An investigation of current and future satellite and in-situ data for the remote sensing of the land surface energy balance

This final report from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) summarizes a research program designed to improve our knowledge of the water and energy balance of the land surface through the application of remote sensing and in-situ data sources. The remote sensing data source investigations to be detailed involve surface radiometric ('skin') temperatures and also high-spectral-resolution infrared radiance data from atmospheric sounding instruments projected to be available at the end of the decade, which have shown promising results for evaluating the land-surface water and energy budget. The in-situ data types to be discussed are measurements of the temporal changes of the height of the planetary boundary layer and measurements of air temperature within the planetary boundary layer. Physical models of the land surface, planetary boundary layer and free atmosphere have been used as important tools to interpret the in-situ and remote sensing signals of the surface energy balance. A prototype 'optimal' system for combining multiple data sources into a three-dimensional estimate of the surface energy balance was developed and first results from this system will be detailed. Potential new sources of data for this system and suggested continuation research will also be discussed.