Comparison of Split-Window and Single-Channel Methods for Land Surface Temperature Retrieval from MODIS and AATSR Data

In this study, two different methods for retrieving the Land Surface Temperature (LST) from Terra/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Envisat/Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) data are compared against a database of ground measured LSTs. These are the split-window (SW) and the single-channel (SC) methods. The SW method expresses LST as a combination of the brightness temperatures in the 11 iquestm and 12 iquestm channels with coefficients that can have local or global validity, depending on the way they are obtained. SC methods are based on the atmospheric radiative transfer equation. To solve this equation, convenient atmospheric temperature and water v…

Analysis of ASTER Emissivity Product Over an Arid Area in Southern New Mexico, USA

The accuracy of thermal infrared emissivities derived from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance radiometer (ASTER) was assessed in an arid area in southern New Mexico, which includes the White Sands National Monument (WSNM) during 2006-2008. ASTER emissivities retrieved by the temperature and emissivity separation (TES) algorithm were directly compared with laboratory measurements of samples from WSNM. Good agreement was found for the high spectral contrast of gypsum and for the low spectral contrast of water bodies. Furthermore, the day/night consistency of ASTER emissivities was checked, and day/night emissivity differences lower than ±0.013 were observed. However, unexpec…

An Autonomous System to Take Angular Thermal-Infrared Measurements for Validating Satellite Products

An autonomous system for field land surface temperature (LST) measurements taken at different observation angles was developed to be deployed easily at any conventional meteorological tower station. The system permits ground-truth data to be acquired on a continuous basis, and angularly scans land and sky hemispheres with a single thermal-infrared (TIR) radiometer. This paper describes the autonomous angular system and the methodology to assess ground-truth LST and relative-to-nadir emissivity data from system measurements. Ground-truth LSTs were used to validate satellite-retrieved LST products at two experimental sites (rice crop and shrubland areas). The relative-to-nadir emissivity valu…

Temperature and emissivity separation from ASTER data for low spectral contrast surfaces

Abstract The performance of Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) thermal infrared (TIR) data product algorithms was evaluated for low spectral contrast surfaces (such as vegetation and water) in a test site close to Valencia, Spain. Concurrent ground measurements of surface temperature, emissivity, and atmospheric radiosonde profiles were collected at the test site, which is a thermally homogeneous area of rice crops with nearly full vegetation cover in summer. Using the ground data and the local radiosonde profiles, at-sensor radiances were simulated for the ASTER TIR channels and compared with L1B data (calibrated at-sensor radiances) showing discrepancies up…

Influence of soil water content on the thermal infrared emissivity of bare soils. Implication for land surface temperature determination.

[1] The influence of soil water content in thermal infrared emissivity is a known fact but has been poorly studied in the past. A laboratory study for quantifying the dependence of emissivity on soil moisture was carried out. Six samples of surface horizons of different soil types were selected for the experiment. The gravimetric method was chosen for determining the soil moisture, whereas the emissivity was measured at different soil water contents using the two-lid variant of the box method. As a result, the study showed that emissivity increases from 1.7% to 16% when water content becomes higher, especially in sandy soils in the 8.2–9.2 μm range. Accordingly, a set of equations was deriv…

Theoretical split-window algorithms for determining the actual surface temperature

Two split-window strategies for obtaining the actual surface temperature (AST) from an infra-red sensor system are investigated by means of simulations of radiometer signals for a wide range of different geophysical situations. The differences between strategies are closely related to the strong or weak presence of atmospheric effects in the split-window coefficient. It has been demonstrated that the strong presence makes it necessary to know the total atmospheric water vapour as well as the effective emissivities in the two thermal channels for applying the strong split-window method, whereas for the weak presence one only needs to know the emissivities. Simplified algorithms have been obt…

A physical model for interpreting the land surface temperature obtained by remote sensors over incomplete canopies

Abstract At the present moment, land surface temperature cannot be obtained in a routine way from satellite data due, in part, to the nonexistence of a complete theoretical model that permits us to know the physical significance of land surface temperature obtained by remote sensors. In this article a relationship between the effective temperature of the radiative system vegetation-ground and the temperatures of each part of the system (top, sunny and shaded wall of vegetation, and sunny and shaded soil) has been derived. It depends on the proportions of each component observed by the sensor, on the ground and vegetation emissivities, and on the crop structure (mean height, width, and spaci…

Combining a Two-Source Patch Model with Satellite Data to Monitor Daily Evapotranspiration at a Regional Scale

In this work, we present a micro-meteorological approach for estimating surface energy fluxes that can be operationally used together with satellite images to monitor surface energy fluxes at a regional scale. In particular we will focus on the retrieval of daily evapotranspiration. The feasibility of the model is explored at a local scale using data collected over a maize crop in Beltsville, Maryland, USA, and a boreal forest in Sodankyla, Finland. Comparison of the results with ground measurements shows errors between plusmn15 and plusmn50 W m-2 for the retrieval of net radiation, soil heat flux, and sensible and latent heat fluxes in both sites. A methodology to apply the model to Landsa…

Foam effect on the sea surface emissivity in the 8–14μm region

[1] The effect of foam on the sea surface emission has been studied in the microwave region, but its effect on thermal infrared emissivity and temperature has not been sufficiently analyzed in the literature. This paper presents thermal infrared measurements of foam-covered seawaters carried out under controlled conditions using a multichannel radiometer working in the 8–14 μm region. The experimental data show a negligible foam effect at low observation angles but a significant increase of emissivity with foam at angles above 45°. Differences between foam and foam-free emissivities are about +0.04 for observation angles of 65°, depending slightly on the radiometric spectral band. The effec…

Ground measurements for the validation of land surface temperatures derived from AATSR and MODIS data

Abstract An experimental site was set up in a large, flat and homogeneous area of rice crops for the validation of satellite derived land surface temperature (LST). Experimental campaigns were held in the summers of 2002–2004, when rice crops show full vegetation cover. LSTs were measured radiometrically along transects covering an area of 1 km 2 . A total number of four thermal radiometers were used, which were calibrated and inter-compared through the campaigns. Radiometric temperatures were corrected for emissivity effects using field emissivity and downwelling sky radiance measurements. A database of ground-based LSTs corresponding to morning, cloud-free overpasses of Envisat/Advanced A…

La evaluación y seguimiento del estudiante de forma telemática: el proyecto Cuestionarios

En la mayor parte de las ciencias, los ejercicios practicos son la mejor manera de adquirir y evaluar, tanto conocimientos cientificos como las habilidades y competencias necesarias para su aplicacion. Es un entrenamiento que, como en el mundo del deporte, resulta imprescindible y mejora el rendimiento. La resolucion de problemas exige una gran dedicacion del profesorado y, en este aspecto, la utilizacion de cuestionarios on-line puede ser de gran ayuda. Sin embargo, este tipo de cuestionarios tambien presentan una dificultad, que es el esfuerzo inicial necesario. Para reducir esta dificultad se planteo la elaboracion de una base de datos de cuestiones y un protocolo de exportacion.

Comparison of Thermal Infrared Emissivities Retrieved With the Two-Lid Box and the TES Methods With Laboratory Spectra

Knowledge of surface emissivity in the thermal infrared (TIR) region is critical for determining the land surface temperature (LST) from remote-sensing measurements. If emissivity is not well determined, it can cause a significant systematic error in obtaining the LST. The main aim of this paper is to compare different methods for measuring accurate land surface emissivity in the field, namely, the box method and the temperature and emissivity separation (TES) algorithm. Field emissivities were compared with soil spectra from laboratory measurements. Emissivities were measured for the bands of a multispectral radiometer CE312-2 with effective wavelengths at 8.4, 8.7, 9.1, 10.6, and 11.3 mum…

Remote Sensing Master and Doctorate (PhD) at the Valencia University, Spain [Education]

Autonomous Measurements of Sea Surface Temperature Using In Situ Thermal Infrared Data

Abstract In situ and autonomous measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) have been performed with a thermal infrared radiometer mounted on a fixed oil rig. The accuracy limit was established at ±0.3 K for these SST measurements in order to meet the requirements of the Tropical Ocean Global Atmosphere (TOGA) program for global climate research and the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission for salinity retrieval. With this aim, the optimal observation angle and spectral channel for SST measurements have been identified. Then, a methodology has been developed for the radiometer calibration and the emissivity correction, including the reflection of the downwelling sky radiance, w…

Comparison of in Situ Land Surface Temperatures Measured with Radiometers and Pyrgeometers: Consequences for Calibration and Validation of Thermal Infrared Sensors

Land surface temperature (LST) is a key magnitude in many exchange processes between the surface and the atmosphere. LST measurement from satellites provides an efficient way to monitor its change across wide areas on Earth, an essential issue being LST validation using in situ measurements to assess its accuracy and precision. Presently, there are two widely used methodologies: temperature measurements made by wideband radiometers observing the land surface with a given viewing angle and a limited field of view, and measurements provided by total radiation pyrgeometers with a nearly hemispheric field of view. Although both measurements are correlated, they are not equivalent; thus, it is r…

Estimating energy balance fluxes above a boreal forest from radiometric temperature observations

Abstract The great areal extent of boreal forests confers these ecosystems potential to impact on the global surface-atmosphere energy exchange. A modelling approach, based on a simplified two-source energy balance model, was proposed to estimate energy balance fluxes above boreal forests using thermal infrared measurements. Half-hourly data from the Solar-Induced Fluorescence Experiment, carried out in a Finnish boreal forest, was used to evaluate the performance of the model. Energy balance closure, determined by linear regression, found all fluxes to underestimate available energy by 9% (r2 = 0.94). Significance in the energy balance of the heat storage in the air and in the soil terms w…

A Cloudless land atmosphere radiosounding database for generating land surface temperature retrieval algorithms

A database of global, cloud-free, atmospheric radiosounding profiles was compiled with the aim of simulating radiometric measurements from satellite-borne sensors in the thermal infrared. The objective of the simulation is to generate split-window (SW) and dual-angle (DA) algorithms for the retrieval of land surface temperature (LST) from Terra/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Envisat/advanced along track scanning radiometer (AATSR) data. The database contains 382 radiosonde profiles acquired over land, with nearly-uniform distribution of precipitable water between 0 and 5.5 cm. Radiative transfer calculations were performed with the MODTRAN 4 code. Different viewin…

Evaluation of Landsat-8 TIRS data recalibrations and land surface temperature split-window algorithms over a homogeneous crop area with different phenological land covers

Abstract Successive re-calibrations were implemented in Landsat-8 TIRS data since launch. This paper evaluates the performances of both: (1) these re-calibrations, up to the last calibration update announced for TIRS data in the next Landsat Collection 2; and (2) single-channel (SC) corrections and split-window (SW) algorithms to retrieve land surface temperature (LST) from TIRS data. A robust and accurate multi-year (2014–2019) set of reference ground data were used, which included thermal infrared (TIR) radiance measurements taken along transects in a uniform and thermally homogeneous rice paddy area, but also emissivity measurements for the different ground covers at the site through the…

Determination of sea surface temperature using combined TOVS and AVHRR data. Application to the Canary Islands area, Spain

Abstract The determination of sea surface temperature from satellite is performed by means of multi-channel algorithms with channels 4 and 5 of AVHRRNOAA or using radiative transfer models and radiosounding profiles of air temperature and humidity. In this work, an alternative to the current algorithms has been established. A new method combining the information supplied by sensors of TOVS and AVHRR systems onboard NOAA satellites is proposed. It is based on the split-window technique, the coefficients A and B being determined as a function of the water vapour content, which is calculated using the TOVS sensors. The T4 and T5 temperatures are supplied by the AVHRR system. Then, combining bo…

Physics demos for all UVEG degrees: a unique project in Spain

Abstract The Physics Demo Project at the University of Valencia ( www.uv.es/fisicademos ) has developed a collection of physics demonstrations to be used during lectures. It consists of more than 130 experimental demos about different physics topics. More than 30 professors borrow them whenever they lecture on physics in any of our 40 courses in 17 different science or technical degrees, involving 246 ECTS and more than 3500 students. Each demo kit with a simple experimental set displays a particular physics phenomenon. An on-line user guide highlights the main physics principles involved, instructions on how to use it and advices of how to link it to the theoretical concepts or to technica…

Evaluation of the B‐method for determining actual evapotranspiration in a boreal forest from MODIS data

Boreal forests occupy about 11% of the terrestrial surface and represent an important contribution to global energy balance. The ground measurement of daily evapotranspiration (LEd) is very difficult due to the limitations on experiments. The objective of this paper is to present and explore the applicability of the B-method for monitoring actual LEd in these ecosystems. The method shown in this paper allows us to determine the surface fluxes over boreal forests on a daily basis from instantaneous information registered in a conventional meteorological tower, as well as the canopy temperature (T c) retrieved by satellite. Images collected by the MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectrorad…

Test of the MODIS Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Separation Algorithm With Ground Measurements Over a Rice Paddy

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST) and emissivity separation (MODTES) algorithm is the basis of the MOD21 product, which provides 1-km LSTs and emissivities for bands 29 (8.55 μm), 31 (11 μm), and 32 (12 μm). The MODTES algorithm uses the TES method with the water vapor scaling (WVS) method for refined atmospheric correction. The performance of the MODTES algorithm was tested with a set of MODIS data concurrent with ground LST and emissivity measurements. The test site is a large area of homogeneous full-cover rice crops (graybody), with high atmospheric water vapor. The data included LSTs measured along transects with multiple calibrate…

Mapping Actual Evapotranspiration by Combining Landsat TM and NOAA-AVHRR Images: Application to the Barrax Area, Albacete, Spain

Abstract A method that permits determination of actual evapotranspiration, ET, in heterogeneous areas has been proposed. It is based on the relation ET = ET m − B ( T s − T sm ), which combines meteorological, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration advanced very high resolution radiometer (NOAA-AVHRR), and Landsat thematic mapper (TM) data. Thus, the maximum evapotranspiration for each crop, ETm, is obtained from in situ measurements carried out in a meteorological station; the temperature difference between each pixel and the pixel that has the maximum evapotranspiration, Ts−Tsm, is calculated for each crop from NOAA-AVHRR data; and the crop distribution in the area is known throu…

ON THE USE OF SATELLITE THERMAL DATA FOR DETERMINING EVAPOTRANSPIRATION IN PARTIALLY VEGETATED AREAS

Abstract The use of satellite data for determining daily evapotranspiration over completely vegetated areas has been analysed by different authors. However, if the soil surface is partially covered by vegetation the problem becomes more complicated, because in this case the value of the temperature measured by the satellite varies with the viewing geometry. In this work we have studied the influence of the satellite observation angle for crops with different cover degree, field geometry and ground emissivity. For this purpose we have used the simplified relation proposed by Jackson et al.LET d=Rnd−B(T3−T a)iwhere ET 4 and R nd are the daily values of evapotranspiration and net radiation res…

An angular-dependent split-window equation for SST retrieval from off-nadir observations

An angular-dependent split-window equation is proposed for determining the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) at any observation angle, including large viewing angles at the image edges of satellite sensors with wide swaths. The proposed equation takes into account the angular dependences of the atmospheric correction and also the emissivity correction. An explicit dependence on the SSE is considered in an independent term. The inclusion of such a term is not common in the current operational SST algorithms but we consider it appropriate taking into account the non-blackness of the sea surface emission for large angles and also the dependence on wind speed. The equation has been adapted to the M…

Evaluation of different methods to retrieve the hemispherical downwelling irradiance in the thermal infrared region for field measurements

International audience; The thermal infrared hemispherical downwelling irradiance (HDI) emitted by the atmosphere and surrounding elements contributes through reflection to the signal measured over an observed surface by remote sensing. This irradiance must be estimated in order to obtain accurate values of land-surface temperature (LST). There are some fast methods to measure the HDI with a single measurement pointing to the sky at a specified viewing direction, but these methods require completely cloud-free or cloudy skies, and they do not account for the radiative contribution of surrounding elements. Another method is the use of a diffuse reflectance panel (usually, a rough gold-coated…

Atmospheric correction and determination of sea surface temperature in midlatitudes from NOAA-AVHRR data

Abstract In this paper we derive and validate a split-window algorithm for retrieving the sea surface temperature (SST) in midlatitude atmospheric conditions. First we have analyzed thephysical fundamentals of the split-window approach. Then an algorithm has been theoretically derived by means of statistical regression over satellite measurement simulations, and it has been tuned for real NOAA-AVHRR measurements using in situ and coincident satellite data. The accuracy achieved for SST is 0.5 K, which is the limit accuracy that can be obtained from AVHRR measurements over midlatitudes. On the other side, we have proposed a strategy for applying the split-window algorithm without significant…

Recovering Surface Temperature and Emissivity from Thermal Infrared Multispectral Data

Abstract In 1992 Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data were acquired from the NASA C-130 aircraft over the Sahelian region of West Africa as part of the Hydrological and Atmospheric Pilot Experiment in the Sahel (HAPEX). TIMS measures the radiation from the surface modified by the atmosphere in six channels located between 8 mm and 12.5 μm in the thermal infrared. By using a variety of techniques it is possible to extract both the surface temperature and surface emissivity from the areas over which TIMS data were acquired. One such technique was tested with the data acquired during this experiment. Several TIMS images of both the east and west central sites on 2 and 4 September…

Soil Moisture Effect on Thermal Infrared (8–13-μm) Emissivity

Thermal infrared (TIR) emissivities of soils with different textures were measured for several soil moisture (SM) contents under controlled conditions using the Box method and a high-precision multichannel TIR radiometer. The results showed a common increase of emissivity with SM at water contents lower than the field capacity. However, this dependence is negligible for higher water contents. The highest emissivity variations were observed in sandy soils, particularly in the 8-9-μm range due to water adhering to soil grains and decreasing the reflectance in the 8-9-μm quartz doublet region. Thus, in order to model the emissivity dependence on soil water content, different approaches were st…

Laboratory calibration and field measurement of land surface temperature and emissivity using thermal infrared multiband radiometers

Accurate ground measurements of land surface temperature (LST) are necessary for validating satellite LST products. In order to provide reliable data, ground radiometers must be calibrated with reference to an international standard, and radiometric temperatures must be corrected for land surface emissivity. As opposed to water, land surface emissivity is not usually known for many ground covers, so an emissivity value has to be assumed, assigned from spectral emissivity libraries or measured for each land cover and spectral band considered. The aim of this study is to show the laboratory calibration and the methodology for simultaneous field measurements of LST and emissivity employed in t…

Estimation of atmospheric water vapour content from direct measurements of radiance in the thermal infrared region

Atmospheric water vapour content is a required parameter in thermal infrared (TIR) to carry out processes such as atmospheric correction or retrieving atmospheric factors (downwelling or upwelling irradiance, transmittance of the atmosphere and so on). This study proposes an alternative method to the ones already in use to measure water vapour content from direct measurements of downwelling atmospheric radiance in the TIR range. It was possible to estimate a linear relationship between atmospheric water vapour and downwelling atmospheric radiance using a simulated study, based on data from a radiosounding database. A subsequent validation concludes that it is possible to obtain water vapour…

Comparison between different sources of atmospheric profiles for land surface temperature retrieval from single channel thermal infrared data

Abstract Different sources of atmospheric water vapor and temperature profiles were used with a radiative transfer model for retrieving land surface temperature (LST) from thermal infrared remote sensing data with the so-called single channel (SC) method. Retrieved LSTs were compared to concurrent ground measurements over homogeneous rice fields to assess the accuracy of the atmospheric profiles. These included radiosonde balloons launched at the test site near-concurrently to satellite overpasses, re-analysis profiles from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP), and satellite sounder products from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the Moderate Imaging Spectrorad…

Validation of Collection 6 MODIS land surface temperature product using in situ measurements

Land surface temperature (LST) is an important physical quantity at the land-atmosphere interface. Since 2016 the Collection 6 (C6) MODIS LST product is publicly available, which includes three refinements over bare soil surfaces compared to the Collection 5 (C5) MODIS LST product. To encourage the use of the C6 MODIS LST product in a wide range of applications, it is necessary to evaluate the accuracy of the C6 MODIS LST product. In this study, we validated the C6 MODIS LST product using temperature-based method over various land cover types, including grasslands, croplands, cropland/natural vegetation mosaic, open shrublands, woody savannas, and barren/sparsely vegetated. In situ measurem…

Towards the Operational Spatialization of the Single Band Thermal Atmospheric Correction. Application to Landsat 7 ETM+

This work aims to improve the accuracy in Land Surface Temperature (LST) from single-channel thermal sensors by providing spatialized maps of transmittance, upwelling and downwelling atmospheric radiances required in the radiative transfer equation. Two different techniques are introduced for the estimation of pixel-by-pixel atmospheric parameters, focusing on the correction of Landsat Thermal Infrared (TIR) data. First technique is based on the linearization of the atmospheric parameters with the total column water vapor (W), extracted from the MOD05 product, whereas a second technique uses the Single Band Atmospheric Correction (SBAC) tool. Ground-measured values of LST in an agricultural…

Analysis of the atmospheric and emissivity influence on the splitwindow equation for sea surface temperature

Abstract In this paper we have analysed the effects of the different atmospheric species (water vapour, fixed gases and aerosols) and the surface emissivity on the split-window method for determining the sea surface temperature. The widely used split-window method is based on the differential absorption of water vapour in the atmospheric window 10.5ndash;12.5 μm. Other atmospheric species with absorption coefficients different to that of water vapour can then have a large influence on the split-window. The effect of gases, such as C02, N20, CH4, CO and 03, and maritime aerosols is evaluated by comparing the effect of the water vapour alone. To do this we simulated AVHRR measurements in chan…

Validation of temperature-emissivity separation and split-window methods from TIMS data and ground measurements

Abstract Land surface temperature retrieved with temperature-emissivity separation (TES) and split-window (SW) algorithms from six-channel Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner (TIMS) data in the HAPEX-Sahel experiment agreed with contemporaneous ground temperature measurements to within ±1 °C (TES and SW with channels at 10.8 and 11.7 μm, or SW-56). The SW algorithm used with TIMS channels at 8.4 and 8.7 μm (SW-12) underestimated ground temperatures by 2–5 °C. The TES method required atmospheric correction of at-sensor radiances, which was done with local radiosonde data and MODTRAN 4, and an empirical relationship between the spectral range of emissivity and its minimum value. Emissivity…

Evaluation of Surface Temperature and Emissivity Derived from ASTER Data: A Case Study Using Ground-Based Measurements at a Volcanic Site

Abstract The land surface temperature (LST) and emissivity (LSE) derived from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data were evaluated in a low spectral contrast volcanic site at an altitude of 2000 m on the island of Tenerife, Spain. The test site is almost flat, thermally homogeneous, and without vegetation cover or variation in its surface composition. ASTER data correspond to six scenes, under both day- and nighttime conditions during 2008. This case study analyzes the impacts of the sources of inaccuracies using the temperature–emissivity separation (TES) algorithm. Uncertainties associated with inaccurate atmospheric correction were minimized by means…

Comparison of field emissivities with laboratory measurements and ASTER data

Surface emissivity in the thermal infrared (TIR) region is an important parameter for determining the land surface temperature from remote sensing measurements. This work compares the emissivities measured by different field methods (the Box method and the Temperature and Emissivity Separation, TES, algorithm) as well as emissivity data from ASTER scenes and the spectra obtained from the ASTER Spectral Library. The study was performed with a field radiometer having TIR bands with central wavelengths at 11.3 μm, 10.6 μm, 9.1 μm, 8.7 μm and 8.4 μm, similar to the ASTER TIR bands. The measurements were made at two sites in southern New Mexico. The first was in the White Sands National Monument…

Atmospheric correction for land surface temperature using NOAA-11 AVHRR channels 4 and 5

Abstract In this work, a theoretical model that permits relating the land surface temperature with the temperatures measured by thermal infrared sensors has been developed. The model has been derived by linearization of Planck's function and atmospheric trasmittance. In this way a split-window equation is obtained, which depends on atmospheric water vapor, viewing angle, and channel surface emissivities. Simulations of satellite measurements of land surface temperatures are made using the atmospheric transmittance-radiance model LOWTRAN-7 for NOAA-11 AVHRR Channels 4 and 5. From these simulations the accuracies of linearizations have been checked. The dependence of the split-window coeffici…

A simple equation for determining sea surface emissivity in the 3–15 µm region

The high level of accuracy demanded for the sea surface temperature retrieval from infrared data requires an accurate determination of directional sea surface emissivity (SSE). Previous models have permitted calculating SSEs using a physical characterization of sea surface roughness and emission. However, these result in complex equations, and make an operational application difficult. This paper presents a simple SSE algorithm based on a parametrization of one of these models, which was selected as a reference since it reproduces SSE experimental data to a reasonable level of accuracy. The parametrization provides the SSE variation with observation angle and wind speed from a given nadir S…

Long-term accuracy assessment of land surface temperatures derived from the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer

Abstract The accuracy of land surface temperatures (LSTs) derived from the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) was assessed in a test site in Valencia, Spain from 2002 to 2008. AATSR LSTs were directly compared with concurrent ground measurements over homogeneous, full-vegetated rice fields in the conventional temperature-based (T-based) method. We also applied the new radiance-based (R-based) method over bare soil and water surfaces, where ground LST measurements were not available. In the R-based method, ground LSTs are simulated from AATSR brightness temperatures in the 11 μm band and radiative transfer simulations using surface emissivity data and atmospheric water vapor an…

Comparison and Evaluation of the TES and ANEM Algorithms for Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity Separation over the Area of Valencia, Spain

Land Surface temperature (LST) is a key magnitude for numerous studies, especially for climatology and assessment of energy fluxes between surface and atmosphere. Retrieval of accurate LST requires a good characterization of surface emissivity. Both quantities are coupled in a single radiance measurement; for this reason, for N spectral bands available in a remote sensor, there will always be N + 1 unknowns. To solve the indeterminacy, temperature-emissivity separation methods have been proposed, among which the Temperature Emissivity Separation (TES) algorithm is one of the most widely used. The Adjusted Normalized Emissivity Method (ANEM) was proposed as a modification of the Normalized E…

An Atmospheric Radiosounding Database for Generating Land Surface Temperature Algorithms

A database of global, cloud-free, and atmospheric radiosounding profiles was compiled with the aim of simulating radiometric measurements from satellite-borne sensors in the thermal infrared. The objective of the simulated data is to generate split-window (SW) and dual-angle (DA) algorithms for the retrieval of land surface temperature (LST) from Terra/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Envisat/Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) data. The database contains 382 radiosounding profiles acquired over land, with nearly uniform distribution of precipitable water between 0.02 and 5.5 cm. Radiative transfer calculations were performed with the MODTRAN 4 code for…

Evaluation of the S-NPP VIIRS land surface temperature product using ground data acquired by an autonomous system at a rice paddy

Abstract The S-NPP VIIRS Land Surface Temperature (LST) product attained the stage V1 of validation maturity (provisional validated) at the end of 2014. This paper evaluates the current VIIRS V1 LST product versus concurrent ground data acquired at a rice paddy site from December 2014 to August 2016. The experimental site has three different seasonal and homogeneous land covers through the year, which makes the site interesting for validation activities. An autonomous and multiangular system was used to record continuous ground data at the site. The data acquired at zenith angles similar to the VIIRS viewing angles were used for the validation to avoid possible differences between satellite…

Analysis of thermal infrared data from the Digital Airborne Imaging Spectrometer

Thermal infrared data of the Digital Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (DAIS), whose channels 74-79 are in the 8-13 w m waveband region, were analysed with the aim of recovering land surface temperature (LST). DAIS images were acquired over an experimental site where field and laboratory emissivity measurements were performed, and these were used to recover the LST from the six DAIS thermal channels. Atmospheric correction of DAIS data was calculated by means of a nearby radiosounding and a radiative transfer model. DAIS derived LSTs were compared with ground measurements of LST made coincidentally for a few test fields, the central DAIS channels yielding temperatures up to 10°C higher than gro…

Effect of Soil Moisture on the Angular Variation of Thermal Infrared Emissivity of Inorganic Soils

Emissivity is influenced by different factors. This study deals with the effect of the soil moisture (SM) content on the zenithal (θ) variation of ratio-to-nadir emissivity (εr), for a wide variety of inorganic bare soils. To retrieve εr, a goniometer assembly was used, together with two identical CIMEL Electronique CE312-2 radiometers working at six spectral bands within 7.7-14.3 μm, performing simultaneous radiance measurements at different combinations of zenith and azimuth angles. The results showed that the effect of SM upon εr(θ) is different depending on the spectral range and textural composition of the sample. Sandy soils showed a decrease of εr(θ) from nadir up to 0.132 for θ ≥ 40…

Thermal remote sensing of land surface temperature from satellites: Current status and future prospects

Abstract In this paper we review the current status for deriving land surface temperatures (LSTs) by remote sensing from satellites in the thermal infrared. Because of its widespread use and global applicability, we concentrate on the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). The theoretical framework and methodologies used to derive LSTs are reviewed and amplified. Practical algorithms are described and their accuracy and application critically evaluated through sensitivity studies and by inter‐comparison. The important effects of the atmosphere, surface emissivity and instrument noise are considered and the current practice for removing these effects is specified. The accuracy cur…

Adjusted Normalized Emissivity Method for surface temperature and emissivity retrieval from optical and thermal infrared remote sensing data

[1] A methodology for the retrieval of surface temperatures and emissivities combining visible, near infrared and thermal infrared remote sensing data was applied to Digital Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (DAIS) data and validated with coincident ground measurements acquired in a multiyear experiment held in an agricultural site in Barrax, Spain. The Adjusted Normalized Emissivity Method (ANEM) is based on the use of visible and near infrared data to estimate the vegetation cover and model the maximum emissivity according to the Vegetation Cover Method. The pixel-dependent maximum emissivity is used as the initial guess of the Normalized Emissivity Method to obtain the surface temperature an…

In situ surface temperature retrieval in a boreal forest under variable cloudiness conditions

Canopy temperature retrieval was one of the purposes during the Solar Induced FLuorescence EXperiment (SIFLEX‐2002) of the European Space Agency, carried out in a Finnish boreal forest. In this work, we describe the strategy used to determine this temperature from ground thermal infrared (TIR) data under skies with variable cloud cover. TIR radiance was measured by a CIMEL Electronique CE 312 radiometer. An analysis of the radiative transfer equation showed which terms were necessary to obtain accurate surface temperatures during the campaign. Atmospheric correction was considered negligible due to the small atmospheric path, but hemispheric downwelling sky radiance determination was needed…

Land Surface Temperature

Abstract An introduction to the chapter on Land Surface Temperature (LST). The basic thermal infrared theory is presented with example algorithms for the retrieval of LST and emissivity data are described in the later section. Various methods to validate satellite Land Surface Temperature (LST) products exist, but the most accurate and conclusive method is the direct comparison against in situ LST obtained from spatially representative radiance measurements over homogeneous sites. Some validation results and insights found in the literature are provided and the determination of in situ emissivity and LST with thermal infrared field radiometers is explained. The chapter concludes with an exa…

Temperature-based and radiance-based validations of the V5 MODIS land surface temperature product

[1] The V5 level 2 land surface temperature (LST) product of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) was validated over homogeneous rice fields in Valencia, Spain, and the Hainich forest in Germany. For the Valencia site, ground LST measurements were compared with the MOD11_L2 product in the conventional temperature-based (T-based) method. We also applied the alternative radiance-based (R-based) method, with in situ LSTs calculated from brightness temperatures in band 31 through radiative transfer simulations using temperature and water vapor profiles and surface emissivity data. At the Valencia site, profiles were obtained from local radiosonde measurements and from Natio…

Imation of land surface emissivity differences in the split-window channels of AVHRR

Abstract A method for estimating the difference between the channel emissivities in NOAA-AVHRR Channels 4 and 5 is proposed and applied to a data set from the HAPEX-MOBILHY experiment. The method is based on the separation between the atmospheric and emissivity effects in the brightness temperature difference measured with AVHRR Channels 4 and 5. Atmospheric profiles coincident to the satellite overpass and a radiative transfer model are required to estimate the atmospheric correction for brightness temperatures. With this procedure, the emissivity difference Δe is obtained at the satellite spatial and spectral resolution, which has a great interest for correcting thermal images with the sp…

Temperature and emissivity separation from calibrated data of the Digital Airborne Imaging Spectrometer

Abstract The Digital Airborne Imaging Spectrometer (DAIS), with six thermal infrared channels in the 8–14 μm window, was flown over the Barrax test site, Spain, in the framework of the DAIS Experiment in the summer of 1998. Atmospheric correction of the DAIS thermal channels was performed by means of local radiosonde measurements and a radiative transfer model. Ground measurements of temperature and emissivity for six selected spots (two bare soils, two water bodies, and two vegetated fields) were conducted with the objective of providing calibration and validation targets. Three targets were used for a linear ground calibration of the DAIS thermal channels. With the ground-calibrated image…

Evaluation of split-window and dual-angle correction methods for land surface temperature retrieval from Envisat/Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) data

[1] Land surface temperature (LST) can be derived from thermal infrared remote sensing data provided that atmospheric and emissivity effects are corrected for. In this paper, two correction methods were evaluated using a database of ground LST measurements and concurrent Envisat/Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) data. They were the split-window (SW) method, which uses two channels at 11 and 12 μm, and the dual-angle (DA) method, using one single channel (11 μm) at two observation angles (close to nadir and around 55° forward). The ground LST measurements were performed in a large, flat, and thermally homogeneous area of rice fields during the summers of 2002–2005, when the cr…

On the atmospheric dependence of the split-window equation for land surface temperature

Abstract A split-window equation is derived for land surface temperature, yielding T = T4 + A(T4 − T5) + B(e), where T is the true surface temperature, T4 and T5 are the brightness temperatures measured in AVHRR channels 4 and 5, A is a coefficient related to the atmospheric transmittances in AVHRR channels 4 and 5, being dependent on the atmosphere type and independent on surface emissivity, and B(e) takes into account the emissivity effect, which depends on both the channel surface emissivities (e4 and e5) and the atmosphere type. The atmospheric dependence of split-window coefficients, A and B(e), is discussed by means of satellite measurements simulations and in situ data. It is shown t…

Angular dependence of the emissivity of bare soils in the thermal infrared

Emissivity is one of the main factors to take into account when studying processes that take place in the Earth surface by using radiance measurements in the thermal infrared, such as surface energy balance, land surface temperature (LST) retrieval, classification of different types of surface, etc. For this reason it is necessary to study the factors that can influence the emissivity. The present work evaluates one of these factors: the variation of the emissivity with the zenithal observation angle over bare soils, specifically the variation of the relative emissivity calculated from measurements of radiances, almost simultaneous, at nadir (0o) and at a certain angle (Θ). The measurements…

In situ angular measurements of thermal infrared sea surface emissivity—Validation of models

Abstract In this paper, sea surface emissivity (SSE) measurements obtained from thermal infrared radiance data are presented. These measurements were carried out from a fixed oilrig under open sea conditions in the Mediterranean Sea during the WInd and Salinity Experiment 2000 (WISE 2000). The SSE retrieval methodology uses quasi-simultaneous measurements of the radiance coming from the sea surface and the downwelling sky radiance, in addition to the sea surface temperature (SST). The radiometric data were acquired by a CIMEL ELECTRONIQUE CE 312 radiometer, with four channels placed in the 8–14 μm region. The sea temperature was measured with high-precision thermal probes located on oceanog…

Angular variations of brightness surface temperatures derived from dual-view measurements of the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer using a new single band atmospheric correction method

Abstract Surface temperatures derived from remote sensing data over heterogeneous, non-isothermal land surfaces depend on the viewing and solar angles mainly due to variations in sunlit and shaded fractions of the different elements in the field of view. The near-simultaneous dual-view capability of the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) can be used to estimate differences in brightness surface temperatures (BSTs) between the nadir (satellite zenith angle of 0°–21.7°) and forward views (53°–55.6°) in the 11 and 12 μm bands. BST is defined as the black-body temperature corresponding to the radiance at surface level (that is, corrected for atmospheric absorption and emission). W…

Analyzing the anisotropy of thermal infrared emissivity over arid regions using a new MODIS land surface temperature and emissivity product (MOD21)

Abstract The MOD21 Land Surface Temperature and Emissivity (LST&E) product will be included in forthcoming Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 6. Surface temperature and emissivities for thermal bands 29 (8.55 μm), 31 (11 μm) and 32 (12 μm) will be retrieved using the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Temperature and Emissivity Separation (TES) method adapted to MODIS at-sensor spectral radiances, previously corrected with the Water Vapor Scaling method (MOD21 algorithm). We simulated MOD21 product estimates over two different sandy deserts (i.e. White Sands and Great Sands) using a series of MODIS scenes from 2010 to 2013. T…

On the angular variation of thermal infrared emissivity of inorganic soils

[1] Land surface temperature (LST), a key parameter for many environmental studies, can be most readily estimated by using thermal infrared (TIR) sensors onboard satellites. Accurate LST are contingent upon simultaneously accurate estimates of land surface emissivity (e), which depend on sensor viewing angle and the anisotropy of optical and structural properties of surfaces. In the case of inorganic bare soils (IBS), there are still few data that quantify emissivity angular effects. The present work deals with the angular variation of TIR emissivity for twelve IBS types, representative of nine of the twelve soil textures found on Earth according to United States Department of Agriculture c…

Land Surface Temperature From the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer: Validation Over Inland Waters and Vegetated Surfaces

The land surface temperature (LST) product of the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) was validated with ground measurements at the following two thermally homogeneous sites: Lake Tahoe, CA/NV, USA, and a large rice field close to Valencia, Spain. The AATSR LST product is based on the split-window technique using the 11- and 12- mum channels. The algorithm coefficients are provided for 13 different land-cover classes plus one lake class (index i). Coefficients are weighted by the vegetation-cover fraction (f). In the operational implementation of the algorithm, i and f are assigned from a global classification and monthly fractional vegetation-cover maps with spatial resolution…

Validation of Landsat-7/ETM+ Thermal-Band Calibration and Atmospheric Correction With Ground-Based Measurements

Ground-based measurements of land-surface temperature (LST) performed in a homogeneous site of rice crops close to Valencia, Spain, were used for the validation of the calibration and the atmospheric correction of the Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) thermal band. Atmospheric radiosondes were launched at the test site around the satellite overpasses. Field-emissivity measurements of the near-full-vegetated rice crops were also performed. Seven concurrences of Landsat-7 and ground data were obtained in July and August 2004-2007. The ground measurements were used with the MODTRAN-4 radiative transfer model to simulate at-sensor radiances and brightness temperatures, which were c…

Determination of sea surface temperature at large observation angles using an angular and emissivity-dependent split-window equation

Abstract This paper proposes an angular and emissivity-dependent split-window equation that permits the determination of the sea surface temperature (SST) to a reasonable level of accuracy for any observation angle, including large viewing angles at the image edges of satellite sensors with wide swaths. This is the case of the MODIS radiometer both on EOS Terra/Aqua platforms, with observation angles of up to 65° at the surface, for which the split-window equation has been developed in this study. The algorithm takes into account the angular dependence of both the atmospheric correction (due to the increase of the atmospheric optical path with angle) and the emissivity correction (since sea…

Thermal–infrared emissivities of natural surfaces: improvements on the experimental set-up and new measurements

Ground measurements of thermal infrared emissivities of terrestrial surfaces are required to derive accurate temperatures from radiometric measurements, and also to apply and validate emissivity models using satellite sensor observations. This paper focuses on the demanding aspects that are involved in the field measurement of emissivity using the box method and a hand-held radiometer. Measuring emissivities in field conditions can be hampered by external factors such as wind and solar irradiance. This can increase the time spent on the field campaign but, most importantly, it can cause no-sense fluctuations between consecutive observations. Here we propose original developments for the exp…

Accuracy assessment of land surface temperature retrievals from MSG2-SEVIRI data

The accuracy of the Land Surface Temperature (LST) product generated operationally by the EUMETSAT Land Surface Analysis Satellite Applications Facility (LSA SAF) from the data registered by the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) on board the geostationary METEOSAT Second Generation 2 (MSG2, Meteosat 9) satellite was assessed on two test sites in Eastern Spain: a homogeneous, fully vegetated rice field and a high-plain, homogeneous area of shrubland. The LSA SAF LSTs were compared with ground LST measurements in the conventional temperature-based (T-based) method. We also validated the LSA SAF LST product by using an alternative radiance-based (R-based) method, with grou…