Land Surface Temperatures (LSTs) derived from AATSR data were validated with ground measurements performed at a test site close to Valencia, Spain in a series of experimental campaigns carried out during the summers of 2002-2004. The test site is located in a large, flat and thermally homogeneous area of rice crops showing full vegetation cover. Ground LSTs were measured radiometrically along transects covering an area of 1 km{sup}2, concurrently to morning, cloud-free overpasses of the Envisat satellite. A total number of 17 concurrences of ground measurements and AATSR data were obtained. The ground database was used for the validation of the operational LST product, and other different split-window algorithms applicable to AATSR data (11 and 12 μm channels at nadir) as well. According to the results of the validation, it can be concluded that the split-window algorithms work satisfactorily provided that the characteristics of the area are adequately prescribed, either through the classification of the land cover type and vegetation cover fraction, or with the surface emissivity. In this case, the AATSR derived LSTs agreed with the ground LSTs within ±1.5°C for all 17 concurrences, with average error of 0.0 - 0.1°C and standard deviation of 0.7°C.
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