Analysis of temporal and spatial variations of Cloud cover using remote sensing data at Iran

The aim of this research is an analysis of tempo-spatial variations of Cloud cover at Iran. To achieve the goal, Cloud Fraction parameter has been used from cloud product of MODIS sensor on Terra satellite at level 2 and version 6 (MOD06) in the period of 2000 to 2013. Given that, the Available parameters in level 2 MODIS cloud products have not geographical coordinate’s regular network, At first, the Cloud Fraction parameter data were transferred to a regular network, due to this process, Climate analysis on the data is possible, Base on new database the results showed that In annual scale, the trend variations in cloud cover increase at a rate of 0.02% per annual (2% per century) in the country. Cloud cover in the seasonal scale showed that the decreasing trend occurs in autumn and increasing trend in other seasons. Cloud cover in the monthly scale, in July, October, December, and January decreased and there is an increasing trend in other months. The spatial distribution of cloud cover in the long-term annual trend showed that there is decreasing trend in the North East, North West and sporadically in the central regions and an increasing trend in the South, Southeast, and East of the country. Spatial distribution of seasonal trend showed that most parts of the country have been with the positive trend in autumn and the negative trend in winter.