Abstract
Contrary to its daytime counterpart, nighttime visible and near infrared (VIS/NIR) satellite imagery is limited in both spectral and spatial resolution. Nevertheless, the relevance of such systems is unquestioned with applications to, e.g., examine urban areas, derive light pollution, and estimate energy consumption. To determine optimal spectral bands together with required radiometric and spatial resolution, at-sensor radiances are simulated based on combinations of lamp spectra with typical luminances according to lighting standards, surface reflectances, and radiative transfers for the consideration of atmospheric effects. Various band combinations are evaluated for their ability to differentiate between lighting types and to estimate the important lighting parameters: efficacy to produce visible light, percentage of emissions attributable to the blue part of the spectrum, and assessment of the perceived color of radiation sources. The selected bands are located in the green, blue, yellow-orange, near infrared, and red parts of the spectrum and include one panchromatic band. However, these nighttime bands tailored to artificial light emissions differ significantly from the typical daytime bands focusing on surface reflectances. Compared to existing or proposed nighttime or daytime satellites, the recommended characteristics improve, e.g., classification of lighting types by >10%. The simulations illustrate the feasible improvements in nocturnal VIS/NIR remote sensing which will lead to advanced applications.
Highlights
Nocturnal optical remote sensing in the visible and near infrared (VIS/NIR) of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is largely inferior both to its daytime counterpart as well as to nighttime remote sensing in the thermal infrared
The simulations illustrate the feasible improvements in nocturnal VIS/NIR remote sensing which will lead to advanced applications
As it is not effective to share full lamp spectral irradiances, technical descriptions of and management decisions on artificial lighting generally consists of only a limited number of performance parameters or indices
Summary
Nocturnal optical remote sensing in the visible and near infrared (VIS/NIR) of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum is largely inferior both to its daytime counterpart as well as to nighttime remote sensing in the thermal infrared. The interest in such products is growing as evident from the increasing number of applications [1] These include the monitoring of human settlements and urban dynamics, the estimation of demographic and socio-economic information, light pollution and its influence on ecosystems and human health and astronomical observations, energy consumption and demands, detection of gas flares and forest fires, natural disaster assessment, and the evaluation of political crises and wars [2]. Most of these applications are derived from data linked to artificial lights which emit mainly in the VIS/NIR. The aim of the first satellite sensor imaging low-light data, namely DMSP-OLS in 1976 [3], was to collect global cloud cover data day and night, detecting nocturnal VIS/NIR emission sources was a widely
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