Estimating Land Surface Temperature Landsat 8

Step 1: Conversion from DN to Top of Atmosphere (TOA) Radiance

Using the radiance rescaling factor, Thermal Infrared Digital numbers can be converted to Top of
Atmosphere (TOA) spectral Radiance.

L𝝀=ML*QCAL+AL−𝑶𝒊
L𝝀 = 0.0003342 * Band10 + 0.10000 - 0.29
Here,
L𝝀= TOA spectral radiance (Watts / (m2 * sr * μm))
ML= Radiance multiplicative Band (B10)
AL= Radiance Add Band (B10)
QCAL= Quantized and calibrated standard product pixel values (DN)
𝑂𝑖 = Correction value of Band 10 (0.29)

Step 2: Conversion from Top of Atmosphere (TOA) Radiance to Brightness Temperature (in Kelvin)
Spectral radiance data can be converted to top of atmosphere brightness temperature using thermal constant
values in metadata file.

𝑲𝟐
Kelvin (K) to Celsius degrees (°C) 𝑩𝑻 = 𝑲𝟏
- 273.15
𝒍𝒏 ( +𝟏)
𝑳𝝀

BT = (1321.0789 / Ln (774.8853 / ToA+1)) - 273.15

Where,
BT = Top of Atmosphere Brightness Temperature (°C)
L𝝀= TOA spectral radiance (Watts / (m2 * sr * μm))
K1= Calibration constant 1
K2= Calibration constant 2
 Satellite K1 K2
Landsat 5 (B6) 607.76 1260.56
Landsat 7 (B6) 666.09 1282.71
Landsat 8 (B10) 774.8853 1321.0789

Step 3: Calculate Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) is a standardized vegetation index which calculated
using Near Infra-red (Band 5) and Red (Band 4) bands.
NDVI= (NIR– RED)/ (NIR + RED)
NDVI= (Band 5 – Band 4)/ (Band 5+ Band 4)
Where,
RED = DN values from RED band
NIR = DN values from Near Infra-red band

Step 4: Land surface emissivity (LSE)

Land surface emissivity (LSE) is the average emissivity of an element of the surface of the earth calculated
from NDVI values.
𝟐
𝑷𝒗 = ((𝑵𝑫𝑽𝑰 − 𝑵𝑫𝑽𝑰𝑴𝑰𝑵 )/(𝑵𝑫𝑽𝑰𝑴𝑨𝑿 + 𝑵𝑫𝑽𝑰𝑴𝑰𝑵 ))
Where,

𝑃𝑣 = Proportion of vegetation
NDVI = DN values from NVDI image
NDVIMAX = Maximum DN values from NVDI image
NDVIMIN = Minimum DN values from NVDI image

E= 0.004*𝑷𝒗 + 𝟎. 𝟗𝟖𝟔

Where,
E = Land Surface Emissivity

𝑃𝑣 = Proportion of vegetation
0.986 corresponds to a correction value of the equation
Step 5: Land surface Temperature (LST) Estimation
Land surface Temperature (LST) is the radiative temperature which can be calculated using Top of
atmosphere brightness temperature, wavelength of emitted radiance, land surface emissivity.

LST= BT/ (1 + (𝝀 * BT/ C2) * ln(E))

Where,
BT = Top of Atmosphere Brightness Temperature (°C)
𝝀 = Wavelength of emitted radiance
E = Land Surface Emissivity
C2 = h*c/s = 1.4388 x 10-2 mk = 14388 μk
h = Plank’s constant = 6.626176 x 10-34 Js
s = Boltzmann’s constant = 1.380649 x 10−23 J/K
c = Velocity of light = 2.998 x 108 m/s

The values of 𝝀 for Landsat 8:

For Band 10 is 10.8
For Band 11 is 12