Difference between "skin" and "T2" values for CONUS404 air temperature data

[zcjohnson3]

Hello,
I'd like to use CONUS404 mean daily air temperature values to calculate paired air-water temperature metrics and trends for ~2K stream temperature sites across the U.S. as part of the IWAAs Trends & Drivers project. I've gone through these calculations for "skin" values, but I've run into an issue (see #397 ). Therefore, I'd like to understand the differences between the "skin" and "T2" values. For example, do "skin" values include landcover effects? Also, is "skin" land surface temperature or air temperature at the surface? I understand that the T2 values have been bias-adjusted, correct? Are the T2 values daily mean temperatures?

Thanks,
~Zach