163 
predicted ("C) Ts predicted (°C) 
Figure 1 : Comparison between surface energy balance derived (predicted) and measured surface 
temperatures of warm and cold target, on the different study sites : Les Maures (France), 
Gharb (Morocco), Maricopa Agricultural Center and Walnut Gulch (Arizona). 
For study sites where measurements on mid-temperature targets were available (Les Maures 
and Gharb, a and b were incorporated in the Landsat TM atmospheric correction equation (3) to derive 
temperatures of these targets, which were compared to their measured temperatures. The result is shown on 
Figure 2 , and again shows a fairly good estimation of mid-temperature targets. 
However it should be kept in mind that the method is essentially valid for temperatures 
comprised between the ones of warm and cold targets, and that comparing Landsat derived temperatures higher 
than the ones of the warm targets would probably yield a wider RMSE. The choice of the targets is thus 
relatively important depending on the area of interest.