Spatio-Temporal Distribution Characteristics of Global Annual Maximum Land Surface Temperature Derived from MODIS Thermal Infrared Data From 2003 to 2019

Land surface temperature (LST) is an important parameter in the physical processes of energy and water balance at the local and global scales. The annual maximum composite of LST provides important information about ecosystem exposure patterns to extreme LST. It has the ability to characterize the changes associated with extreme climatic events and significant land-cover changes. In this study, the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of global annual maximum LST extracted from the MODIS LST product (MYD11A1) during the period 2003-2019 were investigated. The results indicate that the spatial pattern of annual maximum LST is associated with the biophysical and biogeographic factors of Earth's ecosystems. The interannual variability of annual maximum LST during the period 2003-2019 is relatively small. The changing trend of annual maximum LST during the period 2003-2019 in the globe is 0.1 degrees C/decade. The annual maximum LST data was applied to detect thermal anomalies, including drought, heat waves, and ice melting. Some significant thermal anomaly events were well identified using the annual maximum LST data with a standardized anomaly index larger than 2.5.