Inter-Comparison of In-Situ Sensors for Land Surface Temperature Measurements

Abstract:

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key variable in the determination of land surface processes from local to global scales. It has been identified as one of the most important environmental data records and is widely used in meteorological, climatological, hydrological, ecological, biophysical, and biochemical studies. Despite its importance, accurate in-situ measurements of LST are not yet available for the whole globe and are not routinely conducted at weather stations along with standard meteorological observations, with few exceptions including NOAA’s United States Climate Reference Network. Even though satellite radiometric measurements of LST are a powerful tool, there are still large uncertainties associated with the retrieval of remotely sensed LST measurements. To improve confidence in the methods, algorithms, and parameters used to derive remotely sensed LST, validation of satellite data using high-quality ground-based measurements is required. With the objective of improving the quality of in situ measurements of LST and to evaluate the quantitative uncertainties in the ground-based measurements, intensive experiments were conducted at NOAA/ATDD in Oak ridge, TN from September 2013 to 2014. During the study period, multiple measurements of land surface skin temperature were made using infra-red temperature sensors – including the JPL radiometer, two models of Apogee infrared radiometers, and thermocouples embedded in the ground surface. In addition, aspirated air temperature and four-band net radiation measurements were also made. Overall the in situ LST measurements from the different sensors were in good agreement with each other, with a correlation coefficient of ~1 and root mean square error of <1 ^oC.