Salh et al. (2026) Monitoring Lake Water Temperature and Estimating Evaporation in Western Iraq Using Ground-based Meteorological Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing

Identification

• Journal: Forum Geografi
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-09-14
• Authors: Abdulqader Mahdi Salh, Bilal Bardan Ali, Ahmed El Kenawy, Khamis Daham Muslih, Sara Ismail Chiad
• DOI: 10.23917/forgeo.17296

Research Groups

• Higher Institute of Desert Sciences, University of Anbar
• Department of Geography, College of Education for Humanities, University of Anbar
• Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologia
• Mansoura University
• University of Baghdad, College of Arts, Department of Geography & GIS

Short Summary

This study investigates the spatiotemporal variation of lake surface temperature and evaporation for Tharthar Lake (western Iraq) using ground meteorological observations and satellite remote sensing technique.

Objective

• Investigate the relationship between atmospheric forces and evaporation dynamics in arid regions.
• Develop a flexible method for evaporation monitoring at lakes in data-scarce regions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Local scale, focusing on Tharthar Lake in western Iraq.
• Temporal Scale: Daily to seasonal timescales, with data collected from January–December 2023.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: METRIC (Mapping Evapotranspiration at High Resolution with Internalized Calibration) model.
• Data sources: Ground-based meteorological observations from Tikrit weather station, thermal and infrared data of Landsat 9.

Main Results

• The temperature of the air in contact with the lake surface varies seasonally, ranging between 3.2 °C (January) and 47 °C (July).
• Relative humidity displays a seasonal pattern: declining from approximately 79% (winter) to 19% (summer).
• Evaporation during winter and summer was less than 1 mm /day and over 4 mm /day, respectively.
• The evaporation rate exhibited a clear spatial discontinuity where the evaporation loss was relatively higher along the shallow periphery and southern parts of the lake compared to the deep central areas.

Contributions

• This study provides a flexible method for evaporation monitoring at lakes in arid and data-scarce regions, which can be applied in Iraq to support sustainable water resource management.
• The results demonstrate that Tharthar Lake is vulnerable to considerable seasonal water loss due to atmospheric forces.

Funding

• No funding information provided.

Citation

@article{Salh2026Monitoring,
  author = {Salh, Abdulqader Mahdi and Ali, Bilal Bardan and Kenawy, Ahmed El and Muslih, Khamis Daham and Chiad, Sara Ismail},
  title = {Monitoring Lake Water Temperature and Estimating Evaporation in Western Iraq Using Ground-based Meteorological Observations and Satellite Remote Sensing},
  journal = {Forum Geografi},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.23917/forgeo.17296},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.23917/forgeo.17296}
}