Estimation of the PM2.5 Pollution Levels in Beijing Based on Nighttime Light Data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System

PurposeThe non-observed economy (NOE) is a pervasive phenomenon worldwide, especially in developing countries, but the size of the NOE and its contributions to the overall economy are usually unknown. This paper presents an estimation of the average size of the NOE for the 31 provincial regions in China between 1992 and 2013.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) nighttime light data combined with 11 existing surveys on or measurements of NOE for 191 countries or regions throughout the world, to measure the size of the NOE.FindingsThe results show that the NOE share is unevenly distributed among China's provincial regions, with the smallest being 3.19% for Beijing and the largest being 69.71% for Ningxia. The national average is 43.11%, while the figures for the eastern region, middle region, northeastern region and western region are 39.3%, 47.6%, 44.7% and 43.6%, respectively. The NOE estimates are negatively correlated with the measured gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP per capita, which suggests that developed regions tend to have less NOE.Originality/valueThe nighttime lights are used to measure the NOE for China's provincial regions. Compared with traditional databases, one of the prominent features of nighttime lights is its objectivity, as there is little human interference; therefore, it can be used to achieve more accurate results.

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Identifying and Correcting Signal Shift in DMSP-OLS Data

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs12142219 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (14) ◽

pp. 2219

Author(s):

Konstantin Ash ◽

Kevin Mazur

Keyword(s):

Recent Analysis ◽

Control Points ◽

Public Goods Provision ◽

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program ◽

Nighttime Light Data ◽

Nighttime Light ◽

Social Scientific ◽

The Relationship ◽

Meteorological Satellite ◽

Scientific Fields

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime light data has become a key tool of the environmental and social scientific fields, but suffers from several validity problems. We highlight one such problem—shifts in the digital number position in DMSP-OLS composites in the same satellite. We present techniques for identifying the problem, using moving window raster correlation and visual inspection, and for solving the problem, by assigning control points and manually shifting raster positions. To illustrate the importance of accounting for signal shift, we re-examine a recent analysis of the relationship between public goods provision and patterns of violence in the 2011 Syrian uprising and ensuing civil war. We find the statistical results change considerably when correcting for signal shift. We attribute this change to the systematic undercounting of light intensity in heavily populated areas. We close by identifying the types of research that would most benefit from our correction and suggest future refinements to our technique through automation.

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Political Dynasties and Economic Development: Evidence using Nighttime Light in the Philippines

Philippine Political Science Journal ◽

10.1163/2165025x-bja10010 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 41 (3) ◽

pp. 215-261

Author(s):

Ludigil Garces ◽

Karl Jandoc ◽

Mary Grace Lu

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Political Competition ◽

The Philippines ◽

Economic Effects ◽

Checks And Balances ◽

Weak Institutions ◽

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program ◽

Nighttime Light Data ◽

Nighttime Light ◽

Relationship Of

Abstract Political dynasties, by limiting political competition, are thought to exacerbate corruption, poverty, and abuse of power. This paper examines the economic effects of the presence of political dynasties in Philippine cities and municipalities, taking into account possible channels in the local dynastic cycle – the framework in which politicians try to balance their goals to perform well for their constituents, to divert resources for personal gain, and to continue to be in power. Due to the lack of extensive income accounts or other economic indicators in finer geographical units (i.e., city or municipality level), we use the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime light data as our proxy for economic activity. Using a panel of Philippine municipalities and cities, we find that, in general, the relationship of political dynasties on economic performance is weak. However, we find that a higher share of economic expenditures leads to lower economic development in municipalities where the mayor, governor, and congressman belong to the same clan. We see this as an indication of weak institutions of checks and balances in localities with dynasties.

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An assessment of global electric power consumption using the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program-Operational Linescan System nighttime light imagery

Energy ◽

10.1016/j.energy.2019.116351 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 189 ◽

pp. 116351 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Linlin Lu ◽

Qihao Weng ◽

Yanhua Xie ◽

Huadong Guo ◽

Qingting Li

Keyword(s):

Power Consumption ◽

Electric Power ◽

Electric Power Consumption ◽

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program ◽

Nighttime Light ◽

Nighttime Light Imagery ◽

Meteorological Satellite

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Assessing nighttime lights for mapping the urban areas of 50 cities across the globe

Environment and Planning B Urban Analytics and City Science ◽

10.1177/2399808317752926 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 46 (6) ◽

pp. 1097-1114

Author(s):

Hasi Bagan ◽

Habura Borjigin ◽

Yoshiki Yamagata

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Comprehensive Evaluation ◽

Grid Cell ◽

Small Cities ◽

Large Cities ◽

Nighttime Lights ◽

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program ◽

Nighttime Light ◽

The Relationship ◽

Meteorological Satellite

Nighttime data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System have been widely used to map urban/built-up areas (hereafter referred to as “built-up area”), but to date there has not been a geographically comprehensive evaluation of the effectiveness of using nighttime lights data to map urban areas. We created accurate, convenient, and scalable grid cells based on Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System nighttime light pixels. We then calculated the density of Landsat-derived built-up areas within each grid cell. We explored the relationship between Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System nighttime lights data and the density of built-up areas to assess the utility of nighttime lights for mapping urban areas in 50 cities across the globe. We found that the brightness of nighttime lights was only in moderate agreement with the density of built-up areas; moreover, correlations between nighttime lights and Landsat-derived built-up areas were weak. Even in relatively sparsely populated urban regions (where the density of the built-up area is less than 20%), the highest correlation coefficient ( R2) was only 0.4. Furthermore, nighttime lights showed lighted areas that extended beyond the area of large cities, and nighttime lights reduced the area of small cities. The results suggest that it is difficult to use the regression model to calibrate the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational Linescan System nighttime lights to fit urban built up areas.

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