Intercomparison of Operational Land Surface Temperature Products Derived From MSG-SEVIRI and Terra/Aqua-MODIS Data

Abstract

Accuracy assessment of land surface temperature (LST) products is critical to facilitate their use in various studies. As an alternative method for assessing the accuracy of LST products, a new satellite LST product is compared with a heritage LST product to validate and determine the uncertainties in the satellite-derived LST approach. In this study, we propose a method for the intercomparison of the Meteosat second generation-spinning enhanced visible and infrared imager (MSG-SEVIRI) and Terra/Aqua-moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST products. The intercomparison was performed by verifying the collocation in space, temporal concurrence, viewing geometry alignment, and spatial homogeneity between the two LST products. The discrepancies between the SEVIRI and MODIS LST products were investigated over different seasons, times of day, and surface types. SEVIRI LST values are generally higher than MODIS LST values, with positive biases during daytime (approximately 2–4 K) and nighttime (approximately 1–2 K). Significant variability of the daytime LST discrepancies with season, time of day, and surface type is observed. Compared with the daytime LST discrepancies, the nighttime LST discrepancies are less dependent on season, time of day, and surface type.