Land Surface Temperature (LST)

Land Surface Temperature (LST) is the thermodynamic temperature of Earth's surface as derived from thermal infrared remote sensingRemote SensingRemote sensing is the science of collecting data about Earth's surface without direct physical contact, primarily usi... observations, typically in the 8-14 micrometer wavelength range. LST represents the temperature of the top few millimeters of soil, vegetation, or other surface materials and differs from air temperature measured at weather stations. It is one of the most important geophysical parameters retrieved from satellite data. Retrieval methodsLST retrieval from satellite data requires correcting for atmospheric effects and surface emissivity. Common approaches include the split-window method (using two thermal bands to correct for atmospheric absorption), single-channel methods combined with atmospheric profiles, and temperature-emissivity separation algorithms. Key sensors for LST include Landsat TIRS, MODIS, ASTER, ECOSTRESS, and Sentinel-3 SLSTR. ApplicationsLST data supports urban heat islandUrban Heat IslandThe Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect occurs when cities experience significantly higher temperatures than surrounding r... mapping and climate-resilient city planning, evapotranspiration estimation for irrigation scheduling, drought monitoringDrought MonitoringDrought Monitoring uses satellite remote sensing and geospatial analysis to track drought severity, extent, and impac... and early warning systems, wildfire risk assessmentWildfire Risk AssessmentWildfire Risk Assessment uses geospatial data to map fire susceptibility, exposure, and vulnerability across landscap..., permafrost monitoring, and climate model validation. NASA's ECOSTRESS instrument on the International Space Station specifically targets plant water stress through high-resolution LST measurement. LST is a fundamental Earth observation variable that connects land surface processes with climate and weather systems. Its measurement from space provides spatially continuous temperature information that complements sparse weather station networks.