Optimizing TRISHNA TIR channels configuration for improved land surface temperature and emissivity measurements

In preparation of the Thermal infraRed Imaging Satellite for High-resolution Natural resource Assessment (TRISHNA) mission, we conducted a thorough analysis of sensitivity for the Temperature-Emissivity Separation (TES) method to the position of the four TRISHNA spectral channels, notably to find an optimal spectral configuration. To that purpose, we designed a fast-computing end-to-end simulator including several components, which we implemented to simulate both pixel-size TRISHNA measurements and land surface temperature (LST) retrievals. Firstly, simulations were conducted over a wide range of realistic scenarii, notably by including vegetation canopy-scale cavity effect. Secondly, the experimental design included the features of second generation Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) cooled detectors with lower instrumental noises and finer channels. Thirdly, as opposed to previous studies that used predefined spectral configurations to determine the most suited one, we conducted an optimization of the spectral configuration by crossing, on a pair basis, several positions of the four TIR channels over a range of wavelengths. Fourthly, we quantified the TES sensitivity to atmospheric perturbations, by comparing LST retrievals with and without atmospheric noise. We observed an overall moderate sensitivity of TES LST retrievals to the spectral channel positions, with a maximum RMSE variation of 0.31 K within the atmospheric spectral windows. Furthermore, the TES method was sensitive to three main parameters, namely the instrumental noise, the atmospheric downwelling irradiance, and the transmittance due to ozone and water vapor, with RMSEs larger than 1 K for specific channel locations. Moreover, by considering possible superimposition of two channels, we noted that the TES method could achieve similar performance by considering three or four channels. Eventually, our study enabled us to recommend a new spectral configuration for the TRISHNA TIR instrument, that is more robust to atmospheric perturbations and to uncertainties on channel positions and bandwidths.