Improving ground surface temperature and heat flux simulation with satellite derived emissivity in arid and semiarid regions

Land surface emissivity is a critical factor controlling the energy budget on earth surface. However, this important parameter is poorly represented utilizing the “constant-ε” assumption in the state-of-the-art land surface models as well as climate models due to lack of observations. Satellite sensors such as the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer(AVHRR) and Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectrometer(MODIS) can provide Narrow Band Emissivity (NBE) products. These NBE products need to be preprocessed to produce reliable Broad Band Emissivity (BBE) which can be then assimilated into land surface models. This paper presents a preliminary sensitivity study of land surface energy balance simulation utilizing the long-term Global Land Surface Satellite (GLASS) BBE product in the arid and semiarid regions of northwestern China. We find that the GLASS-based land surface emissivities in the study region show great spatial and temporal variabilities. Satellite derived emissivity for bare soil ranges from 0.90 to 0.985 and more than half of bare soil grids over our study region have emissivity values less than 0.94. Decreased emissivity would lead to increased surface temperature and sensible heat flux. In-situ simulation results indicate that the ground surface temperature and heat fluxes simulations can be improved when satellite derived emissivity is assimilated.