CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION
1.1 Introduction
Ground water in general is the portion of earths water occurring
below the surface of the earth, in other words is the saturate geologic
strata where the pore space are filled with water [1]. It is stored in
aquifers An aquifer is soil or rock formation that is capable of yielding
usable amounts of water. Ground water is considered as an important
resource in many areas of the world either for drinking, irrigation,
industrial or other usage. So it is a vulnerable resource because it may be
depleted or degraded due to many reasons including overexploitation,
reduction of groundwater recharge, contamination, etc…
Ground water in many cases is more desirable than surface water
for several reasons among which are :
1. It is free of pathogenic organisms and needs no purification for
domestic or industrial uses.
2.The temperature is nearly constant which is a great advantage if
the water is used in heat exchangers.
3.Ground water storage is generally greater than surface-water
storage, so ground water supplies are not seriously affected by
short droughts.
Groundwater begins as precipitation and snowmelt that seeps or
infiltrates into the ground; the amount of water that infiltrates into the
ground varies widely from place to place depending on the type of land

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surface and soil type and condition, as shown in figure (1.1).

Figure (1-1): The hydrologic cycle

Groundwater and groundwater basins are valuable resource due to the
quantity of supply and the possibility for storage and distribution.
However, their use must be regulated to preserve or enhance their value.
Groundwater management represented deliberate efforts to a chive
greater benefits from the use of this resource while avoiding its depletion
and associated welfare costs, cited in [2].
The study area is located in north and north east of Missan province
as shown in the figure (1-2). It occurs along the foot of mountains of the
Iraqi-Iranian frontier in south of Iraq, between longitudinal-line (
47°06'- 47°36' ) and latitude-line ( 32°06'-32°30' ). The considered area
is about 1860 km2

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Chapter One Introduction

Figure (1.2) Location of the study area

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Chapter One Introduction

1.2 The aims of the study

The aims of the study are to;
1- conceptualize the aquifer system within the study area and delineate
recharge and discharge areas,
2- compare the results of two models ( MODFLOW and MICROFEM )
and select the best one.
In order to achieve the above aims of the study, the following topics
have been investigated:
1-The properties of the aquifer in the study area.

2- Mathematical modeling of groundwater flow using MODFLOW and

MICROFEM models.

1.3 Layout of the Thesis

The present thesis consist of five chapters. Chapter two reviews
some previous researchs concerning the study area, and some researchs
dealing with groundwater modeling using finite difference and finite
element methods. Chapter three describes the study area and data
collection program. Chapter four presents two mathematical models
applied to simulate the flow regime of the upper part of the study
area. Chapter five presents and discusses the results of applying two
different simulation models. Finally, chapter six outlines the conclusions
and recommendations for further studies.