The DMSP/OLS Nighttime light (NTL) data directly reflect the spatial distribution and light intensity of artificial lighting from the Earth’s surface at night, and has become an emerging instrument for urbanization research, including in the mo...
The nighttime light data records artificial light on the Earth’s surface and can be used to estimate the spatial distribution of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the electric power consumption (EPC). In early 2013, the first global NPP-VIIRS nigh...
Spatial identification of the urban-rural fringes is very significant for deeply understanding the development processes and regulations of urban space and guiding urban spatial development in the future. Traditionally, urban-rural fringe areas are i...
Calibration and reconstruction of time series DMSP-OLS nighttime light images are critical for understanding urbanization processes and the evolution of urban spatial patterns from a unique perspective. In this study, we developed an improved stepwis...
The urban population (UP) measure is one of the most direct indicators that reflect the urbanization process and the impacts of human activities. The dynamics of UP is of great importance to studying urban economic, social development, and resource u...
Nighttime light data can characterize urbanization, economic development, population density, energy consumption and other human activities. Additionally, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are closely related to the scope and intensity of human activiti...
In this paper, an Urban Light Index (ULI) is constructed to facilitate analysis and quantitative evaluation of the process of urbanization and expansion rate by using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data during the years from 1992 to 2010. A unit circle urb...
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...
Africa has been experiencing a rapid urbanization process, which may lead to an increase in unsustainable land use and urban poverty. Assessing the spatiotemporal characteristics of urbanization dynamics is especially important and needed for the sus...
Mapping urban areas at global and regional scales is an urgent and crucial task for detecting urbanization and human activities throughout the world and is useful for discerning the influence of urban expansion upon the ecosystem and the surrounding...
The cargo handling capacity of a port is the most basic and important indicator of port size. Based on the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime light data and panel model, this study attempts to es...
Along with rapid urbanization, nighttime activities from places, such as restaurants, pubs and bars, and theatres, have created enormous economic and social benefits. The nighttime economy (NTE), as a newly developed social phenomenon, has been used...
The authenticity and reliability of urbanization levels measured by different indicators in China have not reached a consensus, which may impede our understanding of the process of urbanization and its impacts on the environment. The objective of thi...
11 June 2022
The old-age dependency ratio (ODR) is an important indicator reflecting the degree of a regional population’s aging. In the context of aging, this study provides a timely and effective method for predicting the ODR in Chinese cities. Using the...
Poverty alleviation is one of the most important tasks facing human social development. It is necessary to make accurate monitoring and evaluations for areas with poverty to improve capability of implementing poverty alleviation policies. Here, this...
Nighttime light data record the artificial light on the Earth’s surface and can be used to estimate the degree of pollution associated with particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in the ground-level atmosphere. Th...
Time series monitoring of earthquake-stricken areas is significant in evaluating post-disaster reconstruction and recovery. The time series of nighttime light (NTL) data collected by the defense meteorological satellite program-operational linescan s...
The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)/Operational Linescan System (OLS) stable nighttime light (NTL) data provide a wide range of potentials for studying global and regional dynamics, such as urban sprawl and electricity consumption. Ho...
Intraregional spatial variations of satellite-derived anthropogenic nighttime light signals are gradually applied to identify different lighting areas with various socioeconomic activity and urbanization levels when characterizing urbanization dynami...
The timely and reliable estimation of imperviousness is essential for the scientific understanding of human-Earth interactions. Due to the unique capacity of capturing artificial light luminosity and long-term data records, the Defense Meteorological...
Remotely sensed nighttime lights (NTL) datasets derived from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) have been identified as a good indicator of the urbanization process and have been widely used to study...
The sustained growth of non-farm wages has led to large-scale migration of rural population to cities in China, especially in mountainous areas. It is of great significance to study the spatial and temporal pattern of population migration mentioned a...
Spatial inequality of urban development may cause problems like inequality of living conditions and the lack of sustainability, drawing increasing academic interests and societal concerns. Previous studies based on statistical data can hardly reveal...
Despite the fact that economic data are of great significance in the assessment of human socioeconomic development, the application of this data has been hindered partly due to the unreliable and inefficient economic censuses conducted in developing...
The quality of urban spaces is a pivotal part of high-quality spatial development. It is directly connected to the comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable development of a region. In recent years, Northeast China has characterized urban space cont...
The long time series and consistent “urban core-suburban-rural” (USR) structure in a city region is essential to understanding urban–suburban–rural interaction and urbanization pathways. It is always considered to be a single...
With the rapid urbanization process, the construction industry has become a significant source of urban carbon emissions in China. The carbon emissions from buildings in the urban clusters of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, a crucial region for Chin...
Knowledge of the spatial pattern of the population is important. Census population data provide insufficient spatial information because they are released only for large geographic areas. Nighttime light (NTL) data have been utilized widely as an eff...
Nighttime light (NTL) images provide uniform, consistent, and valuable data sources. Based on four reference regions, the NTL imagery of China was fully intercalibrated during the period 1992–2012. Using lit areas and the intensity of NTL imagery, th...
Urban expansion poses severe threats to ecosystems. It is therefore important we better understand the impact of different urban expansion level on ecosystems for developing regionally differentiated ecological protection policies. Here, we proposed...
Changes in biodiversity owing to vegetation degradation resulting from widespread urbanization demands serious attention. However, the connection between vegetation degradation and urbanization appears to be complex and nonlinear, and deserves a seri...
A metropolitan area provides valuable space for economic development, and it is the home on which human beings depend for their survival. However, metropolitan areas are often faced with prominent problems caused by the natural environment and city l...
Persistent global urbanization has a direct relationship to measurable artificial light at night (ALAN), and the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program has served an important role in monitoring this relationship over time. Recent studies have obse...
1 June 2019
With rapid urbanization and economic development, artificial lighting at night brings convenience to human life but also causes a considerable urban environmental pollution issue. This study employed the Mann-Kendall non-parametric test, nighttime li...
19 September 2022
Urban–rural fringes, as special zones where urban and rural areas meet, are the most sensitive areas in the urbanization process. The quantitative identification of urban–rural fringes is the basis for studying the social structure, lands...
Urban sprawl is the most prominent characteristic of urbanization, and increasingly affects local and regional sustainable development. The observation and analysis of urban sprawl dynamics and their relationship with urbanization quality are essenti...
Nighttime light imagery offers a unique view of the Earth’s surface. In the past, the nighttime light data collected by the DMSP-OLS sensors have been used as an efficient means to correlate regional and global socio-economic activities. With the lau...
Historically, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) was the unique satellite sensor used to collect the nighttime light, which is an efficient means to map the global economic activities. Since it was l...
Nighttime light data offer a unique view of the Earth’s surface and can be used to estimate the spatial distribution of gross domestic product (GDP). Historically, using a simple regression function, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Ope...
Nighttime light data derived from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) in conjunction with the Soumi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) possess gr...
The anthropogenic nighttime light (NTL) data that are acquired by satellites can characterize the intensity of human activities on the ground. It has been widely used in urban development assessment, socioeconomic estimate, and other applications. Ho...
The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of nighttime light data, acquired with Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) owned by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in pre...
We report on a systematic ground-based validation of DMSP-OLS night lights imagery to detect rural electrification in Vietnam. Based on an original survey of village-level units in Vietnam, this study compares nighttime light output from the U.S. Air...
The potential use of satellite observed nighttime lights for estimating carbon-dioxide (CO2) emissions has been demonstrated in several previous studies. However, the procedures for a moderate resolution (1 km2 grid cells) global map of fossil fuel C...
County-level economic statistics estimation using remotely sensed data, such as nighttime light data, has various advantages over traditional methods. However, uncertainties in remotely sensed data, such as the saturation problem of the Defense Meteo...
The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) stable lights products are made using operational OLS data collected at high gain settings, resulting in sensor saturation on brightly lit areas, such as city centers...
Stable night-time light data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Line-scan System (OLS) provide a unique proxy for anthropogenic development. This paper presents a regional urban extent extraction method using a one-c...
Mapping Impervious Surface Area (ISA) at regional and global scales has attracted increasing interest. DMSP-OLS nighttime light (NTL) data have proven to be successful for mapping urban land in large areas. However, the well-documented issues of pixe...
Quantitative and accurate urban land information on regional and global scales is urgently required for studying socioeconomic and eco-environmental problems. The spatial distribution of urban land is a significant part of urban development planning,...
Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) data has the shortcomings of discontinuous and pixel saturation effect. It was also incompatible with the Soumi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership Visible Infrar...
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