Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
3.7 Hydrology
The Euphrates River has a relatively regular watery regime/system, described by
two months of very high rate stream in April and May, and a phase of eight dry
months from July to February (Fig. 3.3 ). The yearly stream differs significantly
from year to year (Fig. 3.4 ), as well as very low stream records between July 1957
and January 1963, during which time the average flow decreased to only 83 % of
the long-term average. Euphrates's discharge rate is from 200 to 300 m 3 /s. It
begins to increase during early spring, i.e. in February. Then, becomes it more
abundant in March during the melting of snow in the high mountains in Turkey.
The peak of discharge is in April and May with 2,000 m 3 /s and sometimes more.
Because snow melts on peaks of mountains and because the high rates of rain in
April and May, the most flooding will be happening from mid-April to early May.
Starting from July, the discharge begins to decrease. The bottom of discharge is
either in September or in October. In April and May, discharge during the two
months records for 42 % of the yearly full amount. Minimum streams happen from
August through October and add only 8.5 % of the whole discharge (Beaumont
et al. 1988 ; Shahin 1989 ) (Figs. 3.3 and 3.4 ).
3.8 Vegetation and Land Use—Land Cover
Figure 3.5 provide general information about the LULC-activities in the ERB and
Syria.
The natural vegetation of the Euphrates River Basin includes riverine thickets
of Populus euphratica, Tamarix articulata, Salix sp., Glyzyriza glabra, Lycium
barbarum, and reed-beds of Phragmites sp. and Typha sp. The river banks are
intensively cultivated: There are vast areas of irrigated cotton and cereals, as well
as orchards and plantations of Populus and Pinus halepensis. The heavily culti-
vated steppe of the Al-Jazirah region lies to the east and the Syrian Desert to the
southwest (Murdoch et al. 2005 ). For instance, an old and random Pistacia
Loss of ca. 9 BCM/year
2500
956 m³/sec
2000
708m³/sec
1500
Mean Discharge (m³/s)_1925-
1973
Mean Discharge (m³/s)_1975-
2005 Annual mean_1925-1973
Annual mean_1975-2005
1000
500
0
Fig. 3.3 Euphrates River monthly mean discharges (m 3 /s) for the period 1925-2005 (Source
adapted from DIWU 2009 )
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