Spatio-temporal reconstruction of satellite-based temperature maps and their application to the prediction of tick and mosquito disease vector distribution in Northern Italy
Continuous monitoring of extreme environments, such as the European Alps, is hampered by the sparse and/or irregular distribution of meteorological stations, the difficulties in performing ground surveys and the complexity of interpolating existing station data. Remotely sensed Land Surface Temperature (LST) is therefore of major interest for a variety of environmental and ecological applications. But while MODIS LST data from the Terra and Aqua satellites are aimed at closing the gap between data demand and availability, clouds and other atmospheric disturbances often obscure parts or even the entirety of these satellite images. A novel algorithm is presented which is able to reconstruct incomplete MODIS LST maps. Nine years of daily LST data (2000–2008) have been processed, allowing the original LST map resolution of 1,000 m to be improved to 200 m, which means the resulting LST maps can be applied at a regional level. Aggregated data are applied to predict presence of ticks... More > and tiger mosquitoes.< Less
