Statistical moments of VIIRS night-time lights

Elvidge, Christopher D.; Hsu, Feng Chi; Zhizhin, Mikhail; Ghosh, Tilottama; Sparks, Tamara

doi:10.1080/01431161.2022.2161857

Statistical moments of VIIRS night-time lights

Journal Article · 05 January 2023 · International Journal of Remote Sensing

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2022.2161857· OSTI ID:1962031

Elvidge, Christopher D. ^[1]; Hsu, Feng Chi ^[2]; Zhizhin, Mikhail ^[3]; Ghosh, Tilottama ^[1]; Sparks, Tamara ^[1]

Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States); Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), Moscow (Russian Federation)

Annual VIIRS global night-time lights traditionally report mean radiance levels after filtering to remove moonlit and cloudy data followed by outlier removal. The mean is the first statistical moment, but there are three other statistical moments (variance, skew and kurtosis) that are currently not produced globally. In this study, we generated VIIRS day/night band multiyear and annual statistical moments for a widely dispersed set of test areas. The moments were calculated from 15 arc second nightly temporal profiles spanning 2012-2020, filtered to exclude cloudy and sunlit data, with radiance adjustments to reduce view angle and lunar illuminance effects. The moment data were examined in two ways: (1) Geospatial grids-which reveal zonation and temporal changes present in urban areas and (2) Scattergrams of moment pairs. The variance versus mean scattergram exhibits several distinct data clusters used to define five zones: core lighting, dark-erratics, mid-erratics, bright-erratics and bright and seteady. The results indicate that the information content of VIIRS night-time lights can be augmented if all four statistical moments are calculated.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1962031

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-2C00-85565; MainId:86338; UUID:ff9469e9-3805-4e5e-a24c-92358530a7e7; MainAdminId:69023

Journal Information:: International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 45, Issue 21; ISSN 0143-1161

Publisher:: Taylor & FrancisCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (10)

Fifty years of nightly global low-light imaging satellite observations Elvidge, Christopher D.; Baugh, Kimberly; Ghosh, Tilottama Frontiers in Remote Sensing, Vol. 3 https://doi.org/10.3389/frsen.2022.919937	journal	August 2022
VIIRS night-time lights Elvidge, Christopher D.; Baugh, Kimberly; Zhizhin, Mikhail International Journal of Remote Sensing, Vol. 38, Issue 21 https://doi.org/10.1080/01431161.2017.1342050	journal	March 2017
The Dimming of Lights in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic Elvidge, Christopher; Ghosh, Tilottama; Hsu, Feng-Chi Remote Sensing, Vol. 12, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12172851	journal	September 2020
Indicators of Electric Power Instability from Satellite Observed Nighttime Lights Elvidge, Christopher D.; Hsu, Feng-Chi; Zhizhin, Mikhail Remote Sensing, Vol. 12, Issue 19 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12193194	journal	September 2020
The VIIRS Day/Night Band: A Flicker Meter in Space? Elvidge, Christopher D.; Zhizhin, Mikhail; Keith, David Remote Sensing, Vol. 14, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14061316	journal	March 2022
Karl Pearson and the Origin of Kurtosis Fiori, Anna M.; Zenga, Michele International Statistical Review, Vol. 77, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-5823.2009.00076.x	journal	April 2009
Extending the DMSP Nighttime Lights Time Series beyond 2013 Ghosh, Tilottama; Baugh, Kimberly E.; Elvidge, Christopher D. Remote Sensing, Vol. 13, Issue 24 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13245004	journal	December 2021
The Annual Cycling of Nighttime Lights in India Hsu, Fengchi; Zhizhin, Mikhail; Ghosh, Tilottama Remote Sensing, Vol. 13, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13061199	journal	March 2021
A geographer's analysis of hub-and-spoke networks O'Kelly, Morton E. Journal of Transport Geography, Vol. 6, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0966-6923(98)00010-6	journal	September 1998
About the parabolic relation existing between the skewness and the kurtosis in time series of experimental data Sattin, F.; Agostini, M.; Cavazzana, R. Physica Scripta, Vol. 79, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-8949/79/04/045006	journal	March 2009

Similar Records

The Terra Vega Active Light Source: A First Step in a New Approach to Perform Nighttime Absolute Radiometric Calibrations and Early Results Calibrating the VIIRS DNB

Journal Article · 2019 · Remote Sensing · OSTI ID:1503359

Ryan, Robert; Pagnutti, Mary; Burch, Kara; +6 more

Uncertainty Quantification and Global Sensitivity Analysis of Subsurface Flow Parameters to Gravimetric Variations During Pumping Tests in Unconfined Aquifers

Journal Article · 2018 · Water Resources Research · OSTI ID:1571937

Maina, Fadji Zaouna; Guadagnini, Alberto

SPATIOTEMPORAL TRACKING OF WIDE AREA POWER OUTAGE FROM NIGHT-TIME LIGHT IMAGERY

Conference · 2021 · OSTI ID:1822083

Kar, Bandana; Bobeck, Jessica; Moss, Tamar; +1 more

Related Subjects

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION
day-night band
DNB
night-time lights
remote sensing
urban mapping
VIIRS

Statistical moments of VIIRS night-time lights

Citation Formats

References (10)

Similar Records

Related Subjects