{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,9]],"date-time":"2026-04-09T03:14:02Z","timestamp":1775704442635,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,28]],"date-time":"2023-09-28T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1695859200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"NOAA Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) proving ground program"},{"name":"NASA\u2019s Carbon Monitoring System program"},{"name":"World Bank Global Gas Flaring Reduction partnership (GGFR)"},{"name":"Oil and Gas Climate Initiative"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This paper reports on the first daily global monitoring program for natural gas flaring and industrial sites producing waste heat based on satellite observed infrared emissions. The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) collects nightly global infrared data in spectral bands ranging from near infrared (NIR) to longwave infrared (LWIR), providing a unique capability to detect and characterize infrared emitters at night. The VIIRS nightfire (VNF) algorithm identifies infrared (IR) emitters with multiple spectral bands and calculates the temperature, source area, and radiant heat via Planck curve fitting and physical laws. VNF data are produced nightly and extend from 2012 to the present. The most common infrared emitter is biomass burning, which must be filtered out. Industrial IR emitters can be distinguished from biomass burning based on temperature and persistence. The initial filtering to remove biomass burning was performed with 15 arc second grids formed from eleven years of VIIRS data, spanning 2012\u20132022. The locations and shapes of the remaining features were used to guide the generation of super-resolution pixel center clouds. These data clouds were then analyzed to define bounding vectors for single emitters and to split larger clusters into multiple emitters. A total of nearly 20,000 IR emitters were identified; each was assigned an identification number, and the type of emitter was recorded. Nightly temporal profiles were produced for each site, revealing activity patterns back to 2012. Nightly temporal profiles were kept current with weekly updates. Temporal profiles from individual sites were aggregated by country to form monthly profiles extending back to 2012. The nightly and monthly temporal profiles were suitable for analyzing industrial production, identifying disruption events, and tracking recovery. The data could also be used in tracking progress in energy conservation and greenhouse gas emission inventories.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15194760","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,29]],"date-time":"2023-09-29T05:48:13Z","timestamp":1695966493000},"page":"4760","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":13,"title":["Global Satellite Monitoring of Exothermic Industrial Activity via Infrared Emissions"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0584-1098","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Christopher D.","family":"Elvidge","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9967-2389","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mikhail","family":"Zhizhin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA"},{"name":"Space Dynamics and Mathematical Information Processing, Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8525-0513","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tamara","family":"Sparks","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9372-861X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tilottama","family":"Ghosh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA"}]},{"given":"Stephen","family":"Pon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA"}]},{"given":"Morgan","family":"Bazilian","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO 80401, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6972-3256","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paul C.","family":"Sutton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Denver, Denver, CO 80210, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2516-5560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Steven D.","family":"Miller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80521, USA"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,28]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"745309","DOI":"10.1155\/ASP.2005.2196","article-title":"Automated building extraction from high-resolution satellite imagery in urban areas using structural, contextual, and spectral information","volume":"2005","author":"Jin","year":"2005","journal-title":"EURASIP J. Adv. Signal Process."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Thomas, E., Heldens, W., and Hirner, A. (2018). Urban Remote Sensing, CRC Press."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2127","DOI":"10.5194\/amt-14-2127-2021","article-title":"The GHGSat-D imaging spectrometer","volume":"14","author":"Dylan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Atmos. Meas. Tech."},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"NASA (2023, September 24). Emit Data Points to Large Methane Emissions, Available online: https:\/\/appel.nasa.gov\/2022\/12\/05\/emit-data-points-to-large-methane-emissions\/."},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"62","article-title":"Carbon mapper phase 1: Two upcoming VNIR-SWIR hyperspectral imaging satellites","volume":"Volume 12094","author":"Keremedjiev","year":"2022","journal-title":"Algorithms, Technologies, and Applications for Multispectral and Hyperspectral Imaging XXVIII"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Hawkeye 360 Press (2023, March 14). Release Hawkeye 360\u2032s Sixth Satellite Cluster Begins Operation. Available online: https:\/\/www.he360.com\/hawkeye-360s-sixth-satellite-cluster-begins-operation\/."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"79","DOI":"10.3389\/frsen.2022.919937","article-title":"Fifty years of nightly global low-light imaging satellite observations","volume":"3","author":"Elvidge","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6717","DOI":"10.3390\/rs5126717","article-title":"Illuminating the capabilities of the suomi national polar-orbiting partnership (NPP) visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) day\/night band","volume":"5","author":"Miller","year":"2013","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4423","DOI":"10.3390\/rs5094423","article-title":"VIIRS nightfire: Satellite pyrometry at night","volume":"5","author":"EElvidge","year":"2013","journal-title":"Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elvidge, C.D., Zhizhin, M., Baugh, K., Hsu, F.-C., and Ghosh, T. (2016). Methods for global survey of natural gas flaring from visible infrared imaging radiometer suite data. Energies, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/en9010014"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chowdhury, S., Shipman, T., Chao, D., Elvidge, C.D., Zhizhin, M., and Hsu, F.-C. (2014, January 13\u201318). Daytime gas flare detection using Landsat-8 multispectral data. Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Quebec City, QC, Canada.","DOI":"10.1109\/IGARSS.2014.6946406"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5001717","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2022.3143167","article-title":"A daytime multisensor satellite system for global gas flaring monitoring","volume":"60","author":"Faruolo","year":"2022","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1095","DOI":"10.1038\/s41893-023-01125-5","article-title":"Global declines of offshore gas flaring inadequate to meet the 2030 goal","volume":"6","author":"Liu","year":"2023","journal-title":"Nat. Sustain."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"347","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rse.2017.10.019","article-title":"Identifying industrial heat sources using time-series of the VIIRS Nightfire product with an object-oriented approach","volume":"204","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2021GL092997","DOI":"10.1029\/2021GL092997","article-title":"Application potential of satellite thermal anomaly products in updating industrial emission inventory of China","volume":"48","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"Geophys. Res. Lett."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ma, C., Yang, J., Chen, F., Ma, Y., Liu, J., Li, X., Duan, J., and Guo, R. (2018). Assessing heavy industrial heat source distribution in China using real-time VIIRS active fire\/hotspot data. Sustainability, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/su10124419"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"11031","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.est.9b02643","article-title":"Satellite-based detection and characterization of industrial heat sources in China","volume":"53","author":"Zhang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhizhin, M., Elvidge, C., and Poyda, A. (2023). Night-Time Detection of Subpixel Emitters with VIIRS Mid-Wave Infrared Bands M12\u2013M13. Remote Sens., 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs15051189"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"214","DOI":"10.1080\/14786449708620983","article-title":"On the division of energy in the emission-spectrum of a black body","volume":"43","author":"Wien","year":"1897","journal-title":"Lond. Edinb. Dublin Philos. Mag. J. Sci."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"553","DOI":"10.1002\/andp.19013090310","article-title":"On the law of the energy distribution in the normal spectrum","volume":"4","author":"Planck","year":"1901","journal-title":"Ann. Phys."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1002\/andp.18842580503","article-title":"Ueber eine von Hrn. Bartoli entdeckte Beziehung der W\u00e4rmestrahlung zum zweiten Hauptsatze","volume":"258","author":"Boltzmann","year":"1884","journal-title":"An-Nalen Phys."},{"key":"ref_22","unstructured":"Godin, R. (2014). Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) VIIRS Cloud Mask (VCM) Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD), Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) Ground Project Code 474, 474-00033."},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Baker, N., and Kilcoyne, H. (2011). Joint Polar Satellite System (JPPS) VIIRS Geolocation Algorithm Theoretical Basis Document (ATBD), NASA Goddard Space Flight Cent. Tech. Doc."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"373","DOI":"10.1051\/0004-6361:20042320","article-title":"On super-resolution in astronomical imaging","volume":"436","author":"Puschmann","year":"2005","journal-title":"Astron. Astrophys."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Bishop, C.M. (2006). Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning, Springer. Information Science and Statistics."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elvidge, C.D., Zhizhin, M., Baugh, K., Hsu, F.C., and Ghosh, T. (2019). Extending nighttime combustion source detection limits with short wavelength VIIRS data. Remote Sens., 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/rs11040395"},{"key":"ref_27","first-page":"50","article-title":"Industrial waste heat recovery: A systematic approach","volume":"29","author":"Woolley","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sustain. Energy Technol. Assess."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"164","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2014.04.078","article-title":"Methods to estimate the industrial waste heat potential of regions\u2013A categorization and literature review","volume":"38","author":"Brueckner","year":"2014","journal-title":"Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"847","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2015.06.035","article-title":"Mapping and discussing Industrial Waste Heat (IWH) potentials for different countries","volume":"51","author":"Cabeza","year":"2015","journal-title":"Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"78","DOI":"10.1080\/14693062.2020.1803040","article-title":"The making of green steel in the EU: A policy evaluation for the early commercialization phase","volume":"21","author":"Vogl","year":"2021","journal-title":"Clim. Policy"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"194","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ijsbe.2013.05.001","article-title":"Trends and developments in green cement and concrete technology","volume":"1","author":"Imbabi","year":"2012","journal-title":"Int. J. Sustain. Built Environ."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3675","DOI":"10.1021\/acs.energyfuels.0c04269","article-title":"Recent developments in natural gas flaring reduction and reformation to energy-efficient fuels: A review","volume":"35","author":"Mansoor","year":"2021","journal-title":"Energy Fuels"}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/19\/4760\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T21:01:14Z","timestamp":1760130074000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/15\/19\/4760"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,28]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10]]}},"alternative-id":["rs15194760"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs15194760","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,9,28]]}}}