Comparison of land surface temperatures from MSG-2/SEVIRI and Terra/MODIS

We evaluate the land surface temperature (LST) generated from the spinning enhanced visible and infrared imager (SEVIRI) onboard the MSG-2 satellite, which was retrieved using the split-window method where the land surface emissivity (LSE) was estimated from the day/night temperature-independent spectral indices-based method. The SEVIRI-derived LST was compared with the MODIS-derived LST extracted from the MOD11B1 V5 product during 7 clear-sky days. The results show that (1) discrepancies exist between the two LST products, with a maximum average difference of 4.9 K; (2) these differences are considered to be time-dependent, since higher discrepancies are observed during the daytime; (3) these differences are land-cover dependent, e.g., bare areas generally present larger differences than vegetated areas; and (4) these differences are inversely proportional to view zenith angle differences. Finally, the main sources of LST differences are investigated and identified in terms of LSE, instrumental noise equivalent temperature difference (NE Delta T), and misregistration of the two LST products. The LST differences arising from NE Delta T and misregistration are within 0.4 K. Therefore, these discrepancies may mainly result from errors in LSE, which are caused primarily by the atmospheric correction error for the SEVIRI-derived LST. (c) 2012 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). [DOI: 10.1117/1.JRS.6.063606]