A Review of the Far-Reaching Usage of Low-Light Nighttime Data

To assess the current and future utility of low-light satellite data, this paper reviewed 1630 papers, presentations, theses, and dissertations using day/night band (DNB) data from the visible infrared imaging radiometer suite (VIIRS) imager and its precursor, the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Linescan system (DMSP-OLS) series from the 1970s through to the year 2021. By the way of a categorical system, we take inventory of the myriad applications of these data to a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from social to natural science, oceans to atmosphere, and biology to civil engineering. Papers from social science fields dominate this spectrum, pointing to the unique aspect of low-light observations in their ability to observe aspects of human civilization at night. We also look at the stratification between applications using natural vs. artificial light, the use of moonlight, and the context of the key earth climate system elements. In light of these findings, a discussion is provided for the future of low-light measurements. Since the start of the VIIRS series, there has been a rapid increase in interest in the use of these data for numerous fields, pointing towards a nascent field centered on the nocturnal earth system science that is enabled by these novel and newly quantifiable measurements. This study is of significant importance in evaluating current uses of low-light data and possible architecture solutions for next-generation satellites.