Faeze Shoja, Salimeh Sadeghi, Shamsipour, Eduardo Gomes,
Volume 25, Issue 78 (10-2025)
Abstract
The aim of this research is to evaluate the heat mitigation index (HMI) in the Tehran metropolitan area using the Urban Cooling Model (UCM) approach in a spatial framework. UCM produces maps of the Heat Mitigation Index. This index estimates the cooling potential of urban green spaces in a given location, taking into account various parameters such as evapotranspiration, tree shading, albedo, rural reference air temperature, urban heat island intensity, air temperature maximum blending, and maximum cooling distance. The assessment of environmental factors influencing the UCM in the study area revealed that the urban heat island effect was least intense in regions 1, 22, and the northern parts of region 4 of Tehran municipality, where there are scattered trees, shrubs, open low-rise buildings, and water bodies. The temperature differences between the city and the suburbs ranged from 0 to 1.3 degrees Celsius. However, the study area's central parts showed the highest intensity of the urban heat island, particularly in regions 21, 13, and 14. These regions have a dense and compact texture and an expansion of impervious surfaces, resulting in the lowest values of the evapotranspiration index (ranging from 0.12 to 0.45) and albedo (ranging from 0.09 to 0.16). Based on these parameters, the study area's HMI index showed that the cooling capacity varies from 0.08 in the central parts of the city to 0.9 in areas affected by green spaces and water bodies. The maximum cooling capacity index is concentrated in areas with dense and scattered tree cover in the region. On average, these areas have been able to neutralise 2.48 degrees Celsius of the urban heat island effect with a cooling capacity of 63%. The methodology employed in this research can be used as a reference for urban designers in integrating urban cooling approaches and heat island mitigation strategies in urban planning and design.
Mr Ebrahim Bairanvand, Dr Amir Gandomkar, Dr Alireza Abbasi, Dr Morteza Khodaghoi,
Volume 25, Issue 79 (1-2026)
Abstract
The torrential rains that occurred in April 2017 in Lorestan Province exemplified severe precipitation that inflicted substantial damage on agricultural, urban, transportation, and communication infrastructures. This study aims to investigate and elucidate the relationship between the physical structure of clouds responsible for two waves of heavy rainfall in April 2017 within the Doroud catchment area of Boroujerd. In this context, the statistical characteristics of two precipitation events on March 25 and April 1, 2019, were analyzed. The microphysical properties of the clouds generating these two heavy rainfall events were examined utilizing the Madis superconductor product and MOD06. Four microphysical factors contributing to the formation of clouds during these two rainfall waves in the Doroud-Borujerd basin—including cloud top temperature (CTT), cloud top pressure (CTP), optical cloud thickness (OCT), and cloud cover ratio (CFR)—were analyzed. Statistical assessments indicated that the first wave of heavy rainfall, occurring on March 25, 2019 (5 April 1398), accounted for 15% of the total annual rainfall, while the second wave on April 1, 2019 (12 April 1398) contributed 20% of the region's average annual rainfall within these two days. The findings from the analysis of the microphysical structure of the clouds producing these two precipitation waves, based on data from the MODIS cloud sensor product, revealed a significant spatial correlation between the four microphysical factors and the recorded precipitation values of these two heavy rainfall events. Specifically, the cloud top temperature and pressure, indicative of vertical cloud expansion in the area, exhibited a significant inverse relationship with the precipitation amounts in the basin. Conversely, the cloud cover ratio and optical thickness demonstrated a direct and significant spatial correlation with the recorded rainfall values. The results of this study thus establish a significant and robust relationship between the microphysical structure of clouds and the precipitation amounts recorded in the region during these two heavy rainfall events.
Mr Danesh Nasiri, Dr Reza Borna, Dr Manigheh Zohorian Pordel, Dr. Kamran Jafarpour Ghalehteimouri,
Volume 25, Issue 79 (1-2026)
Abstract
Widespread and frequent droughts in recent decades in Khuzestan province have become one of the most important challenges of this province. The use of remote sensing products in temporal and spatial monitoring of drought can play a key role in managing this risk and reducing and adjusting its destructive effects. The main goal of this research is to provide a remote sensing index for temporal and spatial monitoring of drought in Khuzestan province and its validation using station meteorological drought indices. In this research, by using the products of vegetation (MOD13C2) and land surface temperature (MOD11C3) of MODIS sensor, a drought index based on vegetation called VHI plant health index was produced. SPI Meteorological Drought Index, which was based on station rainfall data during the statistical period of 2000-2012, was used to evaluate and quantify this index. The comparison of VHI drought index with three-month SPI meteorological drought index values showed a significant correlation between 0.68 and 0.75. By identifying 4 years with widespread and relatively severe drought in Khuzestan province (based on both VHI and SPI indices), which included the years 2000, 2005, 2012, 2015, the spatial distribution pattern of meteorological drought and VHI plant drought to In general, it indicated that the northern parts of the province were generally involved in mild to moderate droughts and the southern parts were generally involved in moderate to severe droughts. The spatial correlation matrix based on the number of 2500 pixels with dimensions of 5x5 km, which included VHI and SPI values of selected drought years, indicated the existence of a significant spatial correlation between the two mentioned indicators. In the widespread drought of 2000, at the level of Khuzestan province, two drought indices VHI and SPI, the correlation was equal to 0.47, and in 2005, equal to 0.35, and
Arefe Shabani Eraghi, Seyed Mohammad Zamanzade, Fariba Karami,
Volume 25, Issue 79 (1-2026)
Abstract
Reconstructing paleoclimate, particularly environmental temperature, plays a crucial role in understanding both current and future climate patterns. The aim of this research is to investigate the climatic conditions and estimate the ambient temperature during the Holocene period based on two sediment cores extracted from the Jazmurian Basin. Paleotemperature reconstruction was conducted using several methods, including the calculation of the standardized coefficient of variation of oxygen-18 and carbon-13 isotopes. For this purpose, the isotopic analysis of oxygen-18/oxygen-16 and carbon-13 was performed. In Jazmurian core 1, the initial temperature was estimated at 46°C. A decreasing trend of approximately 10°C was observed down to a depth of 175 cm, distributed across eight stratigraphic levels. At 175 cm, the temperature shows an increasing trend, followed by a decline at the subsequent level, and then a return to an increasing and stable trend in the next two levels. In Jazmurian core 2, the initial temperature was approximately 50°C. A sharp decrease in temperature is observed between depths of 80 to 125 cm. Subsequently, there is a slight increase of about 1°C, which remains relatively stable until a depth of 170 cm. Beyond this point, the temperature decreases again in the final two layers. The concentration of carbon-13 in core 1 ranges from 0 to 25.6, while in core 2 it varies between 25.9 and 27.1. In core 1, six carbon -13 isotope samples show a value of zero, indicating an absence of carbon-13 in those sediment layers. In contrast, core 2 displays a narrower range of variation in carbon-13 values. The isotopic and temperature variations observed in these sediment cores reflect different climatic phases during the Holocene in the Jazmurian region. Such climatic changes are often linked to cultural shifts, and the decline of ancient civilizations has frequently coincided with environmental transformations. The findings of this research may be of significant value to archaeology researchers, particularly those studying ancient Iranian civilizations.
Dr Fariba Sayadi, Dr Zahra Hejazizadeh,
Volume 25, Issue 79 (1-2026)
Abstract
Considering that urban land-use change in metropolises such as Tehran has been increasing in recent decades; Therefore, the formation of the thermal island phenomenon in the city can be studied as one of the environmental problems. Increasing construction, density, and building heights will change the complexes' geometry and shape, followed by changes in climatic conditions and micro-urban climates. Therefore, in this study, we tried to investigate urban geometry's effect on forming a thermal island in Tehran. The study region in this research includes regions one, two, and three of Tehran.
The methods used in this research included (1) Oak's numerical equation and algorithm design to simulate the intensity of the heat island. In the first stage, digital GIS data including building blocks (parcels) in polygon format and street widths, which were prepared and prepared by Tehran Municipality based on the 2016 detailed audit plan, were used. (2) Modeling was performed in Envi-met software to study the effect of city geometry on wind. The results of the studies showed that the two factors of building height and street width (ratio (H/W)) play an important role as two key factors in studying urban geometry; therefore, in studying the intensity of the heat island, the factor of building height and high-rise construction can play an important role in the formation of the heat island. However, the higher the height of the building compared to the width of the streets, the more it acts as a barrier against the heat island. The intensity of the heat island adjusted with the Oak equation showed that the factor of building roughness coefficient can be an important factor in adjusting the intensity of the heat island. Spatial analysis of images and outputs of the Envi.met model showed that the two main factors of construction density And the height of the building has a greater impact on wind speed transmission than the slope and topography of the area. Therefore, in the study of urban design for future studies, appropriate planning and proper management of resources are needed for the climatic comfort of residents, which can be designed to be beautiful and safe cities by considering the principles of architectural safety.
Farzad Shirzad, Mr Bohlol Alijani, Mehry Akbary, Mohammad Saligheh,
Volume 26, Issue 80 (4-2026)
Abstract
Climate change and global warming are very important issues of the present century. Climate change process, especially temperature and precipitation changes, the most important issue is environmental science. Climate change means a change in the long-term average. Iran is located in the subtropical high pressure zone in arid and semi-arid regions and the Hyrcanian forest is a green area between the Caspian Sea and the Alborz mountain range. At the 43rd UNESCO Summit, the Hyrcanian forests were registered as the second natural heritage of Iran. Beech is one of the most important tree species and the most industrial species of Hyrcanian forests It accounts for about 18 percent of the northern forest volume (from Astara to Gorgan with a life span of about 250 years). The study area is located in the Shanderman basin in western Guilan province. In this research using tree dendroclimatology, Use of vegetative width of beech tree rings, Weather station statistics located in the study area, And Mann-Kendall nonparametric statistical method, To Investigate Climate Change Trend on Growth Time Series and Pearson Statistical Method, in order to evaluate the correlation of diameter growth of beech tree rings with climate variables in the region, an attempt was made. Results of time series of beech tree growth rings over 202 years. Using the nonparametric method Mann- Kendall showed, Changes in growth rings of beech trees have a downward and negative trend, at level 5 %, it was significant. Temperature Minimum, Average, Maximum, and Evaporation during the growing season, there was an upward trend and Annual precipitation there was a downward trend. Using the Pearson method Fit correlation of growth ring diameter with temperature, For the average monthly in February and the average minimum temperature in July, August and September and Negative correlation, for average maximum temperature in February, July, August and September at 95% level, it was significant and precipitation in June, the correlation was 95% positive and significant.
Sayyed Mohammad Hosseini,
Volume 26, Issue 80 (4-2026)
Abstract
for the spatial analysis of precipitation in the Middle East, have been used gridded precipitation data from the World Precipitation Climatology Center (GPCC) with a monthly temporal resolution and a spatial resolution of 0.5×0.5 arc degrees. Therefore, a matrix of 80 x 160 dimensions was obtained for the Middle East region (160 longitudinal cells and 80 transverse cells). The reason for choosing network data is their proper spatial and temporal separation and their up-to-date compared to station data. The period under investigation is from 1970 to 2020 AD. Finally, the long-term maps of the Middle East precipitation were drawn on an annual and monthly basis. The results indicate that precipitation in the Middle East tends to concentrate and cluster in the spatial and temporal dimension. In other words, due to the special geographical location of the Middle East region, such as uneven topography, distance and proximity to moisture-feeding sources (Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean) and the direction of unevenness, Precipitation in high altitude areas, It is concentrated in the neighborhood of seas and oceans and also in the windy slopes of the mountain range of the region. The uneven distribution of geographical conditions has caused uneven distribution of Precipitation in the Middle East. So that; The center and gravity of the Middle Eastern Precipitation is concentrated in the eastern end of the Black Sea, southern Turkey in the neighborhood of Syria and Iraq, the Ararat-Zagors belt in the west of Iran, the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, the Pamir highlands and the Bay of Bengal in India, and the Hindu Kush highlands in Pakistan. Is. However, the many parts of the Middle East, due to their proximity to large deserts (African Sahara, Lut Desert, Dasht-Kavir, Arabia's Rab-al-Khali and Afghan deserts), have less than 100 mm of Precipitation. The results showed that the maximum Precipitation of this region has been transferred to the winter season, and the summer season is still the driest period in the Middle East, and only the coasts of the Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal have monsoon rains
Dr. Vahab Amiri, Dr. Nassim Sohrabi, Dr. Seyed Mohammadali Moosavizadeh,
Volume 26, Issue 80 (4-2026)
Abstract
This study investigates the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the physicochemical composition of groundwater in the Qazvin aquifer. Based on the optimized Gibbs diagram, the concentration of samples at the end of the freshwater interaction path with silicate units results from geochemical evolution due to the dissolution of these geological units and an increase in the Na/(Na+Ca) ratio. The ion exchange mechanism was assessed using bivariate diagrams of Ca+Mg vs. SO4+HCO3 and Schoeller's chloro-alkaline indices CAI-1 and CAI-2. The results indicate that in 68% of the samples, direct ion exchange, and in 32%, reverse ion exchange control the groundwater chemistry. The changes in Ca vs. SO4 indicate that gypsum dissolution alone is not the source of these ions. These changes could be due to ion mobility and transport during pedogenic processes (sulfur biogeochemical cycle) and anthropogenic factors. The study also examined the role of factors such as agricultural input, atmospheric input, soil nitrogen, sewage input, manure input, chemical fertilizers, and the denitrification process in groundwater pollution using NO3/Na vs. Cl/Na and the NO3/Cl vs. Cl diagrams. The results reveal that agricultural and sewage inputs significantly impact the NO3 and Cl content. Furthermore, in some locations, especially in the southeast of the aquifer, the denitrification process causes a decrease in NO3 concentration. These findings can contribute to effective water resource management in this strategic aquifer by understanding the controlling mechanisms of physicochemical composition and identifying potential groundwater pollution sources.
Zahra Hedjazizadeh, Al Karbalaee, Mokhtar Fatahian,
Volume 26, Issue 80 (4-2026)
Abstract
This study investigates the spatial dynamics of the subtropical anticyclone over Iran during boreal summer, using daily ERA5 reanalysis data (1980–2020) and the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to identify statistically significant hotspots (p < 0.01) in 500-hPa geopotential height (Z500) anomalies for June–August. Results reveal that the peak statistical hotspot occurs in July: a prominent warm cluster with Z-scores up to +4.1 (99% confidence level) forms over southwestern Iran (27°–32°N, 48°–60°E), reflecting the strongest positive departure from the long-term Z500 climatology. Conversely, a cold cluster with Z-scores reaching −10.2 emerges over the northwest (West Azerbaijan and Kurdistan provinces) the lowest value recorded over the entire period indicating pronounced geopotential depression driven by the orographic influence of the Alborz–Zagros ranges and incursions of mid-latitude systems. Histogram analysis of Z-scores confirms a distinctly bimodal distribution in July, with high frequencies in the [+2.5, +4.1] and [−10.2, −2.5] ranges and a pronounced trough near Z ≈ 0, underscoring strong spatial segregation between warm and cold clusters. Notably, the eastern half of Iran (central and eastern regions) consistently lacks significant hotspots across all three months, suggesting the presence of a dynamic transition zone shaped by the competition between subtropical and mid-latitude circulations. In August, although absolute Z500 exceeds 5890 m, the Z-score diminishes (+4.0), indicating that cumulative surface heating elevates the mean geopotential height but its anomalous intensity relative to climatology weakens compared to July. Collectively, these findings suggest that the dynamical peak of the Iranian subtropical high lags the peak of surface heating by approximately one month.
Miss Sorayya Derikvand, Dr Behrooz Nasiri, Dr Hooshang Ghaemi, Dr Mostafa Karampoor, Dr Mohammad Moradi,
Volume 26, Issue 81 (6-2026)
Abstract
sudden stratospheric warming has an obvious effect on the Earth's surface climate. In this research, the changes in precipitation during the occurrence of this phenomenon have been investigated. For this purpose, after revealing the warmings that occurred during the studied period (1986-2020), 18 warmings were identified. The 5th decile and 9th decile of precipitation were calculated for the precipitation data of 117 stations. And the size of the difference from the normal rainfall was checked in two ways. First, the precipitation at the time of warming was compared with the long-term average, and then the trend of changes in precipitation at three times before thewarming, at the same time as the warming, and after the warming was finished. Finally, these results were obtained. Warmings according to the month in which they occur; They have a different effect on the amount of precipitation. In the sudden stratospheric warming that occurred in December, January and February, the northwest experiences the most rainfall changes and is above normal, and the probability of rainfall above the 9th decile increases up to 65%. Western and southwestern regions also have higher than average rainfall and the probability of heavy rainfall is high. Precipitation on the shores of the Caspian Sea shows an inverse relationship with sudden stratospheric warming, so in all the investigations of this research, the lack of precipitation at the time of warming in these areas is significant. Southern regions have less than normal rainfall in all sudden stratospheric warming events. The center of Iran has higher than average rainfall in the sudden stratospheric warming months of March. Eastern Iran also has heavy rains compared to normal during the sudden stratospheric warming months of March.
Hossein Asakereh, Mansureh Taheri,
Volume 26, Issue 81 (6-2026)
Abstract
One of the climatic characteristics of temperature is the occurrence of extreme temperature. In the present study, the trend of hot days with extreme temperature associated with the coastal plains of the Persian Gulf was investigated. Two environmental and atmospheric databases were used. Environmental data include the average of daily maximum temperature reported from 12 synoptic stations in Persian Gulf coastline (Khuzestan, Bushehr, and Bandar Abbas Provinces) from 1961 to the end of 2018. The extreme temperature for each day temperature was defined to be higher than the average of 75th percentile of the observations at each station and on the same day. Also, the ‘day with extreme temperature’ was applied to a day when the extreme temperature occurred in at least 50% of the stations. The number of hot days with extreme temperature in the study is 554 days, of which 291 days occurred in the warm season and 263 days in the cold season. These days were classified into six groups by performing cluster analysis on sea-level pressure in hot days. Then, for each group, the trend of hot days was examined. In general, it can be concluded that the slope of the line in all groups except the fourth and sixth groups were positive and, as a result, hot days with extreme temperature were increasing.
Ms Atefeh Bosak, Dr Zahra Hejazizadeh, Dr Akbar Heydari Tashekaboud,
Volume 26, Issue 81 (6-2026)
Abstract
Air pollution has significant impacts on human health, environmental quality, and the sustainable development of cities. This study aimed to evaluate PM10 using meteorological data from the city of Ahvaz through statistical methods and artificial neural networks. Daily meteorological data and air quality control station data for 4485 days (from 2011 to 2023) were obtained from the National Meteorological Organization and the Khuzestan Department of Environment. Initially, the data were processed and refined, and their normality was assessed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Given the non-normality of the data, Spearman's and Kendall's Tau-b methods were employed to examine their correlations. The time series and statistical information of the data were obtained using Python programming language. Furthermore, to predict future PM10 levels, the Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) neural network method was utilized. The results of these analyses indicated a significant correlation between meteorological variables and PM10. The Spearman and Kendall Tau-b correlations showed that PM10 had a positive and significant correlation with wind speed (0.094 and 0.061) and temperature (0.284 and 0.187) at a 99% confidence level. Conversely, PM10 exhibited a negative and significant correlation with visibility (-0.408 and -0.300), wind direction (-0.048 and -0.034), precipitation (-0.159 and -0.125), and relative humidity (-0.259 and -0.173) at the 99% confidence level. For future PM10 predictions, the MLP neural network was used. The model was of the Sequential type with an input layer consisting of 6 neurons, three hidden layers of Dense type with 16, 32, and 64 neurons, and an output layer with a linear activation function. The mean squared error (MSE) for the training set was 0.0034, and for the validation data, it was 0.0012. For the test set, the obtained validation accuracy was mse_mlp=0.0048 and val_loss=0.0012. The results indicate a significant direct or inverse correlation between meteorological data and PM10. Additionally, the outcomes of the MLP neural network demonstrated that the network provided satisfactory performance and acceptable predictions for PM10 data in Ahvaz.