Snow Cover Variability in the Cold Period of the Year in Iran Based on MODIS Measurements

The study of snow cover as one of the most important sources of freshwater supply is of great importance. Due to the mountainous conditions of Iran, it is not possible to measure the area of snow cover. Accordingly, the use of satellite imagery to identify snow storage is of great importance. In this study, the spatio-temporal changes of Iran snow cover for the cold period of the year were evaluated using the snow cover product of MODIS Terra satellite during the period of 2003-2018. The trend and slope of the snow cover were investigated using Man-Kendall non-parametric tests and the Sen's slope estimator and change-point of snow cover using Buishand test. The results showed that in January, the highest amount of snow cover is 16.6 percent, and the lowest amount of snow cover was computed in October, which is less than 1 percent. The main center of Iran's snow cover in the cold period of the year in the highlands is above 4000 meters. The snow cover trend is negative in all studied months and the maximum decrease in snow cover was calculated in January and the change-point was calculated in 2008 January, which is statistically significant at the level of 0.05. The significant decrease in snow cover during the cold period of the year which is a major threat to Iran's water resources.