Assessment the Impact of Climate Changes on Snow Cover Area Using Landsat Data in Sulaymaniyah City, Iraq

Abstract

Snow due to its unique reflective nature and wide surface exposure is an important component of the Earth’s radiation balance. Data from Landsat5 TM and Landsat8 OLI images were used to detect the change in snow cover, values of water bodies, and land surface temperature during the study period years 1987, 1999, 2009, and 2022. ArcGIS 10.8 is used to determine the variations and calculate NDSI, NDSInw, NDWI, and LST index indices. This study aimed to monitor the snow cover area in Sulaymaniyah city, northeastern Iraq, and evaluate the impact of climate changes on snow cover. The results showed significant changes in the snow cover, and the area and percentage of snow cover decreased continuously during the study periods. Some regions have preserved the snow cover and these regions are concentrated in the northeastern part of the province. The finding also revealed that NDSI overestimated the amount of snow and ice cover, because it employs the near-infrared and visible bands, and NDSInw can extract ice cover in areas with water cover more effectively due to its usage of the NIR band.