Detection of The Caspian Sea Surface Temperature Fronts By Remote Sensing

This study investigated the Caspian Sea surface temperature fronts from 2015 until 2019 using satellite images (MODIS). The sea surface temperature front, a narrow-width area with a high-temperature gradient, plays a crucial role in various biological, chemical, physical, and agricultural parameters and climate change issues. Detecting sea surface temperature fronts also helps understand other phenomena such as upwelling, eddy, and biological accumulation. The Canny algorithm was used in the MATLAB environment for detecting the fronts, and the results were compared spatially and temporarily. It was observed that the fronts in the north of the Caspian Sea are permanent from September until November and March until May, while they are impermanent and dashed at other times of the year. In the east of the south Caspian Sea, the only detected fronts in March repeat annually, whereas in the west of the south Caspian Sea, fronts were detected in all months except for August, consistently over the five years. The pattern of temperature fronts in the east and west of the Middle Caspian Sea differs. The fronts are clustered in winter but become coherent and clear in summer. Additionally, the southern Caspian Sea temperature fronts are less abundant in the pre-summer period than in other periods. The Caspian Sea surface temperature fronts were mostly detected in the location of internal waves, steep areas near the coast, and eddies.