Satellite Remote Sensing of Global Land Surface Temperature: Definition, Methods, Products, and Applications

Abstract

Land surface temperature (LST) is a crucial parameter that reflects land-atmosphere interaction and has thus attracted wide interest from geoscientists. Owing to the rapid development of Earth observation technologies, remotely sensed LST is playing an increasingly essential role in various fields. This review aims to summarize the progress in LST estimation algorithms and accelerate its further applications. Thus, we briefly review the most-used thermal infrared (TIR) LST estimation algorithms. More importantly, this review provides a comprehensive collection of the widely used TIR-based LST products and offers important insights into the uncertainties in these products with respect to different land cover conditions via a systematic intercomparison analysis of several representative products. In addition to the discussion on product accuracy, we address problems related to the spatial discontinuity, spatiotemporal incomparability, and short time span of current LST products by introducing the most effective methods. With the aim of overcoming these challenges in available LST products, much progress has been made in developing spatiotemporal seamless LST data, which significantly promotes the successful applications of these products in the field of surface evapotranspiration and soil moisture estimation, agriculture drought monitoring, thermal environment monitoring, thermal anomaly monitoring, and climate change. Overall, this review encompasses the most recent advances in TIR-based LST and the state-of-the-art of applications of LST products at various spatial and temporal scales, identifies critical further research needs and directions to advance and optimize retrieval methods, and promotes the application of LST to improve the understanding of surface thermal dynamics and exchanges.Plain Language Summary Land surface temperature (LST) is a crucial geophysical parameter related to surface energy and water balance of the land-atmosphere system. Satellite remote sensing provides the best way to measure LST and generate various LST products at regional and global scales. In this review, to facilitate the application of LST products in different fields, we first present the physical meaning of satellite-derived LST. Subsequently, we summarize recent advances in LST retrieval and validation methods, with a special focus on the state-of-the-art product collections, product accuracies and intercomparisons, and main problems in current LST products as well as their possible solutions. Additionally, we also review the major applications of LST products in agricultural drought monitoring, thermal environment monitoring, thermal anomaly monitoring, and climate change. Finally, we offer recommendations or perspectives to promote LST retrieval methods and their applications. This review will aid the user in gaining a thorough comprehensive understanding of satellite-derived LST products and promoting their appropriate applications. LI ET AL.

Satellite-Derived Land Surface Temperature Dynamics in the Context of Global Change—A Review

“…The land surface can be defined as the interface layer between different surface components (e.g., forest canopy, rooftops and soil) and the atmosphere, and LST is its thermodynamic temperature [1]. LST is an essential part of the surface energy balance (SEB), which is depicted in Figure 2.…”

“…Several algorithms exist to account for emissivity and the directional and atmospheric effects in order to derive an accurate LST from satellite data. A comprehensive overview of these algorithms and their validation methods is provided by [1,147]. The validation of satellite LST should follow a certain protocol, as provided by [148].…”

“…Other LST products have been derived from AVHRR, with MADs of around 2 K [151], and AATSR, with MADs between 1.5 and 3 K [152]. An up-to-date overview of available LST products is provided by [1]. The accordance between satellite-derived and in situ LST is usually higher at night.…”

“…On the other hand, humans directly modify their environment through the clearing of forests, urbanization and agricultural activities. LST is a key indicator for both climate change and land surface processes, as due to the heat exchange between the land surface and the near-surface atmosphere, the dynamics in air temperature and LST are consistent [1]. Furthermore, the LST is an important parameter in surface energy balance equations and is hence crucial for understanding the dynamics in the Earth's radiation fluxes.…”

“…In recent years, remotely sensed LST has attracted increasing interest from researchers in various fields, which is reflected by the exponentially growing number of publications in this field [1,2]. Figure 1 provides an overview of the application fields of LST.…”