ORIGINAL PAPER Modeling of spatially distributed infiltration in the Iraqi Western Desert Ahmed Shahadha Muneer 1 & Khamis Naba Sayl 1 & Ammar Hatem Kamal 1 Received: 4 July 2020 /Accepted: 18 February 2021 # Società Italiana di Fotogrammetria e Topografia (SIFET) 2021 Abstract Infiltration process tends to be one of the most essential elements of the hydrological cycle. Comprehensive and thorough information on soil infiltration in both temporal and spatial territories can support maintaining environmental and hydrological development. Traditional methods to measure soil infiltration are costly, time-consuming, and their facility to regain the spatial and temporal inconsistency, particularly in large scale areas. In this context, remote sensing is capable of providing meaningful information for counting preliminary soil infiltration on various spatial scales via spectral reflectance variability. The present study aims at developing a mathematical model to determine the spatially distributed infiltration using artificial neural networks (ANN) combined with geographical information system (GIS), remote sensing (RS), and field infiltration measurements using a double ring infiltrometer in the Wadi Al-Ratga in the Iraqi western desert. The performance of the proposed model was assessed both qualitatively and quantitatively by comparing the results measured against estimated infiltration rate values for each sample. The distribution of estimated infiltration rate values in dry season varies from 56 to 215 mm/h while the distribution of estimated IR values in wet season varies from 12 to 27 mm/h. The results indicate a good agreement between estimated and measured infiltration (R 2 = 0.8443, mean absolute percent error (MAPE) = 0.0996, root mean square error (RMSE) = 16.8 mm/h, and relative error (RE) less than 20%). Therefore, this comparative method plays for a considerable role in detecting and mapping soil infiltration by providing timely, fast, reparative, and relatively cheap data. Keywords Infiltration rate . Double ring infiltrometer . ANN model . RS . GIS . ASAR Introduction Water on Earth is continually moving through various phases and places. At the point when precipitation happens, water just has few places where it can go. Water can flow on the ground as a runoff, infiltrate, or evaporate (Philip 1954). The infiltra- tion process happens when surface water enters the ground (Hillel 1980). This activity of water through the ground surface plays a very important role in the overflow process by affecting the distribution of time and the amount of surface runoff (Padeepz 2018). Infiltration is a key part of surface and subsurface soil erosion, runoff formation, irrigation, and hy- drological systems. Soil infiltration is influenced by a number of factors, such as the intensity and duration of the rainfall storm, the time from the start of irrigation, and soil surface conditions and their physical and chemical properties (USDA 1998; Siyal et al. 2002). Thorough and comprehensive infor- mation on soil infiltration in both the spatial and temporal domains can assist sustainable hydrological, environmental, and agricultural development, particularly in arid and semi- arid regions (ASAR) where fluctuated weather conditions re- sult into land degradation and damage to planted areas. So, it is significant to assess the properties of soil infiltration and determine the rate of infiltration capacity to predict the runoff volume for the design of water harvesting project. In general, infiltration rate (IR) is the amount of water that reaches the ground vertically down per unit time (Philip 1954; Hillel 1980). Several techniques and equipment types have * Ahmed Shahadha Muneer ahmedshahadha_ded@uoanbar.edu.iq Khamis Naba Sayl khamis.naba@gmail.com Ammar Hatem Kamal ammar.kamel@uoanbar.edu.iq 1 Department of Dams and Water Resources Engineering, College of Engineering, University Of Anbar, University Campus, Ramadi, Anbar, Iraq https://doi.org/10.1007/s12518-021-00363-6 / Published online: 2 March 2021 Applied Geomatics (2021) 13:467–479