Multispectral satellite data in the context of land surface heat balance

Multispectral satellite data are demonstrated to be an important potential contributor to the understanding and completeness of heat balance analysis. Satellite observations are presented, including visible, near-IR, IR, and microwave bands, which estimate surface characteristics and surface fluctuations. The relationship of the interannual variations of the satellite data and the land surface changes is discussed. It is shown that spatially representative values of global fluxes and parameters from multispectral data can consistently enhance the results of heat balance analysis. Daily net radiation can be estimated with a 10 percent error, while the error for albedo would be higher. Computations for all heat fluxes except the latent heat flux are shown. Soil moisture and surface temperature estimates can be derived from microwave and IR observations, respectively. Spectral reflectances in the visible and near-IR bands are suggested as important heat-balance indices for future consideration.