A global analysis of factors controlling VIIRS nighttime light levels from densely populated areas
A global analysis of factors controlling VIIRS nighttime light levels from densely populated areas
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DOI：
10.1016/j.rse.2017.01.006
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发表时间：
2017-03-01
影响因子：
13.5
通讯作者：
Zhang, Qingling
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Levin, Noam;Zhang, Qingling
夜间灯光遥感已被证明是利用 DMSP 卫星估算国家和次国家范围内人口和经济活动的良好替代方法。然而，很少有研究探讨解释全球范围内城市夜间亮度差异的因素。在这项研究中，我们利用 Suomi NPP 卫星上的新型 VIIRS 传感器在 2014 年 1 月和 2014 年 7 月对夜间灯光进行了定量估计，其中有两个变量：平均亮度和照明面积百分比。我们对所有人口稠密地区（n = 4153，主要对应于大都市地区）进行了全球分析，并使用高空间分辨率景观人口数据进行了定义。国家人均 GDP 在解释夜间亮度水平方面（0.60 < Rs < 0.70）比空间分辨率为 0.25 度的 GDP 密度（0.25 < Rs < 0.43）更好，也比城市层面的人均 GDP 指标（与每个城市占全国人口的比例：0.49 < Rs < 0.62）更好。我们发现，除了人均 GDP 之外，人口稠密地区的夜间亮度与 MODIS 得出的城市面积百分比 (0.46 < Rs < 0.60)、道路网络密度 (0.51 < Rs < 0.67) 以及纬度 (0.31) 呈正相关。
Remote sensing of nighttime lights has been shown as a good surrogate for estimating population and economic activity at national and sub-national scales, using DMSP satellites. However, few studies have examined the factors explaining differences in nighttime brightness of cities at a global scale. In this study, we derived quantitative estimates of nighttime lights with the new VIIRS sensor onboard the Suomi NPP satellite in January 2014 and in July 2014, with two variables: mean brightness and percent lit area. We performed a global analysis of all densely populated areas (n = 4153, mostly corresponding to metropolitan areas), which we defined using high spatial resolution Landscan population data. National GDP per capita was better in explaining nighttime brightness levels (0.60 < Rs < 0.70) than GDP density at a spatial resolution of 0.25 degrees (0.25 < Rs < 0.43), or than a city-level measure of GDP per capita (in proportion to each city's fraction of the national population: 0.49 < Rs < 0.62). We found that in addition to GDP per capita, the nighttime brightness of densely populated areas was positively correlated with MODIS derived percent urban area (0.46 < Rs < 0.60), the density of the road network (0.51 < Rs < 0.67), and with latitude (0.31