Group 6 Copy 21
0

Holding Fast to a New Future

Image © Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

"Suaid boy with a tarada." Eastern marshes, 1956, by WIlfred Thesiger. The seasonal Eastern Marshes - that is, those east of the Shatt Al-Arab within Basra Governorate - no longer exist. They were among the first drained by a kilometer-wide canal dug to divert Tigris overflows directly to the Shatt Al-Arab. Return water from the southern Majnoon oil fields located in that former marsh zone is one candidate for salt marsh construction. Profound thanks to Prof. Lynn Swartz-Dodd for helping make this possible.

0 comments

Join the conversation!Sign In

About This Project

Collapse of the marsh ecosystems of southern Iraq after 1991 forced hundreds of thousands of people into urban slums, and led to contamination of the remaining water supply. We will establish three test beds to see whether brackish water returned from oil drilling and refining can be used to construct new salt marshes. These will filter water, provide forage for livestock, create habitat for fish nurseries, and give new economic opportunities.
Blast off!

Browse Other Projects on Experiment

Related Projects

How do microplastics interact with other particles in aquatic environments?

In this research project, we will use controlled biofouling experiments to quantify the progressive colonization...

Manipulating structural complexity to bolster restoration efforts on Hawaiian coral reefs

This study investigates how altering module structures impacts coral fragment fusion, growth, and survival...

How do Black women fishing communities in Ecuador and Madagascar manage mangrove habitats and mitigate climate change?

I'm studying the resilient ways of ILK (indigenous and local knowledge) eco-governance of mangrove habitats...

Backer Badge Funded

An ecology project funded by 43 people

Add a comment