ABSTRACT
Although frost occurrence causes severe losses in agriculture, especially in the south of Brazil, the data of minimum air temperature (Tmin) currently available for monitoring and predicting frosts show insufficient spatial distribution. This study aimed to evaluate the MDY11A1 (LST – Land Surface Temperature) product, from the MODIS sensor on board the AQUA satellite as an estimator of frost occurrence in the southeast of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. LST images from the nighttime overpass of the MODIS/AQUA sensor for the months of June, July and August from 2006 to 2012, and data from three conventional weather stations of the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET) were used. Consistency was observed between Tmin data measured in weather stations and LST data obtained from the MODIS sensor. According to the results, LSTs below 3 ºC recorded by the MODIS/AQUA sensor are an indication of a favorable scenario to frost occurrence.
Key words:
minimum air temperature; land surface temperature; remote sensing
