ARS | Publication request: Utility of Thermal-based Dual-Temperature-Difference Technique for Surface Energy Balance Estimation under Strongly Advective Conditions during BEARE08

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 1, 2010
Publication Date: September 27, 2010
Citation: Kustas, W.P., Alfieri, J.G., Anderson, M.C., Colaizzi, P.D., Prueger, J.H., Chavez, J.L., Hipps, L.E., Evett, S.R., Copeland, K.S., Howell, T.A. 2010. Utility of thermal-based dual-temperature-difference technique for surface energy balance estimation under strongly advective conditions during BEAREX08 [abstract]. Remote Sensing and Hydrology 2010 Symposium. Paper No. 146, p. 68.

Technical Abstract: Application of most thermal remote sensing-based energy balance models requires meteorological inputs of wind speed and air temperature. These are typically obtained from the nearest weather station which is often situated in a non-ideal location having limited fetch with diverse vegetation cover and moisture conditions affecting the sensors. In addition, the uncertainty of surface temperature estimates can be several degrees due to sensor calibration issues, atmospheric effects and variation in surface emissivity. In agricultural environments, particularly under strongly advective conditions, the issue of representative wind and temperature data is exacerbated by the patchwork of irrigated and non-irrigated fields, each with differing soil water content and fractional canopy cover. The Dual-Temperature-Difference (DTD) method, which uses a double difference of the time rate of change in radiometric and air temperature observations, was developed to reduce errors associated with deriving the temperature gradient over complex landscapes. The scheme is relatively simple, requiring minimal ground-based data and meteorological input from an existing synoptic weather station network. The utility of this scheme is tested with ground-based radiometric temperature observations from the Bushland Evapotranspiration and Agricultural Remote Sensing Experiment 2008 (BEAREX08), which was conducted under strongly advective conditions in the semi-arid climate of the Texas High Plains under a wide range of vegetative cover and soil moisture conditions.