Evaluating the Effects of Climate Change on Salt Crusts Using Remote Sensing (A Case Study of Sabzevar Playa)

In this study, five sequences of Landsat sensors including MSS, TM, ETM+ and OLI at unequal intervals spanning 42 years between 1973 and 2015, were analyzed to investigate the spatial and temporal variation of salt crusts in Sbzevar playa, central Iran. Landsat satellite imageries and ASTER digital elevation model were prepared, and spatial-temporal analyses were carried out in ENVI and GIS. Furthermore, results were evaluated using field observations and ground sampling. Based on reflectance differences between the visible and near-infrared (NIR) bands Normalized Differential Salinity Index (NDSI) was considered to discriminate the salt crusts. The results revealed that the salt crusts were relatively varied over a 42-year time window between 15% to 35%. The western and southern parts of playa had the most distribution of salt crusts on all imageries. The main mineral of ground samples in these parts of playa was halite indicating dominant evaporate process. Finally, a positive, meaningful relationship between salt crust’s expansion and mean temperature on August months was estimated during five temporal sequences (R=0.624). This result indicated that salt crusts could be expanded on very hot temperatures in the study area.