Investigating the changes in the snow cover level and its relationship with the ground surface temperature in a time series (case study: Mashgin Shahr watershed)
Subject Areas : Geomorphology
Mousa Abedini
1
,
aboozar Sadeghi
2
,
Hamed Solamani Yoozband
3
1 - Professor of Geomorphology, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran
2 - University Mohaghegh Ardabili Ardabil
3 - Department of physical Geography, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardebili, Ardebil, Iran.
Keywords: Snow Cover, Land Surface Temperature, Landsat, Meshgin Shahr, Elevation Topographical Component.,
Abstract :
Snow and glaciers play a fundamental role in terrestrial life and human sustenance, significantly influencing our daily lives. Therefore, the primary objective of this research is to examine and evaluate the surface temperature of the Earth and snow cover using topographic components and changes in snow cover (SC) in the Meshgin Shahr watershed. In this study, Landsat 5, 8, and 9 images were utilized in the Earth Inheritance System to calculate the Normalized Difference Snow Index (NDSI), and Land Surface Temperature (LST) was computed for the same images using the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for the summer season. The results indicate an inverse relationship between surface temperature and snow cover. The analysis of snow cover (SC) maps and elevation classes reveals that, until the year 2007, all regions were covered with snow at elevations higher than 4381 meters. However, post-2007, fluctuations have been observed. At elevations below 2000 meters, the annual average temperature ranges from 14.97 to 0.97 degrees Celsius, decreasing with increasing altitude. In higher elevations exceeding 3500 meters, the annual average temperature ranges from 24.84 to 12.64 degrees Celsius. According to the current research results, the maximum greenness occurred in 1993, covering an area of 1041.74 square kilometers. In that year, the snow-covered area was 1642.37 square kilometers. In contrast, the minimum vegetation cover occurred in 2006, with an area of 237.42 square kilometers, corresponding to a snow cover area of 1003.63 square kilometers.
