Human activities caused the dramatic variations of Artemia slicks in Lake Urmia, the largest lake in Iran: satellite observations over the past 34 years
Artemia is a vital natural resource in Lake Urmia. However, owing to technical challenges, long-term records of their dynamic distribution and the impact of natural and human activities remain scarce. In this study, the spatial and temporal dynamics of the Artemia slicks area in Lake Urmia from 1990...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | International Journal of Digital Earth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/17538947.2025.2468415 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Artemia is a vital natural resource in Lake Urmia. However, owing to technical challenges, long-term records of their dynamic distribution and the impact of natural and human activities remain scarce. In this study, the spatial and temporal dynamics of the Artemia slicks area in Lake Urmia from 1990 to 2023 were first extracted and characterized based on Landsat 5/7/8 and Sentinel-2 satellite data using the Brine Shrimp Index. Results revealed that the variations in the Artemia slicks area over the past 34 years exhibited three phases: a boom period (1990–2000), scarcity period (2001–2016), and recovery period (2017–2023). The ratio of annual mean Artemia slicks area across the three stages was approximately 12:1:5. Observations indicated that Artemia slicks were more likely detected in the southern part of the lake, where the frequency of observed Artemia slicks was 8.47% higher than that in northern part. In the long term, hydrological factors directly affected the area of the Artemia slicks, whereas in the short term, wind had a major influence on the area and spatial distribution. Human activities were identified as the leading cause of the dramatic reduction in the Artemia slicks area over 34 years (path coefficients = −0.891, p < 0.01). |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1753-8947 1753-8955 |