Land Surface Temperature Retrievals

Sensing the Temperature of the Earth's Surface

The figure on the right presents AVHRR and GOES data over Alabama. The AVHHR panel is a color composite of several channels and highlights the variations in land use over the region. The second (far right panel) is a land surface temperature image derived from GOES 8 thermal data. The retrieved temperature scale is on the right (degrees Kelvin). The images show a good visual correlation between land use and surface thermal structure. The particular land cover over a region drives the surface energy balance (between incoming solar radiation and outgoing longware radiation) which maintains the surface temperature. The partition between latent heat and sensible heat (the Bowen ratio) is also controlled by the underlying surface. Geostationary satellites like GOES can monitor the land surface temperature over a large region every 15 minutes so that changes in LST can be monitored over the complete diurnal cycle.

For more information on how the land surface temperature is drived from satellite data go to the section on Retrieval of Geophysical Parameters

The application of our land surface temperature (LST) research focuses on two topics listed below. Both utilize the nearly continuous viewing capability of the geostationary orbit to look at surface thermal variability over the diurnal cycle. Go to the topics below for additional information.

Diurnal variability of LST and its assimilation into regional forecast models

Applying Land Surface Temperature Retrievals from GOES to Urban Studies

This work is currently funded by NASA's Office of Earth Science (OES) under the U. S. Weather Research Program and by NOAA's Office of Global Programs through its GEWEX Contenental Scale Intercomparison Project (GCIP).

Last updated on: January 17, 2002