Comparison of the thermal sensors of SEVIRI and MODIS for LST mapping

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate quantitatively the land surface temperature (LST) from SEVIRI data (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager, onboard MSG-2 satellite) with the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, onboard Terra)-derived LST extracted from the MOD11B1 V5 product. Two SEVIRI-derived LST level-2 products are used for this purpose: the LSTs retrieved using the generalised split-window method with the emissivities estimated using the day/night TISI (Temperature Independent Spectral Indices)-based method and the LSTs generated by the Land Surface Analysis of the Satellite Application Facility. The results show that (1) higher discrepancies are observed during the daytime, especially for bare areas, with a maximum of 5.7 K; (2) these differences are time- and land cover-dependent; (3) these differences strongly depend on the view zenith angle differences; and (4) the two LST retrieval algorithms for SEVIRI present the higher discrepancy for bare areas, with a maximum difference of 6.1 K.