Evaluation of ASTER and MODIS land surface temperature and emissivity products using long-term surface longwave radiation observations at SURFRAD sites

Land surface temperature (LST) and emissivity are key parameters in estimating the land surface radiation budget, a major controlling factor of global climate and environmental change. In this study, Terra Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) and Aqua MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Collection 5 LST and emissivity products are evaluated using long-term ground-based longwave radiation observations collected at six Surface Radiation Budget Network (SURFRAD) sites from 2000 to 2007. LSTs at a spatial resolution of 90 m from 197 ASTER images during 2000–2007 are directly compared to ground observations at the six SURFRAD sites. For nighttime data, ASTER LST has an average bias of 0.1 °C and the average bias is 0.3 °C during daytime. Aqua MODIS LST at 1 km resolution during nighttime retrieved from a split-window algorithm is evaluated from 2002 to 2007. MODIS LST has an average bias of − 0.2 °C. LST heterogeneity (defined as the Standard Deviation, STD, of ASTER LSTs in 1 × 1 km2 region, 11 × 11 pixel in total) and instrument calibration error of pyrgeometer are key factors impacting the ASTER and MODIS LST evaluation using ground-based radiation measurements. The heterogeneity of nighttime ASTER LST is 1.2 °C, which accounts for 71% of the STD of the comparison, while the heterogeneity of the daytime LST is 2.4 °C, which accounts for 60% of the STD. Collection 5 broadband emissivity is 0.01 larger than that of MODIS Collection 4 products and ASTER emissivity. It is essential to filter out the abnormal low values of ASTER daily emissivity data in summer time before its application.