Variations of LST frequency Distribution as an Indicator of Environmental Changes, Case Study Zayabderood and Urmia basins

Anthropogenic environmental changes can have serious consequences. Environmental changes affect the frequency distribution of the land surface temperature (LST) due to changes in the thermal properties of the land surface. Temperature changes, in turn, trigger a series of changes in various aspects of the environment. Such changes in Iran that suffer from a hot and dry climate may be matter of life and death. Analysis of 15 years of MODIS/Aqua LST data (2003-2017) shows that man-made land-use changes affect the frequency distribution of LST in some parts of Iran. Construction of dams has been altered the hydrologic cycle in many watersheds of the country. Overconsumption of groundwater resources, urbanization, and deforestation have affected the tempo-spatial behavior of LST in Iran during the past half-century. As a result, there is a huge imbalance between natural resources and expectations of society. Ecological footprints are beyond the capability of natural resources of the country. So there is an urgent need for abrupt changes in lifestyle and reducing the ecological footprints. Natural climatic changes along with these anthropogenic environmental changes would pose a serious threat to the survival of many metropolitans of Iran with several thousand years of history. Many civilization centers of the country survived severe droughts, but this time the changes are too fast.