Land Surface Temperature Estimation from the Next Generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites: GOES M–Q

Abstract

The next generation of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES M?Q) will have only one thermal window channel instead of the current two split-window thermal channels. There is a need to evaluate the usefulness of this new configuration to retrieve parameters that presently are derived by utilizing the split-window characteristics. Two algorithms for deriving land surface temperatures (LSTs) from the GOES M?Q series have been developed and will be presented here. Both algorithms are based on radiative transfer theory; one uses ancillary total precipitable water (TPW) data, and the other is a two-channel (3.9 and 11.0 ?m) algorithm that aims to improve atmospheric correction by utilizing the middle infrared (MIR) channel. The proposed algorithms are compared with a well-known generalized split-window algorithm. It is found that by adding TPW to the 11.0-?m channel, similar results to those from the generalized split-window algorithm are attained, and the combination of 3.9 and 11.0 ?m yields further improvement. GOES M?Q retrievals (simulated with GOES-8 observations), when evaluated against skin temperature observations from the Oklahoma Mesonet, show that with the proposed two-channel algorithm, LST can be determined at an rms accuracy of about 2 K. The proposed algorithms are also applicable for the derivation of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) for which less restrictive assumptions on surface emissivity apply.