Synergistic use of ATSR-2 multispectral and dual-angle data for land surface studies

A method for separating bare soil and foliage component temperatures in a pixel is presented which exploits the ATSR-2 multispectral and dual angle view capability. In this study, we develop first a method using visible and near infrared channel data at two-angle views to perform atmospheric corrections in these channels allowing simultaneous retrieval of aerosol opacity and land surface bidirectional reflectance. Then, on the basis of the radiative transfer theory in a canopy, we develop a model to retrieve separately soil and vegetation temperatures from two-angle measurements using all channels of ATSR-2. The visible and near-infrared channels are used to determine the fraction cover of vegetation within a pixel. While the two thermal infrared channel data are employed to determine with split window technique the ground surface brightness temperatures at two view angles. Several case studies are undertaken with ATSR-2 data, the results indicate that both vegetation and soil temperatures can be retrieved with acceptable uncertainty from multi-directional brightness temperatures if the description of the nature and content of the pixel is appropriate.