Identify Trend of changes Climatic zones in the watersheds leading to Dust source In Khuzestan Province (Karkheh, Karoun and Zohreh - Jarahi)

This study investigates and analyzes the decades of change in climatic zones in Karkheh, Karoun, and Zohreh - Jarahi watersheds. For this purpose, the database of temperatures and precipitation networks during the period 1976-2015, with a spatial resolution of 15 x 15 km, formatted in the conical Lambert image system, was used. In fact, because these two elements are the most important climatic drivers in the study area and the changes of other elements in these two elements are more visible, they have been used to study and analyze the climate change zone. After establishing the database, cluster analysis was used to identify climatic regions, and the audit analysis was used to validate it. Cluster analysis was performed on 52 indices of temperature and precipitation (monthly and annual average, coefficient of variation of temperature, and precipitation monthly and annual changes) during different periods, and climatic zones and their changes were analyzed. Based on the results, three climatic zones including humid and moderate zone, hot and dry zone, and very hot and dry zone were identified in the study area. The results showed that in recent periods, the humid area, in addition to having spatial displacement, its area reduced so that in the fifth period, the area reached less than five percent. Also, the hot and dry zone, stretched as a strip from the northwest to the southwest of the study area, had less spatial displacement, unlike the humid area, while its area increased in recent periods. On the other hand, the area of the very hot and dry zone has increased towards recent periods. Spatial and temporal increase of hot and dry climates and very hot and dry climates and decrease of the humid zone has been able to lead to the development and intensification of dust source, especially downstream of the studied watersheds.