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Statistical estimation of high-resolution surface air temperature from MODIS over the Yangtze River Delta, China

  • Special Collection in Commemoration of Shaowu Wang
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Abstract

High-resolution surface air temperature data are critical to regional climate modeling in terms of energy balance, urban climate change, and so on. This study demonstrates the feasibility of using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST) to estimate air temperature at a high resolution over the Yangtze River Delta region, China. It is found that daytime LST is highly correlated with maximum air temperature, and the linear regression coefficients vary with the type of land surface. The air temperature at a resolution of 1 km is estimated from the MODIS LST with linear regression models. The estimated air temperature shows a clear spatial structure of urban heat islands. Spatial patterns of LST and air temperature differences are detected, indicating maximum differences over urban and forest regions during summer. Validations are performed with independent data samples, demonstrating that the mean absolute error of the estimated air temperature is approximately 2.5°C, and the uncertainty is about 3.1°C, if using all valid LST data. The error is reduced by 0.4°C (15%) if using best-quality LST with errors of less than 1 K. The estimated high-resolution air temperature data have great potential to be used in validating high-resolution climate models and other regional applications.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Monsoon Asia Integrated Regional Study (MAIRS) project and Giovanni system at NASA GES DISC (Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Servies Center) for their data exploration of MODIS high resolution land surface temperatures and other land products.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster, Ministry of Education/Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science &Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Yi Shi & Liangpeng Dong

  2. Joint International Research Laboratory of Climate and Environment Change/Collaborative Innovation Center on Forecast and Evaluation of Meteorological Disasters, Nanjing University of Information Science &Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Zhihong Jiang

  3. Wuhan Central Meteorological Observatory, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Liangpeng Dong

  4. George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA

    Suhung Shen

Authors
  1. Yi Shi
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  2. Zhihong Jiang
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  3. Liangpeng Dong
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  4. Suhung Shen
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zhihong Jiang.

Additional information

Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41230528), National (Key) Basic Research and Development (973) Program of China (2010CB428505), and Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions (PAPD).

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Shi, Y., Jiang, Z., Dong, L. et al. Statistical estimation of high-resolution surface air temperature from MODIS over the Yangtze River Delta, China. J Meteorol Res 31, 448–454 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-017-6073-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-017-6073-y

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