Determination of land surface heat fluxes over heterogeneous landscape of the Tibetan Plateau by using the MODIS and in situ data

Abstract. In this study, a parameterization methodology based on MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) and in situ data is proposed and tested for deriving the regional surface reflectance, surface temperature, net radiation flux, soil heat flux, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux over heterogeneous landscape. As a case study, the methodology was applied to the Tibetan Plateau area. Four images of MODIS data (30 January 2007, 15 April 2007, 1 August 2007 and 25 October 2007) were used in this study for the comparison among winter, spring, summer and autumn. The derived results were also validated by using the "ground truth" measured in the stations of the Tibetan Observation and Research Platform (TORP). The results show that the derived surface variables (surface reflectance and surface temperature) and surface heat fluxes (net radiation flux, soil heat flux, sensible heat flux and latent heat flux) in four different seasons over the Tibetan Plateau area are in good accordance with the land surface status. These parameters show a wide range due to the strong contrast of surface features over the Tibetan Plateau. Also, the estimated land surface variables and surface heat fluxes are in good agreement with the ground measurements, and all their absolute percent difference (APD) is less than 10% in the validation sites. It is therefore concluded that the proposed methodology is successful for the retrieval of land surface variables and surface heat fluxes using the MODIS and in situ data over the Tibetan Plateau area. The shortage and further improvement of the methodology were also discussed.