An Empirical Orthogonal Function-Based Algorithm for Estimating Terrestrial Latent Heat Flux from Eddy Covariance, Meteorological and Satellite Observations

PLoS One. 2016 Jul 29;11(7):e0160150. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160150. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Accurate estimation of latent heat flux (LE) based on remote sensing data is critical in characterizing terrestrial ecosystems and modeling land surface processes. Many LE products were released during the past few decades, but their quality might not meet the requirements in terms of data consistency and estimation accuracy. Merging multiple algorithms could be an effective way to improve the quality of existing LE products. In this paper, we present a data integration method based on modified empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis to integrate the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LE product (MOD16) and the Priestley-Taylor LE algorithm of Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PT-JPL) estimate. Twenty-two eddy covariance (EC) sites with LE observation were chosen to evaluate our algorithm, showing that the proposed EOF fusion method was capable of integrating the two satellite data sets with improved consistency and reduced uncertainties. Further efforts were needed to evaluate and improve the proposed algorithm at larger spatial scales and time periods, and over different land cover types.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Ecosystem*
  • Empirical Research
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods*
  • Hot Temperature*
  • Satellite Imagery
  • Spacecraft*

Grants and funding

This work was partially supported by the High-Tech Research and Development Program of China (Grant number 2013AA122801), the Natural Science Fund of China (grant number 41205104 and 41201331), the National Basic Research Program of China (grant number 2012CB955302), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant number 2012LYB38), and the High Resolution Earth Observation Systems of National Science and Technology Major Projects (grant number 05-Y30B02-9001-13/15-9).