A Software Tool for Retrieving Land Surface Temperature fromASTER Imagery

Remote sensing is a powerful and well-known tool in the collection, analysis, and modeling of environmental data,however, not much attention has been given to the use of thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing. Land surface temperature (LST) is a key parameter for many environmental studies such as global environmental change, climate models, and human-environment interactions. In this study, a software tool which retrieves LST from Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and reflection Radiometer (ASTER) imagery has been developed in Visual Basic .NET. The tool consists of five main modules: 1- Converting DN to Radiances, 2- Calculating surface reflectances, 3- Calculating NDVI, 4- Calculating emissivity and 5- Calculating surface temperature. In this tool, Jimenez Munoz and Sobrino’s Single Channel (SCJM S) Algorithm for ASTER was employed. With this tool, user can be able to calculate LST using (1) atmospheric parameters such as atmospheric transmissivity, upwelling and downwelling atmospheric radiances, (2) atmospheric water-vapor content. Hopefully, this program will be a useful tool for scientists/persons who are interestedin studying thermal environments.