ABSTRACT
Lake surface temperature is an important indicator of the lake state and a driver of regional weather and climate near large lakes. The objective of this study is to use thermal imagery from the MODIS on board the Earth Observing System Terra and Aqua platforms to assess the spatial and temporal variations in Urmia lake temperature. Urmia Lake, located in northwestern Iran is one of the largest permanent hypersaline lakes in the world. The surface temperature of Urmia Lake is examined between 2008 and 2009, as dry years. MODIS-derived lake SWT then was calibrated with monthly observations. MODIS-derived lake SWT exhibits a cool bias (−0.72◦C) relative to in situ temperature observations in 2009. According to the results the diurnal SWT range is as large as 8◦C while the annual cycle of UL SWT ranges from −3.2◦C in January to 26.6◦C in July 2008 and from 1.8◦C in January to 26.9◦C in July 2009.
