Estimation and Evaluation of the Land Surface Temperature from FengYun-3 Series Satellite Data in Northwest China

In this study, we have developed an operational split-window algorithm for retrieving the land surface temperature (LST) from Chinese FengYun-3 (FY-3) series satellite data, with the purpose of generating long-term FY-3 LST products from 2009 to 2020. The refined generalized split-window (GSW) algorithm was selected and the coefficients of the algorithm were simulated using radiative transfer model MODTRAN 5.2 and Seebore v5.0 atmospheric profile database. The land surface emissivities (LSE) in the two SW channels were calculated using the ASTER Global Emissivity Database (GED), vegetation cover product and snow cover product based on the vegetation cover method. The developed FY-3 GSW algorithm was implemented in a MUlti-source data SYnergized Quantitative (MuSyQ) remote sensing product production system. The FY-3A and FY-3B LST products in northwest China were produced for 2013 and 2014, respectively, and the results were evaluated using ground measurements collected in four barren surface sites in the Heihe river basin. Both level 1 and recalibrated VIRR data were used for retrieving the LSTs. The results showed that the historical recalibration coefficients of the VIRR data can improve the accuracy of the LST retrievals.