A method for satellite identification of surface temperature fields of subpixel resolution

It is possible to measure surface radiant temperature fields of subpixel spatial resolution from satellites which contain more than one channel in the thermal infrared spectral region. Because of the different response of the Planck function at different wavelengths, the radiant temperatures measured in two channels may be expressed in terms of contributions from two temperature fields, each occupying a portion of the pixel, where the portions are not necessarily contiguous. The resulting simultaneous nonlinear equations may be solved for the complimentary portions of the pixel occupied and one unknown temperature. In two adjacent pixels which can be assumed to have the same target temperatures and same background temperatures, both unknown temperatures may be found. © 1981