{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,6]],"date-time":"2026-08-06T20:03:20Z","timestamp":1786046600874,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,1]],"date-time":"2014-12-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1417392000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The high sensitivity and advanced onboard calibration on the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day\/Night Band (DNB) enables accurate measurements of low light radiances which leads to enhanced quantitative applications at night. The finer spatial resolution of DNB also allows users to examine social economic activities at urban scales. Given the growing interest in the use of the DNB data, there is a pressing need for better understanding of the calibration stability and absolute accuracy of the DNB at low radiances. The low light calibration accuracy was previously estimated at a moderate 15% using extended sources while the long-term stability has yet to be characterized. There are also several science related questions to be answered, for example, how the Earth\u2019s atmosphere and surface variability contribute to the stability of the DNB measured radiances; how to separate them from instrument calibration stability; whether or not SI (International System of Units) traceable active light sources can be designed and installed at selected sites to monitor the calibration stability, radiometric and geolocation accuracy, and point spread functions of the DNB; furthermore, whether or not such active light sources can be used for detecting environmental changes, such as aerosols. This paper explores the quantitative analysis of nightlight point sources, such as those from fishing vessels, bridges, and cities, using fundamental radiometry and radiative transfer, which would be useful for a number of applications including search and rescue in severe weather events, as well as calibration\/validation of the DNB. Time series of the bridge light data are used to assess the stability of the light measurements and the calibration of VIIRS DNB. It was found that the light radiant power computed from the VIIRS DNB data matched relatively well with independent assessments based on the in situ light installations, although estimates have to be made due to limited ground truth data and lack of suitable radiative transfer models. Results from time series analysis are encouraging in potentially being able to detect anomalies in the DNB calibration. The study also suggests that accurate ground based active lights, when properly designed and installed, can be used to monitor the stability of the VIIRS DNB calibration at near the specified minimum radiances (3 nW\u2219cm\u22122\u2219sr\u22121), and potentially can be used to monitor the environmental changes as well.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs61211915","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,2]],"date-time":"2014-12-02T02:07:08Z","timestamp":1417486028000},"page":"11915-11935","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":122,"title":["Quantitative Analysis of VIIRS DNB Nightlight Point Source for Light Power Estimation and Stability Monitoring"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3572-6525","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Changyong","family":"Cao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)\/NESDIS (National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service)\/STAR (Center for Satellite Applications and Research), NCWCP, E\/RA2, 5830 University Research Ct., Suite 2838, College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan","family":"Bai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CICS(Cooperative Institute for Climate and Satellites), ESSC Building, RM3250,  University of Maryland, 5825 University Research Ct. College Park, MD 20740, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","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_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6964","DOI":"10.1109\/TGRS.2014.2306132","article-title":"Improved VIIRS day\/night band imagery with near-constant contrast","volume":"52","author":"Liang","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"12705","DOI":"10.1002\/2013JD020475","article-title":"Suomi NPP VIIRS day-night band on-orbit performance","volume":"118","author":"Liao","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Geophys. Res."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cao, C., Xiong, J., Blonski, S., Liu, Q., Uprety, S., Shao, X., Bai, Y., and Weng, F. (2013). Suomi NPP VIIRS sensor data record verification, validation, and long-term performance monitoring. J. Geophys. Res.","DOI":"10.1002\/2013JD020418"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1582","DOI":"10.1109\/LGRS.2013.2262258","article-title":"Detecting light outages after severe storms using the Suomi-NPP\/VIIRS day night band radiances","volume":"10","author":"Cao","year":"2013","journal-title":"IEEE Geosci. Remote Sens. Lett."},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"VIIRS DNB Cloud Free Composites, Available online:http:\/\/ngdc.noaa.gov\/eog\/viirs\/download_monthly.html."},{"key":"ref_7","unstructured":"Elvidge, C. Personal communication."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Steradian. Available online:http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Steradian."},{"key":"ref_9","unstructured":"Lin, G. Personal communication."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"McCarthy, J., Jacobson, E., Kilduff, T., Estes, R., Levine, P., Mills, S., Elvidge, C., and Miller, S. (2013, January 23). On the potential to enhance the spatial resolution of the day\/night band (DNB) channel of the visible and infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) for the second joint polar satellite system (JPSS-2) and beyond. Proceeding of 2013 Earth Observing Systems XVIII, San Diego, CA, USA.","DOI":"10.1117\/12.2024407"},{"key":"ref_11","unstructured":"CloudCompare. Available online:http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/CloudCompare."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"306","DOI":"10.1086\/132436","article-title":"Night-sky brightness at observatories and sites","volume":"101","author":"Garstang","year":"1989","journal-title":"Publ. Astron. Soc. Pac."},{"key":"ref_13","unstructured":"Shirkey, R.C. An Army Illumination Model (AAIM). Available online:http:\/\/www.arl.army.mil\/arlreports\/2008\/ARL-TR-4645.pdf."},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Cinzano, P., Falchi, F., and Elvidge, C. Recent Progresses on a Second World Atlas of the Night-Sky Brightness Lptran\/Lpdart Realistic Models, Tomography of Light Pollution, Accurate Validation Methods and Extended Satellite Data Analysis, Starlight: A Common Heritage. Available online:http:\/\/www.starlight2007.net\/prolightpollution.htm."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"367","DOI":"10.1016\/S0034-4257(98)00045-5","article-title":"MODTRAN cloud and multiple scattering upgrades with application to AVIRIS","volume":"65","author":"Berk","year":"1998","journal-title":"Remote Sens. Environ."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"675","DOI":"10.1109\/36.581987","article-title":"Second simulation of the satellite signal in the solar spectrum, 6S: An overview","volume":"35","author":"Vermote","year":"1997","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_17","unstructured":"CRTM. Available online:http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Community_Radiative_Transfer_Model."},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Han, Y., Delst, P., Liu, Q., Weng, F., Yan, B., and Derber, J. CRTM User\u2019s Guide, Available online:http:\/\/www.star.nesdis.noaa.gov\/smcd\/spb\/CRTM\/crtm-code\/CRTM_UserGuide-beta.pdf."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"Henrich, T., Fisher, W., Broderson, D., Cable, J., Macfarlane, S., Stevens, E., Cole, K., and Legatt, R. Available online:http:\/\/www.testbeds.noaa.gov\/events\/2014\/workshop\/presentations\/posters\/Heinrichs_Real-time-GIS-Satellite-Data-Feeds-to-NWS-Alaska-Sea-Ice-Program-Heinrichs-etal-TBPG-workshop-April-2014-1.pdf."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Global Gridded NPP, AQUA and TERRA Images. Available online:http:\/\/peate.ssec.wisc.edu\/flo\/npp\/gridding."},{"key":"ref_21","unstructured":"Heidinger, A. Personal communication."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3961","DOI":"10.3390\/s100403961","article-title":"Spectral identification of lighting type and character","volume":"10","author":"Elvidge","year":"2010","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_23","unstructured":"Lee, S. Personal communication."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"Zong, Y. Personal communication."},{"key":"ref_25","unstructured":"Uprety, S. Personal communication."}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/6\/12\/11915\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T21:10:14Z","timestamp":1760217014000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/6\/12\/11915"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,1]]},"references-count":25,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2014,12]]}},"alternative-id":["rs61211915"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs61211915","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2014,12,1]]}}}