An application to Mediterranean Sea of the SEVIRI level 2 processor for surface parameters

Surface emissivity (ε) and Temperature (Ts) are two key parameters to monitor climate and meteorological changes. Because of its high spatial resolution, repeat time and very long period of activity, SEVIRI (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager) on board of MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) geostationary platform, allows us to perform accurate retrieval of these parameters. To take advantage of the data information content, a Kalman filter methodology was developed and implemented for the the simultaneous retrieval of surface emissivity and temperature from SEVIRI infrared radiance measurements (channels at 8.7, 10.8 and 12 μm). That developed is one of the very few physical based approaches for the estimation of surface parameters from infrared instruments on board geostationary platforms and it has shown an accuracy of ±0.005 and ±0.2 K, for surface emissivity and temperature respectively. Based on this Kalman filter methodology a L2 processor has been developed to provide ε and Ts in real time, making it very attractive for application in different fields. The processor was applied and tested comparing its results with other satellites retrievals and analysis and here has been applied to the retrieval of Sea surface temperature retrieval of Mediterranean Basin for the years 2013-2017. First results show for the Mediterranean Sea temperature an increasing trend of 0.23 K/year.