Comment on Yu et al. Land Surface Temperature Retrieval from Landsat 8 TIRS—Comparison between Radiative Transfer Equation-Based Method, Split Window Algorithm and Single Channel Method. <i>Remote Sens.</i> 2014, <i>6</i>, 9829–9852

Abstract

Accurate land surface temperature (LST) retrieval from satellite data is pivotal in environmental monitoring and scientific research. This study addresses the impact of variability in the effective wavelengths used for LST retrieval from the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) data of Landsat 8. We conduct a detailed analysis comparing the effective wavelengths reported by Yu et al. (2014) and those derived from data provided by the USGS. Our analysis reveals significant variability in the effective wavelengths for bands 10 and 11 of Landsat 8. By applying Planck’s Law and utilizing the K1 and K2 coefficients available in the metadata of Landsat 8 products, we derive the effective wavelengths for bands 10 and 11. We also rederive the effective wavelength by integrating the spectral response function of the TIRS1 sensor. Our findings indicate that the effective wavelength for band 10 is 10.814 μm, aligning with the USGS data, while the effective wavelength for band 11 is 12.013 μm. We discuss the implications of these corrected effective wavelengths on the accuracy of LST retrieval algorithms, particularly the single channel algorithm (SC) and the radiative transfer equation (RT) employed by Yu et al. The importance of using precise effective wavelengths in satellite-based temperature retrieval is emphasized, to ensure the reliability and consistency of results. This analysis underscores the critical role of accurate spectral calibration parameters in remote sensing studies and provides valuable insights in the field of land surface temperature retrieval from Landsat 8 TIRS data.

Keywords

• Landsat 8
• TIRS
• single-channel algorithm
• effective wavelengths