Estimating Land Surface Temperature from Landsat-8 Data using the NOAA JPSS Enterprise Algorithm

Land surface temperature (LST) is one of the key parameters in hydrology, meteorology, and the surface energy balance. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Enterprise algorithm is adapted to Landsat-8 data to obtain the estimate of LST. The coefficients of the Enterprise algorithm were obtained by linear regression using the analog data produced by comprehensive radiative transfer modeling. The performance of the Enterprise algorithm was first tested by simulation data and then validated by ground measurements. In addition, the accuracy of the Enterprise algorithm was compared to the generalized split-window algorithm and the split-window algorithm of Sobrino et al. (1996). The validation results indicate the Enterprise algorithm has a comparable accuracy to the other two split-window algorithms. The biases (root mean square errors) of the Enterprise algorithm were 1. 38 (3. 22), 1. 01 (2. 32), 1. 99 (3. 49), 2. 53 (3. 46), and −0. 15 K (1. 11 K) at the SURFRAD, HiWATERA, HiWATERB, HiWATERC sites and BanGe site, respectively, whereas those values were 1. 39 (3. 20), 1. 0 (2. 30), 1. 93 (3. 48), 2. 53 (3. 35), and −0. 35 K (1. 16 K) for the generalized split-window algorithm, 1. 45 (3. 39), 1. 08 (2. 41), 2. 16 (3. 67), 2. 52 (3. 58), and 0. 02 K (1. 12 K) for the split-window algorithm of Sobrino, respectively. This study provides an alternative method to estimate LST from Landsat-8 data.