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Waring, AM, Ghent, D, Moffat, D, Jimenez, C and Remedios, J 2025 A Deep Learning Approach to Downscaling Microwave Land Surface Temperatures for a Clear-Sky Merged Infrared-Microwave Product. Remote Sensing, 17 (23). 3893. 10.3390/rs17233893
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Abstract/Summary
Reliable land surface temperature (LST) data are required for monitoring climate variability, hydrological processes, and land–atmosphere interactions. Yet existing satellite-derived LST products, such as those from thermal infrared (TIR) sensors, are limited by gaps due to clouds, while passive microwave (PMW) observations, though less affected by atmospheric interference, suffer from coarse resolution and larger uncertainty. This study presents the first validated clear-sky merged LST product for the USA and combines downscaled PMW data from AMSR-E and AMSR2 with MODIS TIR observations, using a modified U-Net deep learning network. The merged dataset covers 2004–2021 at 5 km resolution, providing a compromise between spatial detail and robustness. The model performs well, with low mean squared errors and R2 values of 0.80 (day) and 0.75 (night). The merged time series captures seasonal trends and shows a marked reduction in cloud-contamination artefacts compared to MODIS and AMSR signals. Spatially, the product is consistent across sensor transitions and reduces artefacts from TIR cloud contamination. Validation against ground stations shows results between those of TIR and PMW, with better accuracy at night and moderate positive biases influenced by land cover and terrain. Although the merged product does not match the fine resolution of TIR data by choice, it enhances spatial coverage over AMSR alone and temporal completeness over MODIS alone, where single-sensor products are limited. Residual temporal and seasonal biases are moderate, with systematic warm and cold deviations linked to land cover, propagation of emissivity errors, and sampling differences. Strong positive biases remain over terrain with complex surface properties as the downscaled AMSR is closer to MODIS temperatures. Results demonstrate the combined benefits of PMW’s broader coverage and cloud tolerance with TIR’s spatial detail. Overall, results demonstrate the potential of sensor fusion for producing spatially consistent LST records suitable for long-term environmental and climate monitoring.
| Item Type: | Publication - Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Keywords: | land surface temperature; earth observation; machine learning; U-Net; satellite remote sensing; climate science |
| Divisions: | Plymouth Marine Laboratory > National Capability categories > NERC EO Data Analysis and AI Service (NEODAAS) Plymouth Marine Laboratory > National Capability categories > National Centre for Earth Observation Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Environmental Intelligence |
| Depositing User: | S Hawkins |
| Date made live: | 10 Jul 2026 12:42 |
| Last Modified: | 10 Jul 2026 12:42 |
| URI: | https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/10654 |
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