Exploring the Role of Land Surface Temperature on Distribution of Snow Coverage in Iran by Remote Sensing Data

Abstract

The aim of this study is to explore the role of land surface temperature on distribution of snow-covered days in Iran. Firstly, the land surface temperature data were obtained from NASA for 2003 to 2014 in the spatial resolution of 1×1 km. MODIS Terra and MODIS Aqua data were also downloaded from 2003 to 2014 in the spatial resolution of 500 * 500. After preparation of the data in MATLAB software, Digital Elevation Model of the country was applied to calculate the annual LST for each of the elevations grouped by 1 meter. The findings of this study revealed that in the extents of the country which annul LST is below 30 º C the environmental condition is suitable for the accumulation of snow cover. And it was also found that the LST is 30 º C for the elevations above 1700 m. findings also revealed that there is no snow-covered day for the extents that LST is 37 º C and the most number of snow-covered days can be seen in the regions that LST is 0 º C.

Keywords

• land surface temperature
• snow-covered days
• modis terra
• modis aqua
• iran