Effect of Different MODIS Emissivity Products on Land-Surface Temperature Retrieval From GOES Series

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration´s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service is developing an operational land-surface temperature (LST) product from the U.S. Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) series 13, 14, and 15, which makes use of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) monthly emissivity. However, there is a latency problem since the MODIS monthly emissivity data are available at least a month late. In this study, we investigated using alternative emissivity data sets, including the ten-year monthly average emissivity, the last month emissivity, and the same month emissivity in the last year. We also tested current monthly emissivity and current weekly emissivity for comparison and evaluation. The study area is in the continental United States (25°N-50°N and 125°W-65°W), and the temporal frame is April, July, October, and December, which represents the four seasons in a year. Based on the modified dual-window algorithm, LST is derived and validated against the SURFace RADiation (SURFRAD) budget network ground observations. The results show that the ten-year monthly average emissivity performs best by retrieving stable and accurate LST.