Novel Technique for Measuring Erosion in Riverbanks: Tigris River Case at Baiji City-Iraq

Riverbank erosion is one of the important issues and challenges faced and studied by river management experts.It is one of the main risks that threatens people and structures, as it causes the loss of nearby land from the river.Erosion happens because of hydraulic forces from river water acting on the riverbank or due to the weakening and wearing away of the soil layers that make up the riverbank.A field study of riverbank erosion was carried out over five years at Baiji city along the Tigris River in Salah Al-Din governorate on the right riverbank of the river.Field measurements were conducted from 2020 to the end of 2024, with two measurements and observations carried out each year at different periods to ensure coverage of all the different water levels of the river.This allowed for long-term monitoring of the riverbank to observe the changes occurring during the study period.The discharges during the study period ranged between 420 m /sec to 2120 m /sec.The results showed that the amount of erosion on the riverbank was 62 cm, which can be considered slightly high given the current conditions in the region, and it should be taken into account that the rate may increase if favorable conditions arise for the erosion process.