Thermal remote sensing for land surface temperature monitoring: Maraqeh County, Iran

Thermal infrared (TIR) remote sensing allows for the collection, analysis, and modelling of environmental parameters. It allows to calculating land surface temperature (LST) which is an important factor in many environmental processes including global warming or urban heat islands. In this study the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) method has been applied to Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) imagery for Maraqeh County, Iran. A five step model based on the SEBAL method analyses the spatial variation of LST. The modelled LST values were validated with LSTs measured at the Maraqeh County meteorological station. Differences between modelled and measured LST values were only in the range of 0.6%.