simulation identified the climate change in Ningxia to be more influential on blue water and green water than land-use changes.This study provides a specific scientific foundation to manage water resources in Ningxia when encountered with climate change together with human activities.

Environmental Sustainability of Water Footprint in China' Mainland

Water footprint(WF)measures human appropriation of water resources for consumptive use of surface and ground water(blue WF)and soil water(green WF)and for assimilating polluted water(grey WF).Questions have been often asked about the exact meaning behind the numbers from WF accounting.However,to date environmental sustainability of WF has never been assessed at the sub-national level over time.This study evaluated the environmental sustainability of blue,green and grey WF for China’s 31 mainland provinces in 2002,2007 and 2012,and identified the unsustainable hotspots.Overall,the total WF increased by 30%between 2002 and 2012.The growth can be attributed to the increase of grey WF because the green and blue WF showed only a slight rise.Among all provinces investigated in 2012,eleven showed unsustainable blue WF(sustainability index SI<0),which were mainly located in the North China Plain.There were 12 provinces that displayed unsustainable green WF,and they were distributed in China’s southern and southeastern areas.The grey WF was not sustainable in approximately two third of provinces(19),which were mainly located in China’s middle and northern regions and Guangdong province.More than half of China’s provinces showed trends of improved SI of green and blue WF from 2002 to 2012.However,the SI of grey WF decreased in almost two third of provinces.Poor levels of WF sustainability were due to water scarcity and pollution,which intensify the degradation of local rivers and ecosystems and make restoration more difficult.The results shed light on the policy making needed to improve sustainable water management,and ecological restoration of hotspot regions.

Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources in Diyala River Basin, Iraq

Diyala River is the third largest tributary of the Tigris River running 445 km length and draining an area of 32,600 km2. The river is the major source of water supply for Diyala City for municipal, domestic, agriculture and other purposes. Diyala River Basin currently is suffering from water scarcity and contamination problems. Up-to-date studies have shown that blue and green waters of a basin have been demonstrating increasing variability contributing to more severe droughts and floods seemingly due to climate change. To obtain better understanding of the impacts of climate change on water resources in Diyala River Basin in near 2046-2064 and distant future 2080~2100, SWAT （soil and water assessment tool） was used. The model is first examined for its capability of capturing the basin characteristics, and then, projections from six GCMs （general circulation models） are incorporated to assess the impacts of climate change on water resources under three emission scenarios： A2, AIB and B1. The results showed deteriorating water resources regime into the future.

Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources of Greater Zab River, Iraq

Greater Zab is the largest tributary of the Tigris River in lraq where the catchment area is currently being plagued by water scarcity and pollution problems. Contemporary studies have revealed that blue and green waters of the basin have been manifesting increasing variability contributing to more severe droughts and floods apparently due to climate change. In order to gain greater appreciation of the impacts of climate change on water resources in the study area in near and distant future, SWAT （Soil and Water Assessment Tool） has been used. The model is first tested for its suitability in capturing the basin characteristics, and then, forecasts from six GCMs （general circulation models） with about half-a-century lead time to 2046-2064 and one-century lead time to 2080-2100 are incorporated to evaluate the impacts of climate change on water resources under three emission scenarios： A 1 B, A2 and BI. The results showed worsening water resources regime into the future.

A dynamic analysis of water footprint of Jinghe River basin

Water footprint in a region is defined as the volume of water needed for the production of goods and services consumed by the local people, Ecosystem services are a kind of important services, so ecological water use is one necessary component in water footprint. Water footprint is divided into green water footprint and blue water footprint but the former one is often ignored.In this paper waterJootprint includes blue water needed by agricultural irrigation, industrial and domestic water demand, and green water needed by crops, economic forests, livestock prochtcts, forestlalands and grasslands. The study calculates the footprint of the Jinghe River basin in 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005 with quarto methods. Results of research show that water footprints reached 164.1 ×10^8m3, 175. 69 ×10^8m3 and 178. 45 ×10^8m3 respectively in 1990, 1995 and 2000 including that of ecological water use, but reached 77.68×10^8m3, 94.24×10^8m3, 92.92×10^8m3 and 111.36 ×10^8m3 respectively excluding that of ecological water use. Green water.footprint is much more than blue water footprint; thereby, green water plays an important role in economic development and ecological construction The dynamic change of water footprints shows that blue water use increases rapidly and that the ecological water use is occupied by economie and domestic water use. The change also shows that water use is transferred from primary industry to secondary industry In primary industry, it is transferred from crops farming to forestry, and animal agriculture. The factors impelling the change include development anticipation on econonomy; government policies, readjustment of the industrial structure, population growth, the raise of urbanization level, and structurul change of consumption, low level of waler-saving and poor ability of waste water treatment.With blue water use per unit, green water use per unit, blue water use structure and green water use structure, we analyzed the difference of the six ecologieal function districts of the Jinghe River basin. Future ecological construction may influence on blue water use of District V and District Ⅵ at middle and lower reaches. At last some suggestions are given for effective water resouree use.

Effect of future climate change on the water footprint of major crops in southern Tajikistan

Danghara,a major food production area in southern Tajikistan,is currently suffering from the impact of rapid climate change and intensive human activities.Assessing the future impact of climate change on crop water requirements(CWRs)for the current growing period and defining the optimal sowing date to reduce future crop water demand are essential for local/regional water and food planning.Therefore,this study attempted to analyze possible future climate change effects on the water requirements of major crops using the statistical downscaling method in the Danghara District to simulate the future temperature and precipitation for two future periods(2021-2050 and 2051-2080),under three representative concentration pathways(RCP2.6,RCP4.5,and RCP8.5)according to the CanESM2 global climate model.The water footprint(WFP)of major crops was calculated as a measure of their CWRs.The increased projection of precipitation and temperature probably caused an increase in the main crop’s WFP for the current growing period,which was mainly due to the green water(GW)component in the long term and a decrease in the blue water(BW)component during the second future period,except for cotton,where all components were predicted to remain stable.Under three scenarios for the two future potato and winter wheat decreased from 5.7%to 4.8%and 3.4%to 2.2%,respectively.Although the WFP of cotton demonstrated a stable increase,according to the optimal sowing date,adecrease in irrigation demand or Bw was expected.The results of our study might be useful fordeveloping a new strategy related to irrigation systems and could help to find a balance betweenwater and food for environmental water demands and human use.

Hollow and substrate-supported Prussian blue,its analogs,and their derivatives for green water splitting

To meet the current energy needs of society,the highly efficient and continuous production of clean energy is required.One of the key issues facing the green hydrogen evolution is the construction of efficient,low-cost electrocatalysts.Prussian blue(PB),Prussian blue analogs(PBAs),and their derivatives have tunable metal centers and have attracted significant interest as novel photo-and electrochemical catalysts.In this review,recent research progress into PB/PBA-based hollow structures,substrate-supported nanostructures,and their derivatives for green water splitting is discussed and summarized.First,several remarkable examples of nanostructured PB/PBAs supported on substrates(copper foil,carbon cloth,and nickel foam)and hollow structures(such as single-shelled hollow boxes,open hollow cages,and intricate hollow structures(multi-shell and yolk-shell))are discussed in detail,including their synthesis and formation mechanisms.Subsequently,the applications of PB/PBA derivatives((hydr)oxides,phosphides,chalcogenides,and carbides)for water splitting are discussed.Finally,the limitations in this research area and the most urgent challenges are summarized.We hope that this review will stimulate more researchers to develop technologies based on these intricate PB/PBA structures and their derivatives for highly efficient,green water splitting.

Water harvesting experiences from the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network

This paper shares experiences of the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network on rainwater harvesting.It also shares the lessons drawn from policy research awareness creation and networking building of national networks and assessment of promising water harvesting techniques in the Sub-Saharan Africa.The concerted promotional effort of the southern and eastern Africa rainwater network has resulted in the general acceptance of rainwater harvesting as a viable option for boosting domestic water supply agricultural production and environmental sustainability.To date twelve nationally registered rainwater harvesting associations have been established which are providing leadership and capacity building in rainwater harvesting.Governments and donors are also aligning their policies towards providing increased financial institutional and technical support for upscaling rainwater-harvesting techniques. This paper concludes that diligent land and water management is necessary for yielding the highest benefits from rainwater.In addition to enabling policies and institutions there must be ample budgetary support to increase adoption of the technology.

Effect of Ship Bow Overhang on Water Shipping for Ship Advancing in Regular Head Waves

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation dealing with the effect of bow overhang extensions on the quantity of shipping water over the foredeck in case of ships advancing in regular head waves. To perform this investigation, a series of free-running tests was conducted in regular waves using an experimental model of a multipurpose cargo ship to quantify the amount of shipping water. The tests were performed on five bow overhang variants with several combinations of wavelength and ship speed conditions. It was observed that the quantity of shipping water was affected by some parameters such as wavelength, ship speed, and bow shape in terms of an overhang extension. The results show the significant influence of an overhang extension, which is associated with the bow flare shape, on the occurrence of water shipping. These results involve the combined incoming regular waves and model speed.

Assessment of Climate Change Impacts on Water Resources of Al-Adhaim, Iraq Using SWAT Model

SWAT model (Sediment and Water Assessment Tool) was used to evaluate the impacts of climate change on water resources in Al-Adhaim Basin which is located in north east of Iraq. Al-Adhaim River is the main source of fresh water to Kirkuk City, one of the largest cities of Iraq. Recent studies have shown that blue and green waters of the basin have been manifesting increasing variability contributing to more severe droughts and floods apparently due to climate change. In order to gain greater appreciation of the impacts of climate change on water resources in the study area in near and distant future, SWAT (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) has been used. The model is first tested for its suitability in capturing the basin characteristics, and then, forecasts from six GCMs with about half-a-century lead time to 2046-2064 and one-century lead time to 2080-2100 are incorporated to evaluate the impacts of climate change on water resources under three emission scenarios: A2, A1B and B1. The results showed worsening water resources regime into the future.

强非线性规则波中内倾船的甲板上浪数值研究

Owing to the large amplitude and nonlinearity of extreme sea waves,sailing ships exhibit obvious large-amplitude motion and green water.For a tumblehome vessel,a low-tumblehome freeboard and wave-piercing bow make green water more likely.To study the green water of a wave-facing sailing tumblehome vessel in strong nonlinear regular waves,the computational fluid dynamics software STAR-CCM+was used.The Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes method was used for the numerical simulation,and the k-epsilon model was adopted to deal with viscous turbulence.The volume of the fluid method was used to capture the free surface,and overset grids were utilized to simulate the large-amplitude ship motion.This study delves into the influence of wave height on the ship motion response and a tumblehome vessel green water under a large wave steepness(0.033≤H/λ≤0.067)at Fr=0.22.In addition,the dynamic process of green water and the“wave run-up”phenomenon were evaluated.The results suggest that when the wavelength is equal to the ship length and the wave steepness increases to 0.056,the increase in the water height on the deck is obvious.However,the wave height had little effect on the green water duration.The wave steepness and“backwater”have a great impact on the value and number of the peak of the water height on the deck.When the wave steepness exceeded 0.056,the water climbed up,and the plunging-type water body was formed at the top of the wave baffle,resulting in a large water area on the deck.

Risk assessment of agricultural green water security in Northeast China under climate change

Northeast China is an important base for grain production,dominated by rain-fed agriculture that relies on green water.However,in the context of global climate change,rising regional temperatures,changing precipitation patterns,and increasing drought frequency pose threats and challenges to agricultural green water security.This study provides a detailed assessment of the spatiotemporal characteristics and development trends of green water security risks in the Northeast region under the base period(2001-2020)and the future(2031-2090)climate change scenarios(SSP245 and SSP585)using the green water scarcity(GWS)index based on raster-scale crop spatial distribution data,Delta downscaling bias-corrected ERA5 data,and CMIP6 multimodal data.During the base period,the green water risk-free zone for dry crops is mainly distributed in the center and east of the Northeast region(72.4% of the total area),the low-risk zone is primarily located in the center(14.0%),and the medium-risk(8.3%)and high-risk(5.3%)zones are mostly in the west.Under SSP245 and SSP585 future climate change scenarios,the green water security risk shows an overall expansion from the west to the center and east,with the low-risk zone increasing to 21.6% and 23.8%,the medium-risk zone increasing to 16.0% and 17.9%,and the high-risk zone increasing to 6.9% and 6.8%,respectively.Considering dry crops with GWS greater than 0.1 as in need of irrigation,the irrigated area increases from 27.6%(base period)to 44.5%(SSP245)and 48.6%(SSP585),with corresponding increases in irrigation water requirement(IWR)of 4.64 and 5.92 billion m~3,respectively,which further exacerbates conflicts between supply and demand of agricultural water resources.In response to agricultural green water security risks,coping strategies such as evapotranspiration(ET)-based water resource management for dry crops and deficit irrigation are proposed.The results of this study can provide scientific basis and decision support for the development of Northeast irrigated agriculture and the construction planning of the national water network.

Watershed management,groundwater recharge and drought resilience:An integrated approach to adapt to rainfall variability in northern Ethiopia

Rainfall variability coupled with poor land and water management is contributing to food insecurity in many sub-Saharan African countries such as Ethiopia.To address such challenges,various efforts have been implemented in Ethiopia.The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term impacts of different soil and water conservation and water harvesting interventions on groundwater and drought resilience of the Gule watershed,northern Ethiopia.The study involved:(i)documentation of the ap-proaches followed and the technologies implemented in Gule since the 1990s,(ii)monitoring the hy-drological effects of the interventions for ten years,and(iii)evaluation of the effects of the interventions on groundwater(level and quality),spring discharge and suspended sediment concentration(SSC)in runoff.Results showed that interventions were implemented at different stages and scales.As a result of the interventions,the watershed was transformed into a landscape resilient to rainfall variability:(a)dry shallow groundwater wells have become productive and the level of water in wells has raised,(b)the groundwater quality has improved,(c)SSC in high floods has reduced by up to 65%,(d)discharge of existing springs has increased by up to 73%and new springs have started to emerge.Due to improved water availability,irrigated land has increased from less than 3.5 ha before 2002 to 166 ha in 2019.Communities have remained water-secure during an extreme drought in 2015/2016.Implementation of watershed management practices has transformed the landscape to be resilient to rainfall variability in a semi-arid environment:a lesson for adaptation to climate variability and change in similar environments.

Carbon and water footprints of major crop production in India

Scarcity of water and emission of greenhouse gases(GHGs)are the two key environmental issues affecting crop production in India.Reducing the carbon footprint(CF)and water footprint(WF)of crop production can help to mitigate the environmental hazards that stem from GHG emissions and water scarcity.The CFs and WFs of three major cereal crops,rice,wheat,and maize,were estimated for the year 2014 under the environmental conditions in India,based on national statistics and other data sources.Total CFs(TCFs)of rice,wheat,and maize in India were estimated to be 2.44,1.27,and 0.80 t CO_(2)equivalent ha-1,respectively,and product WFs for rice,wheat,and maize in India were 3.52,1.59,and 2.06 m3 kg^(-1),respectively.Blue WF was found to be the highest in West India for rice and in South India for both wheat and maize,with the highest irrigation water use in these regions.There was a positive correlation between TCF and total WF,and hence mitigation of both was possibly simultaneous in various regions in India.Potential measures for mitigating GHG emissions and optimizing water use for rice,wheat,and maize production in India are recommended in this paper.

Green Nanotechnology from Plant Extracts: Synthesis and Characterization of Gold Nanoparticles

The advantage of using plants in nanoparticles synthesis is that they are easily available, safe to handle and possess a broad variability of metabolites such as antioxidants, nucleotides and vitamins. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Green and Zimbro tea and also Green coconut water as a reducing and stabilizer agent in gold nanoparticle synthesis. The gold nanoparticles were characterized by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Dynamic light scattering (DLS) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Their physical stability was determined using a UV-Vis spectrophotometer over several days during storage at room temperature. We observed that green chemical process to obtain gold nanoparticles did not require any external chemicals reagent for stabilization of nanoparticulate. Absorption measurements indicated that the plasmon resonance wavelength appears around 530 nm. X-ray diffracto-grams of gold nanoparticles evidenced the presence of Au-rich (fcc) phases. TEM analysis showed a homogeneous dispersion of nanoparticles and some agglomerates. Differences in size and shape of the nanoparticles were observed. Zeta potential of AuNPs synthetized in presence of Green tea was -33 mV indicating stability of the synthesized nanoparticles.

The Analysis of Water Footprint of Production and Water Stress in China

Water footprint of production can be used to identify pressure on national or regional water resources generated by production activities. Water stress is defined as the ratio of water use （the difference between a re- gional water footprint of production and a green water footprint） to renewable water resources available in a country or region. Water stress can be used to identify pressure on national or regional water resources generated by production activities. This paper estimates the water footprint of production and the water stress in China during the years 1985-2009. The result shows that China＇s water footprint of production increased from 781.58×109 m^3 in 1985 to 1109.76 × 10^9 m^3 in 2009. Mega-cities and regions with less agriculture production due to local climatic conditions （Tibet and Qinghai） had lower water footprint of production, while the provinces （Henan, Shandong） with higher agriculture production had higher footprint. Provinces with severe water stress increased from 6 in 1985 to 9 in 2009. High to severe water stress exists mainly in mega-cities and agricultural areas located in the downstream areas of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River in North and Central China. The outlook for water resources pressure in China is not optimistic, with areas of stress expanding from northern to southern of China.

Slamming and Green Water Loads on Bow-Flare Ship in Regular Head Waves Investigated by Hydroelasticity Theory and Experiment

With the development of ships towards large scale, high speed and light weight, ship hydroelastic responses and slamming strength issues are becoming increasingly important. In this paper, a time-domain nonlinear hydroelasticity theory is developed to predict ship motion and load responses in harsh regular waves.Hydrostatic restoring force, wave excitation force and radiation force are calculated on the instantaneously wetted body surface to consider the nonlinear effects caused by large amplitude motions of ship in steep waves. A twodimensional(2 D) generalized Wagner model and a one-dimensional(1 D) dam-breaking model are used to estimate the impact loads caused by bow flare slamming and green water on deck, respectively;the impact loads are coupled with the hydroelastic equation in time-domain. Moreover, segmented model tests are carried out in a towing tank to investigate the wave and slamming loads acting on the hull sailing in harsh regular head waves and also validate the numerical results.

Sustainable water management for green infrastructure

The water is the most important component in the ecosystems responsible for energy flow and mass transport. The water also plays an important role for human existence. However, the constructed infrastructures such as roads, buildings, railways, drainage systems, etc. give negative impacts to the ecosystem such as deteriorating the water quality and changing the natural water circulation system.

Planning and Design of the Shenyang Round-the-City Water System and the Green Zone Project

The Shenyang round-the-city watersystem and the green zone project was plan-ned and implemented under the guidance ofthe master plan of the city.The project in-cludes the three artificial rivers(Nanyun Riv-er,Xinkai River and Wei Gong MingCanal)and the green strips on their banks,