Uncertainty quantification in land surface temperature retrieved from Himawari-8/AHI data by operational algorithms

Himawari-8, a new-generation geostationary satellite, can retrieve sub-hourly land surface temperatures (LSTs) with moderate spatial resolution, providing a new scale for monitoring the thermal environment in Asia and Oceania. This study evaluated uncertainties of LSTs retrieved by three operational algorithms from Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI) data. We compared two nonlinear split-window algorithms (SOB and WAN algorithms) and one nonlinear three-band algorithm (YAM algorithm). First, the error characteristics of the retrieved LSTs caused by the input parameter errors were simulated under various land-atmospheric conditions using an atmospheric radiative transfer model. Thereafter, retrieved LSTs from actual AHI data were evaluated using in-situ observations from AsiaFlux and OzFlux networks and the ECOsystem Spaceborne Thermal Radiometer Experiment on Space Station (ECOSTRESS) LSTs. The simulated results showed that the YAM algorithm maintained the highest accuracy, whereas the WAN algorithm had the highest robustness to input errors. The YAM algorithm had the smallest total error including input errors over a wide range of retrieval conditions. Validation of the three algorithms via in-situ LSTs from 12 sites revealed nighttime mean RMSEs for all sites of similar to 1.7 degrees C, and daytime mean RMSEs for semi-arid and humid sites of approximately 3.0 degrees C and 2.0 degrees C, respectively. These are comparable to the accuracies reported for LST products with higher spatial resolutions, such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer and Landsat. Within the Himawari-8 disk, the estimation error of the YAM algorithm was similar to 1.0 degrees C lower than those of the SOB and WAN algorithms in regions with extremely high viewing angle, temperature, and humidity (e.g., northern China, Australia, and Southeast Asia). Furthermore, AHI LSTs showed closer agreement with ECOSTRESS compared to in-situ LSTs, suggesting the usefulness of ECOSTRESS for assessing the diurnal LSTs derived from geostationary satellites. The resulting LST products and the knowledge of their error characteristics have the potential to improve the collective understanding of terrestrial energy and water cycles based on improved accuracy and robustness.