A Satellite Based Study of Surface Energy Fluxes and Closing the Energy Balance

Abstract:

All agricultural, hydrological and biological processes are affected by the amount of available energy. Spatially distributed air temperature is one of the most important variables in various scientific fields. Although meteorological stations provide accurate data observations, their spatial coverage is limited and thus often insufficient for environmental modeling. Remote sensing provides the spatial data and it fills the spatial and temporal gaps left by the meteorological stations. In this study, the surface energy balance and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products through the years 2003-2013 are used in order to estimate air temperature for New York City region and Fars Province region in south of Iran. Land surface temperature, evapotranspiration and surface reflectance data were obtained from MODIS, and by using the surface energy balance equation the air temperature is computed and analyzed. The amount of fluxes seasonally is investigated as one the most important and governing components of the energy balance.