1,564 research outputs found
Dynamics and Spatial Distribution of Global Nighttime Lights
Using open source data, we observe the fascinating dynamics of nighttime
light. Following a global economic regime shift, the planetary center of light
can be seen moving eastwards at a pace of about 60 km per year. Introducing
spatial light Gini coefficients, we find a universal pattern of human
settlements across different countries and see a global centralization of
light. Observing 160 different countries we document the expansion of
developing countries, the growth of new agglomerations, the regression in
countries suffering from demographic decline and the success of light pollution
abatement programs in western countries
Application of DMSP/OLS nighttime light images : a meta-analysis and a systematic literature review
© The Author(s), 2014. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Remote Sensing 6 (2014): 6844-6866, doi:10.3390/rs6086844.Since the release of the digital archives of Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line Scanner (DMSP/OLS) nighttime light data in 1992, a variety of datasets based on this database have been produced and applied to monitor and analyze human activities and natural phenomena. However, differences among these datasets and how they have been applied may potentially confuse researchers working with these data. In this paper, we review the ways in which data from DMSP/OLS nighttime light images have been applied over the past two decades, focusing on differences in data processing, research trends, and the methods used among the different application areas. Five main datasets extracted from this database have led to many studies in various research areas over the last 20 years, and each dataset has its own strengths and limitations. The number of publications based on this database and the diversity of authors and institutions involved have shown promising growth. In addition, researchers have accumulated vast experience retrieving data on the spatial and temporal dynamics of settlement, demographics, and socioeconomic parameters, which are “hotspot” applications in this field. Researchers continue to develop novel ways to extract more information from the DMSP/OLS database and apply the data to interdisciplinary research topics. We believe that DMSP/OLS nighttime light data will play an important role in monitoring and analyzing human activities and natural phenomena from space in the future, particularly over the long term. A transparent platform that encourages data sharing, communication, and discussion of extraction methods and synthesis activities will benefit researchers as well as public and political stakeholders.This work is supported by the 111 project “Hazard and Risk Science Base at Beijing Normal
University” under Grant B08008 (Ministry of Education and State Administration of Foreign Experts
Affairs, PRC), the State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology of Beijing
Normal University (No. 2013-RC-03), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities (Grant No. 201413037)
COVID-19ロックダウンによって生じた人間活動の変化の大気汚染レベルへの影響
Tohoku University博士(環境科学)thesi
Supporting Global Environmental Change Research: A Review of Trends and Knowledge Gaps in Urban Remote Sensing
This paper reviews how remotely sensed data have been used to understand the impact of urbanization on global environmental change. We describe how these studies can support the policy and science communities’ increasing need for detailed and up-to-date information on the multiple dimensions of cities, including their social, biological, physical, and infrastructural characteristics. Because the interactions between urban and surrounding areas are complex, a synoptic and spatial view offered from remote sensing is integral to measuring, modeling, and understanding these relationships. Here we focus on three themes in urban remote sensing science: mapping, indices, and modeling. For mapping we describe the data sources, methods, and limitations of mapping urban boundaries, land use and land cover, population, temperature, and air quality. Second, we described how spectral information is manipulated to create comparative biophysical, social, and spatial indices of the urban environment. Finally, we focus how the mapped information and indices are used as inputs or parameters in models that measure changes in climate, hydrology, land use, and economics
Supporting Global Environmental Change Research: A Review of Trends and Knowledge Gaps in Urban Remote Sensing
abstract: This paper reviews how remotely sensed data have been used to understand the impact of urbanization on global environmental change. We describe how these studies can support the policy and science communities’ increasing need for detailed and up-to-date information on the multiple dimensions of cities, including their social, biological, physical, and infrastructural characteristics. Because the interactions between urban and surrounding areas are complex, a synoptic and spatial view offered from remote sensing is integral to measuring, modeling, and understanding these relationships. Here we focus on three themes in urban remote sensing science: mapping, indices, and modeling. For mapping we describe the data sources, methods, and limitations of mapping urban boundaries, land use and land cover, population, temperature, and air quality. Second, we described how spectral information is manipulated to create comparative biophysical, social, and spatial indices of the urban environment. Finally, we focus how the mapped information and indices are used as inputs or parameters in models that measure changes in climate, hydrology, land use, and economics
New sources, opportunities and challenges
Images of the Earth at night are an exceptional source of human geographical
data, because artificial light highlights human activity in a way that daytime
scenes do not. The quality of such imagery dramatically improved in 2012 with
two new spaceborne detectors. The higher resolution and precision of the data
considerably expands the scope of possible applications. In this paper, we
introduce the two new data sources and discuss their potential limitations
using three case studies. Data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer
Suite Day-Night Band (VIIRS DNB) is shown to have sufficient resolution to
identify major sources of waste light, such as airports, and we find
considerable variation in the peak radiance of the world’s largest airports.
Nighttime imagery brings “cultural footprints” to light: DNB data reveals that
American cities emit many times more light per capita than German cities and
that cities in the former East of Germany emit more light per capita than
those in the former West. Photographs from the International Space Station,
the second new source of imagery, provide some limited spectral information,
as well as street-level resolution. These images may be of greater use for
epidemiological studies than the lower resolution DNB data
Global trends in exposure to light pollution in natural terrestrial ecosystems
This is a freely-available open access publication. Please cite the published version which is available via the DOI link in this record.The rapid growth in electric light usage across the globe has led to increasing presence of artificial light in natural and semi-natural ecosystems at night. This occurs both due to direct illumination and skyglow - scattered light in the atmosphere. There is increasing concern about the effects of artificial light on biological processes, biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. We combine intercalibrated Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) images of stable night-time lights for the period 1992 to 2012 with a remotely sensed landcover product (GLC2000) to assess recent changes in exposure to artificial light at night in 43 global ecosystem types. We find that Mediterranean-climate ecosystems have experienced the greatest increases in exposure, followed by temperate ecosystems. Boreal, Arctic and montane systems experienced the lowest increases. In tropical and subtropical regions, the greatest increases are in mangroves and subtropical needleleaf and mixed forests, and in arid regions increases are mainly in forest and agricultural areas. The global ecosystems experiencing the greatest increase in exposure to artificial light are already localized and fragmented, and often of particular conservation importance due to high levels of diversity, endemism and rarity. Night time remote sensing can play a key role in identifying the extent to which natural ecosystems are exposed to light pollution.European Research Council/ European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013
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