基于DMSP-OLS与NPP-VIIRS整合数据的中国三大城市群城市空间扩展时空格局

通过拟合最优幂函数模型,将NPP-VIIRS影像模拟为DMSP-OLS影像,构建了京津冀、长江三角洲（简称长三角）和珠江三角洲（简称珠三角）三大城市群1992—2017年长时间序列夜间灯光影像集。参考城市建成区统计数据确定夜间灯光最佳阈值提取城市范围,有效剥离统计数据中包含的经济活力不足的城市空间,识别出不属于统计范围的低等级、高活力城镇区,创新了数据应用视角。研究表明：① 县级城镇和市级以上城市对三大城市群城市范围的贡献度不同。京津冀腹地广阔,县级城镇是区域经济活力的重要组成部分,整体上贡献度最大;1990s初期长三角部分县级城镇经济活力较强,大量撤县设市后县级城镇数量减少,逐渐在2005年后低于京津冀;珠三角受到社会经济发展条件和行政单元划分的影响,县级城镇对城市范围的贡献在3个城市群中始终最小。② 三大城市群城市扩展非均衡性特征存在差异。京津冀城市扩展为京、津主导下的“双核”模式,非均衡性显著,尚未形成完善的城市规模体系;长三角和珠三角城市集聚特征明显,均衡性更强。重心迁移的路径、方向和距离反映各城市群不同的扩展强度和作用模式。③ 城市空间扩展格局整体均呈现热点区不断扩大、冷点区不断缩小的特征。其中京津冀热点和冷点区相对稳定,热点区向心集聚作用较强;长三角和珠三角空间格局变化较大,区域核心城市带动作用较强。     

集成夜间灯光数据与Landsat TM影像的不透水面自动提取方法研究

利用多源遥感数据提取不透水面信息是一个重要的研究方向。针对以往研究中多需要人工选取不透水面样本进行模型训练的问题,本文通过整合夜间灯光遥感与Landsat TM影像中的空间和光谱信息实现了不透水面覆盖范围（Impervious Surface Area,ISA）的自动提取。首先根据夜间灯光的分布来定位ISA聚集的城市区域的位置,分别在城市区域内部和外部自动提取可靠性高的ISA及非ISA样本,然后通过迭代分类提取城市区域的ISA,再以此为样本对城市区域外部进行分类,最后将分类结果整合完成整幅影像的ISA提取流程。应用本方法对美国雪城地区的DMSP/OLS夜间灯光影像上提取了84个城市区域,提取精度大于95%。从中分别选择高ISA密度和低ISA密度的2个城市区域作为ISA提取的测试区,本文方法在城市区域内的ISA提取总体精度与kappa系数分别为88.23%和0.63;在城市区域外部为78.6%和0.54,均优于人工样本选取方法的提取精度,表明该方法能够实现精度稳定且高效的ISA自动提取。     

Remote sensing and social sensing for socioeconomic systems: A comparison study between nighttime lights and location-based social media at the 500 m spatial resolution

With the advent of “social sensing” in the Big Data era, location-based social media (LBSM) data are increasingly used to explore anthropogenic activities and their impacts on the environment. This study converts a typical kind of LBSM data, geo-tagged tweets, into raster images at the 500 m spatial resolution and compares them with the new generation nighttime lights (NTL) image products, the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) monthly image composites. The results show that the monthly tweet images are significantly correlated with the VIIRS-DNB images at the pixel level. The tweet images have nearly the same ability on estimating electric power consumption and better performance on assessing personal incomes and population than the NTL images. Tweeted areas (i.e. the pixels with at least one posted tweet) are closer to satellite-derived built-up/urban areas than lit areas in NTL imagery, making tweet images an alternative to delimit extents of human activities. Moreover, the monthly tweet images do not show apparent seasonal changes, and the values of tweet images are more stable across different months than VIIRS-DNB monthly image composites. This study explores the potential of LBSM data at relatively fine spatiotemporal resolutions to estimate or map socioeconomic factors as an alternative to NTL images in the United States.     

Evidence of tidal perturbations in the middle atmosphere over Southern Tropics as deduced from LIDAR data analyses

Systematic measurements of the middle-atmosphere temperature by a RAYLEIGH LIDAR located at La Réunion Island (20.8°S–55.5°E) has led to a preliminary study of the tidal effects in the height range of 30–70 km. Two analysis methods able to estimate the mean nighttime evolution of the temperature have been compared. Method 1 consists in averaging the temperature deviations from the nightly mean over several successive nights of measurement for given local solar times (LST); method 2 consists in averaging the raw data over the period of observation for given LST and in deriving afterwards the mean nighttime evolution of the temperature profiles. Some consistent LST-related structures have been observed with both methods, though better results have been obtained with method 1. One possible explanation for the differences between the two methods is the use of a series of data ranging from 4 to 8 h/night, depending on the meteorological conditions. In contrast to method 2, method 1 allows to correct the mean temperature for a given night, when the measurement window is different from night to night. Method 1 has been applied to two time series recorded in October and November 1995. The results clearly show the presence of tidal components with a downward phase propagation, specifically a warmer early night and a colder midnight in the stratosphere and the lower mesosphere. This behaviour is consistent with other LIDAR measurements made at similar latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, a close comparison with the Global-Scale Wave Model (GSWM) tidal model predictions has also pointed out some similarities. Yet, large discrepancies in magnitude are also observed: as already reported in previous studies, the amplitudes predicted by GSWM are more than two times smaller compared to the corresponding values observed with the LIDAR.     

雷暴云准静电场对夜间电离层D区的影响

模型，计算了雷暴云电荷突然对地放电后QE场大小 在0～90km高度上的分布. 对200C的正电荷对地放电后的计算表明，在放电1ms后，在65～78km的区域内，QE场大于大气的雪崩电场，而0.5s后，该电场迅速衰减到很低的水平. 在电 离层高度上，由于电子的热化时标和电离时标极短，在QE场的作用下，夜间局部低电离层会 有比较大的响应. 对Boltzmann方程数值求解的结果表明，在某些高度上，电子分布函数有 明显的高能尾巴；在63～83km的高度上，电子平均能量为3eV＜ε＜6eV；计算的电子数 密度 的峰值扰动表明，在65～78km的高度上，电子的数密度增加，最大的电离峰值约在74km处， 大约增加了3个数量级，比电磁脉冲（EMP）的电离效果大得多.     

夜光遥感支持下的城市人口核密度空间化及自相关分析

基于福建省福州市鼓楼区街道社区人口统计数据、夜光遥感影像、Landsat8影像,融合核密度与回归方程,绘制30 m栅格空间分辨率的人口密度图并进行空间自相关分析。方法:① 采用核密度方法对69个社区人口计算生成人口密度分布图。建立786个居民小区点的人口密度与夜光遥感的常规QQ分位图,检测出人口密度存在较大的误差区域:五凤街道和洪山镇。② 建立人口密度与夜光遥感、Landsat8线性分解的不可渗透表面影像之间的二元二次回归方程,修正两个区域的人口密度误差。③ 采用高/低聚类分析、热点分析、聚类和异常值分析,得到鼓楼区人口高聚类属性,显示了鼓楼区最大商业圈区域与人口密度最大居民点区域,展示了人口聚类的空间局部差异性格局。结果:① 研究中所采用的人口空间化技术融合了2种空间化方法:核密度与回归方程。生成30 m栅格空间分辨率的人口密度图。② 鼓楼区人口密度均值分为3种类型:11 000、25 000和50 000人/ km²,人口密度分布近似正态分布。③ 当鼓楼区人口密度均值大于33 000人/ km²,不可渗透表面灰度值与人口密度相关性更强。反之,夜光亮度值与人口密度相关性更强。     

These lit areas are undeveloped: Delimiting China’s urban extents from thresholded nighttime light imagery

Nighttime light imagery is a powerful tool to study urbanization because it can provide a uniform metric, lit area, to delimit urban extents. However, lit area is much larger than actual urban area, so thresholds of digital number (DN) values are usually needed to reduce the lit area. The threshold varies greatly among different regions, but at present it is still not very clear what factors impact the changes of the threshold. In this study, urban extent by province for China is mapped using official statistical data and four intercalibrated and geometrically corrected nighttime light images between 2004 and 2010. Lit area in the imagery for most provinces is at least 94% greater than the official amount of urban area. Regression analyses show a significant correlation between optimal thresholds and GDP per capita, and larger thresholds more commonly indicate higher economic level. Size and environmental condition may explain a province’s threshold that is disproportionate to GDP. Findings indicate one threshold DN is not appropriate for multiple (adjacent) province urban extent mapping, and optimal thresholds for one year may be notably different than the next. Province-level derived thresholds are not appropriate for other geographic levels. Brightness of nighttime lights is an advantage over imagery that relies on daylight reflection, and decreases in brightness indicate faster growth in the horizontal direction than the vertical. A province’s optimal threshold does not always maintain an increase with population and economic growth. In the economically developed eastern provinces, urban population densities decreased (and this is seen in the brightness data), while urban population increased.     

Africa's protected areas are brightening at night: A long-term light pollution monitor based on nighttime light imagery

As the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation, the core value of protected areas (PAs) is to maintain an area’s natural conditions (both day and night) and to restrict human-caused disturbances to biology and the environment. Although the value of PAs has been universally recognized, light pollution within them is worsening as a result of the widespread use of artificial illumination devices. Previous studies have focused on light pollution in PAs and evaluated light radiation using nighttime light imagery. However, given the scale and span of these studies (national scale and over short periods), PA light pollution research should be advanced further. In this paper, we conducted long-term (1992–2018) monitoring and evaluation of light pollution in African PAs using aligned multi-sensor NTL data. The results showed that 1) Africa PAs were impacted by increasingly severe artificial lights during 1992–2018, with all three light indices showing an accelerating increasing trend. 2) The number of light-polluted PAs also rapidly increased, with more than 80% of PAs experiencing aggravated light pollution as of 2018. Different types of PAs had heterogeneous light pollution, which penetrates indiscriminately into all PA regulation levels. 4) Light pollution in African PAs was divided into three types, including outside invasion, internal sources, and mixed pollution. 5) Human activity intensity surrounding the PAs was highly correlated with light pollution within them, with a maximum effect distance of approximately 245 km. This paper provides new approaches for understanding the patterns of light pollution within PAs, and is a valuable reference for future PA planning.     

Potential for global mapping of development via a nightsat mission

Nightsat is a concept for a satellite system capable of global observation of the location, form and density of lighted infrastructure and development within human settlements. Nightsat’s repeat cycle should be sufficient to produce an annual cloud-free composite of surface lighting to enable detection of growth rates. Airborne and satellite imagery have been used to define the range of spatial, spectral, and detection limit options for a future Nightsat mission. Our conclusion is that Nightsat should collect data from a near-synchronous orbit in the early evening with 50–100 m spatial resolution and have detection limits of 2.5E⁻⁸ W cm⁻² sr⁻¹ μm⁻¹ or better. Multispectral low-light imaging data would be better than panchromatic data by providing valuable information on the type or character of lighting, a potentially stronger predictor of variables such as ambient population density and economic activity.     

Analyzing parcel-level relationships between Luojia 1-01 nighttime light intensity and artificial surface features across Shanghai,China: A comparison with NPP-VIIRS data

Nighttime light (NTL) remote sensing data have been widely used to derive socioeconomic indices at national and regional scales. However, few studies analyzed the factors that may explain NTL variations at a fine scale due to the limited resolution of existing NTL data. As a new generation NTL satellite, Luojia 1-01 provides NTL data with a finer spatial resolution of ∼130 m and can be used to assess the relationship between NTL intensity and artificial surface features on an unprecedented scale. This study represents the first efforts to assess the relationship between Luojia 1-01 NTL intensity and artificial surface features at the parcel level in comparison to the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership-Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (NPP-VIIRS) NTL data. Points-of-interest (POIs) and land-use/land-cover (LULC) data were used in random forest (RF) regression models for both Luojia 1-01 and NPP-VIIRS to analyze the feature contribution of artificial surface features to NTL intensity. The results show that luminosity variations in Luojia 1-01 data for different land-use types were more significant than those in NPP-VIIRS data because of the finer spatial resolution and wider measurement range. Seventeen variables extracted from POI and LULC data explained the Luojia 1-01 and NPP-VIIRS NTL intensity, with a good out-of-bag score of 0.62 and 0.76, respectively. Moreover, Luojia 1-01 data had fewer “blooming” phenomena than NPP-VIIRS data, especially for cropland, water body, and rural area. Luojia 1-01 is more suitable for estimating socioeconomic activities and can attain more comprehensive information on human activities, since the feature contribution of POI variables is more sensitive to NTL intensity in the Luojia 1-01 RF regression model than that in the NPP-VIIRS RF regression model.