Mohammed Baqer N Al-Baghdadi

Progress in River Engineering & Hydraulic Structures (Volume 2) Mohammed Baqer N Al-Baghdadi

Water is the essential element that all life-forms on our planet are dependent on. Itis impossible to assess its value because it is equal to the life itself. Humans realizedthis fact long time ago and they always endeavored to control and manage waterresources as they were afflicted by the drought and flood events throughout history. Therefore, the engineering of water resources and hydraulic structures is as old asthe human civilization. The earliest known engineered irrigation system wasdeveloped in ancient Mesopotamia (Iraq); an advanced system of dikes, dams andcanals was built for the purpose of irrigation and flood control. The main watersources for this system were the rivers Euphrates and Tigris. During plant growingseasons, the flow of water was properly regulated. Each farmer was allowed acertain amount of water, which was diverted from the canal into an irrigation ditch. The oldest known engineering plan of such an irrigation system has beendocumented on some unique and ancient clay tablet which has been discovered inBabylonia (belonging to 1684-1647 BC). It shows a map of canals with cuneiformscripts providing details about names, lengths, widths and depths of the canals andthe volume of sediment to be dredged. Mesopotamians have acquired the expertiseof maintaining their irrigation system over thousands of years. This contributionwas a major step toward the modernization of humanity. The Water Research Center (located in Iraq), which is dedicated to the exchange ofknowledge and technology in the water sector, has been inspired by those ancientengineers, hence published this book series entitled "Progress in RiverEngineering & Hydraulic Structures". It is intended to be a worldwide platformfor the contemporary research in this field. Chapters of this series demonstrate thestringent need for new solutions and technologies in the subject of river engineeringand hydraulic structures. The chapters cover a wide range of problems related toriver regime and training works, performance of different kinds of hydraulicstructures and any related multidisciplinary research. We believe that through thecollaboration of researchers, engineers and professionals, we can accelerate thedevelopment in these areas. The book is aimed to serve as a reference for bothresearchers and postgraduate students.