Released
Software

Radiance Light Trends

Cite as:

Stare, Jurij; Kyba, Christopher (2019): Radiance Light Trends. GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2019.001

Status

I   N       R   E   V   I   E   W : Stare, Jurij; Kyba, Christopher (2019): Radiance Light Trends. GFZ Data Services. https://doi.org/10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2019.001

Abstract

Radiance Light Trends is a GIS web application that is designed to quickly display information about radiance trends at a specific location (available online at https://lighttrends.lightpollutionmap.info). It uses data from two satellite systems, DMSP-OLS and VIIRS DNB, with data processing by NOAA. New VIIRS layers are added automatically as soon as NOAA makes them available to public.


The web application allows the user to examine changes in nighttime light emissions (nearly) worldwide, from 1992 up until last month. From 1992 to 2013, data comes from the Operational Linescan System of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) satellites. From 2012 to the present, data comes from the Day/Night Band of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument (VIIRS DNB). Due to significant differences in the instruments (as described by Miller et al., 2013), it is not possible to have a single record running from 1992 to today. A description of the VIIRS DNB night lights product used in this application was published by Elvidge et al. (2017), the data used in the app can be accessed from the NOAA Earth Observation Group (EOG) Website: https://ngdc.noaa.gov/eog/download.html

Authors

  • Stare, Jurij;Deneb Geoinformation Solutions
  • Kyba, Christopher;GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, Germany

Contact

Keywords

light emissions, light pollution, artificial light at night, web application, monitoring > pollution monitoring

GCMD Science Keywords

  • EARTH SCIENCE > SPECTRAL/ENGINEERING
  • Earth Observation Satellites > DMSP (Defense Meteorological Satellite Program)
  • Earth Observation Satellites > Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) > SUOMI-NPP
  • Earth Remote Sensing Instruments > Passive Remote Sensing > Spectrometers/Radiometers > Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers > OLS
  • Earth Remote Sensing Instruments > Passive Remote Sensing > Spectrometers/Radiometers > Imaging Spectrometers/Radiometers > VIIRS

Files

License: European Union Public Licence (EUPL) v. 1.2