Reflections from the Thermal Remote Sensing Workshop 2024
This past December, I attended the Thermal Remote Sensing (TRS) Workshop in Leicester, UK. With no prior background in TRS, I was a bit skeptical about how much I’d gain from the workshop, but it turned out to be incredibly insightful.
By the end, I left with a solid understanding of TRS and a deeper appreciation for the challenges of measuring temperature from space.
The workshop spanned three days, covering various aspects of thermal remote sensing, followed by the LST CCI User Workshop, which focused on land surface temperature (LST) data products, user requirements, and applications.
At times, it felt like I was attending a graduate-level course (check out this Introduction to Thermal Remote Sensing)—the depth and structure of some talks could have easily been part of an MSc in TRS. So, it was surprising to learn that no dedicated MSc program in Thermal Remote Sensing exists!
Talks that stood out
Several talks caught my attention, but Martin Wooster’s sessions were definite highlights - his talks on Aerial Surveys with Callum Middleton (unfortunately, I don’t think a recording is available) and Fire applications!
Dave Smith's talk “How does a thermal camera work? Calibration” was also an absolute gem!
Another presentation I found interesting was presented at the LST CCI User Workshop and demonstrated how LST data from MODIS (1km resolution) was downscaled to 100m using land cover classification derived solely from emissivity values.
The Critical Role of Atmospheric Effects
One of the biggest surprises was just how critical atmospheric correction is in TRS—far more than in optical remote sensing. The "thermal folk" go to extreme lengths when it comes to atmospheric effects on temperature retrieval. Several talks explored different correction approaches, surface temperature retrieval algorithms, and their impact on final data products.
To put things into perspective: errors due to atmospheric effects and emissivity variability can cause temperature discrepancies of up to 12K! Yet, LST products manage to achieve <1K accuracy, which is an incredible feat considering the number of uncertainties at various processing stages.
“Cloud is a dirty word in Thermal Remote Sensing”
In the same sense, TRS scientists hate clouds - it’s hard to mask them and it’s often hard to separate them from aerosols.
Uncertainty Estimates in LST products
One standout practice in TRS is that LST products provide per pixel uncertainty estimates; a QA product that assigns a ±K uncertainty to each pixel, tracing its origin across the processing workflow.
Commercial Companies and the future of TRS
Over the past decade, several commercial companies have entered the thermal remote sensing market. Representatives from Aistech, Constellr, OroraTech and SatVu attended the workshop, highlighting the growing interest and investment in this field.
In the next 3–5 years, we’ll see the launch of major agency-led missions like SBG (NASA), TRISHNA (CNES & ISRO), and LSTM (ESA), bringing higher-resolution thermal data and better global coverage. At the same time, a wave of commercial satellites is set to fill gaps with faster revisit times and new applications.
It really is an exciting time for Thermal Remote Sensing.
Special Interest Group on Thermal Remote Sensing
Dr. Agnieszka Soszynska and Dr. Jennifer Adams organised this workshop. In 2023, Agnieszka and Jennifer revived the Special Interest Group (SIG) on Thermal Remote Sensing, after a few years of inactivity.
Check out the SIG page, and the resources posted there. Also, be sure to listen to Thermal Lens; a podcast series on thermal remote sensing!
Recordings and slides from the workshop are available here.
