A large amount of precipitation in the mountainous areas of the North West of Iran, especially in the cold seasons of the year, is in the form of snow; therefore, water from melting snow has an important role in the formation of surface runoff, recharge of the aquifers, and flooding. Balighlouchay basin with an area of 1245.7 km2 is located in Ardabil province. Snow is considered as a prevailing climatic phenomenon of this region in winter. This basin has an important role in supplying water for domestic and agricultural sectors. In the present study, changes in the level of snow coverage were investigated during winter, in a period of 5 years (2009- 2013).To this end, NOAA-AVHRR satellite images and NDSI algorithm were used. The results showed that, the North West and South West of the region due to the existence of Sabalan Mountains and highlands of Bozghoush have a good condition for having snow. The results also showed that, the maximum level of snow coverage in this basin is related to December of 2009 with an area of 1205.7 km2 (96.7%), and the minimum level of snow coverage is related to December of 2010 with an area of 33.8 km2 (2.7%).This represents severe changes of snow coverage in the studied area and it shows vulnerability of water resources dependent on snowmelt.

Username
Password