Mapping the spatiotemporal variability of salinity in the hypersaline Lake Urmia using Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 imagery

•Spatiotemporal variation of salinity concentration is scrutinized in Lake Urmia.•Remote sensing-based approaches give high accuracy for mapping salinity.•The lake’s causeway intervenes the mixing between the two parts mostly in spring.•Salinity concentration versus the lake water volume show a hysteretic relationship.