Retrieving water surface temperature from archive LANDSAT thermal infrared data: Application of the mono-channel atmospheric correction algorithm over two freshwater reservoirs

Water surface temperature is a key element in characterizing the thermodynamics of waterbodies, and for irregularly-shaped inland reservoirs, LANDSAT thermal infrared images are the best alternative yet for the retrieval of this parameter. However, images must be corrected mainly for atmospheric effects in order to be fully exploitable. The objective of this study is to validate the mono-channel correction algorithm for single-band thermal infrared LANDSAT data as put forward by Jiménez-Muñoz et al. (2009). Two freshwater reservoirs in continental France were selected as study sites, and best use was made of all accessible image and field data. Results obtained are satisfactory and in accordance with the literature: r² values are above 0.90 and root-mean-square error values are comprised between 1 and 2 °C. Moreover, paired Wilcoxon signed rank tests showed a highly significant difference between field and uncorrected image data, a very highly significant difference between uncorrected and corrected image data, and no significant difference between field and corrected image data. The mono-channel algorithm is hence recommended for correcting archive LANDSAT single-band thermal infrared data for inland waterbody monitoring and study.