NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite

Miguel O. Román, Zhuosen Wang, Qingsong Sun, Virginia Kalb, Steven D. Miller, Andrew Molthan, Lori Schultz, Jordan Bell, Eleanor C. Stokes, Bhartendu Pandey, Karen C. Seto, Dorothy Hall, Tomohiro Oda, Robert E. Wolfe, Gary Lin, Navid Golpayegani, Sadashiva Devadiga, Carol Davidson, Sudipta Sarkar, Cid PraderasJeffrey Schmaltz, Ryan Boller, Joshua Stevens, Olga M. Ramos González, Elizabeth Padilla, José Alonso, Yasmín Detrés, Roy Armstrong, Ismael Miranda, Yasmín Conte, Nitza Marrero, Kytt MacManus, Thomas Esch, Edward J. Masuoka

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

343 Scopus citations

Abstract

NASA's Black Marble nighttime lights product suite (VNP46) is available at 500 m resolution since January 2012 with data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Platform (SNPP). The retrieval algorithm, developed and implemented for routine global processing at NASA's Land Science Investigator-led Processing System (SIPS), utilizes all high-quality, cloud-free, atmospheric-, terrain-, vegetation-, snow-, lunar-, and stray light-corrected radiances to estimate daily nighttime lights (NTL) and other intrinsic surface optical properties. Key algorithm enhancements include: (1) lunar irradiance modeling to resolve non-linear changes in phase and libration; (2) vector radiative transfer and lunar bidirectional surface anisotropic reflectance modeling to correct for atmospheric and BRDF effects; (3) geometric-optical and canopy radiative transfer modeling to account for seasonal variations in NTL; and (4) temporal gap-filling to reduce persistent data gaps. Extensive benchmark tests at representative spatial and temporal scales were conducted on the VNP46 time series record to characterize the uncertainties stemming from upstream data sources. Initial validation results are presented together with example case studies illustrating the scientific utility of the products. This includes an evaluation of temporal patterns of NTL dynamics associated with urbanization, socioeconomic variability, cultural characteristics, and displaced populations affected by conflict. Current and planned activities under the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Human Planet Initiative are aimed at evaluating the products at different geographic locations and time periods representing the full range of retrieval conditions.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)113-143
Number of pages31
JournalRemote Sensing of Environment
Volume210
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

Funding

The authors would like to thank Dr. George Riggs (GSFC/SSAI) for his support in reviewing this manuscript. The authors gratefully acknowledge support provided by NASA's Office of the Chief Scientist under the Science Innovation Fund (SIF), as well as NASA's Earth Science Data and Information Systems (EOSDIS) , Terra/Aqua/Suomi-NPP , and Applied Sciences Programs under NASA Grants # NNX16D11G , # 80NSSC17K0172 , NNH16ZDA001N-16-GEO16-0055 , and NNH17ZDA001N-TASNPP17-0007 . We also thank the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program through contract N00014-16-1-2040 (Grant 11843919 ).

FundersFunder number
EOSDIS
NASA's Earth Science Data and Information Systems
NASA's Office of the Chief Scientist
Office of Naval Research11843919, N00014-16-1-2040
National Aeronautics and Space Administration80NSSC17K0172, NNH16ZDA001N-16-GEO16-0055, NNH17ZDA001N-TASNPP17-0007, NNX16D11G

    Keywords

    • Albedo
    • Atmospheric correction
    • JPSS
    • Long-term monitoring
    • Lunar BRDF
    • NASA black marble
    • NTL
    • Night lights
    • Suomi-NPP
    • Urban dynamics
    • VIIRS

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