Spatio-temporal variability of SST and Chlorophyll-a from MODIS data in the Persian Gulf

•MODIS SST and Chl-a level 2 data products were gathered from 2002 to 2013.•DINEOF method was performed for reconstructing the SST and Chl-a data.•Wavelet Transform method used to assess the variability of SST and Chl-a data.•The stationary variability of SST and Chl-a in the Persian Gulf is seasonal.•No major cycles were found for Chl-a abnormality, which is related to sudden events.

Spatio-temporal variability of SST and Chl-a evaluated using MODIS products from 2002 to 2013 in the Persian Gulf. Wavelet Transform was utilized to analyze the spatio-temporal stability and abnormality of MODIS SST and Chl-a. The stationary level of SST decreases from west to the east during summer to early autumn, and increases from late autumn to spring. The stationary level of Chl-a is higher in the coastal areas, while its average ranged from 0.1 to 0.5 mg m−3. No meaningful major oscillating period observed in the abnormal variability of SST and Chl-a. The winter and summer peaks of SST and Chl-a were observed in the central parts and north-west regions. The timing of maximum SST was observed in August, which is not correlated with Chl-a maxima. The variability of SST and Chl-a in the whole Persian Gulf is seasonal, and related to river outflows, water circulation and climate regimes.