Variability of emissivity and surface temperature over a sparsely vegetated surface

• Published in: Water resources research 1994-05, Vol.30 (5), p.1299-1310
• Main Authors: Humes, K. S., Kustas, W. P., Moran, M. S., Nichols, W. D., Weltz, M. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: analytical methods; arizona; balance de energia; bassin versant; bilan energetique; cuencas hidrograficas; energy balance; estacion humeda; measurement; medicion; mesure; radiaciones; radiation; radiations; remote sensing; saison humide; semiarid zones; technique analytique; tecnicas analiticas; teledeteccion; teledetection; temperatura; temperature; watersheds; wet season; zona semiarida; zone semi aride
• ISSN: 0043-1397; 1944-7973
• DOI: 10.1029/93WR03065

Radiometric surface temperatures obtained from remote sensing measurements are a function of both the physical surface temperature and the effective emissivity of the surface within the band pass of the radiometric measurement. For sparsely vegetated areas, however, a sensor views significant fractions of both bare soil and various vegetation types. In this case the radiometric response of a sensor is a function of the emissivities and kinetic temperatures of various surface elements, the proportion of those surface elements within the field of view of the sensor, and the interaction of radiation emitted from the various surface components. In order to effectively utilize thermal remote sensing data to quantify energy balance components for a sparsely vegetated area, it is important to examine the typical magnitude and degree of variability of emissivity and surface temperature for such surfaces. Surface emissivity measurements and ground and low-altitude-aircraft-based surface temperature measurements (8-13 micrometer band pass) made in conjunction with the Monsoon '90 field experiment were used to evaluate the typical variability of those quantities during the summer rainy season in a semiarid watershed. The average value for thermal band emissivity of the exposed bare soil portions of the surface was found to be approximately 0.96; the average value measured for most of the varieties of desert shrubs present was approximately 0.99. Surface composite emissivity was estimated to be approximately 0.98 for both the grass-dominated and shrub-dominated portions of the watershed. The spatial variability of surface temperature was found to be highly dependent on the spatial scale of integration for the instantaneous field of view (IFOV) of the instrument, the spatial scale of the total area under evaluation, and the time of day.