Subpixel temperature retrieval with multispectral sensors

John J. Szymanski; Christoph C. Borel; Quincy O. Harberger; Pawel Smolarkiewicz; James P. Theiler

doi:10.1117/12.373105

17 December 1999 Subpixel temperature retrieval with multispectral sensors

John J. Szymanski, Christoph C. Borel, Quincy O. Harberger, Pawel Smolarkiewicz, James P. Theiler

Proceedings Volume 3868, Remote Sensing for Earth Science, Ocean, and Sea Ice Applications; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.373105
Event: Remote Sensing, 1999, Florence, Italy

Abstract

High-quality, multispectral thermal infrared sensors can, under certain conditions, be used to measure more than one surface temperature in a single pixel. Surface temperature retrieval in general is a difficult task, because even for a single unknown surface, the problem is under-determined. For the example of an N-band sensor, a pixel with two materials at two temperatures will, in principle, have 2(N+1) unknowns (N emissivities and one temperature for each of two materials). In addition, the upwelling path and reflected downwelling radiances must be considered. Split-window (two or more bands) and multi-look (two or more images of the same scene) techniques provide additional information that can be used to reduce the uncertainties in temperature retrieval. Further reduction in the uncertainties is made if the emissivities are known, either a priori (e.g., for water) or by ancillary measurements. Ultimately, if the number of unknowns is reduced sufficiently, the performance of the sensor will determine the achievable temperature sensitivity. This paper will explore the temperature sensitivity for a pixel with two temperatures that can be obtained under various assumptions of sensor performance, atmospheric conditions, number of bands, number of looks, surface emissivity knowledge, and surface composition. Results on synthetic data sets will be presented.

Citation Download Citation

John J. Szymanski, Christoph C. Borel, Quincy O. Harberger, Pawel Smolarkiewicz, and James P. Theiler "Subpixel temperature retrieval with multispectral sensors", Proc. SPIE 3868, Remote Sensing for Earth Science, Ocean, and Sea Ice Applications, (17 December 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.373105

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available