PNNL

Abstract

Satellite-derived land surface temperature (LST) has commonly been used to monitor global temperature changes. The MODIS MYD11A2 product is the most common coarse-resolution product used for this purpose. An updated MODIS product (MYD21A2) and VIIRS (VNP21A2) product, are also available for this purpose. This study analyses 8-day, quality-controlled, LST imagery over Western Australia (WA) for the three products for an urban and a non-urban area for the years 2013, 2016, and 2019. An analysis of the data indicates: i) the Perth city daytime LST av-eraged difference between the three products over the three years was 1.32 ºC, while at night it was 0.89 ºC, ii) the Kimberley region daytime difference was 7.02 ºC with a night average difference of 2.39 ºC, , and; iii) both the MYD21A2 and VNP21A2 products still appear to record anomalous monthly LST values, particularly in the humid Kimberley monsoonal months. The overall ob-jective of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is to ensure that the LST values of the two satellite system products are comparable so evidence of substantial LST value differences will require further study, especially if the older product is to be replaced by the newer systems