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Hyperspectral remote sensing for light pollution monitoring

DOI:10.4401/ag-3157
Authors:
Alessandro Barducci
Alessandro Barducci
Marco Benvenuti
Marco Benvenuti
Marco Benvenuti
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Francesco Castagnoli
Francesco Castagnoli
Francesco Castagnoli
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Donatella Guzzi at Italian National Research Council
Donatella Guzzi
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A possible application of hyperspectral remote sensing regards the assessment of light pollution due to cities and industries. In this paper we introduce the results from a remote sensing campaign performed in September 2001 at night time. For the first time nocturnal light pollution was measured at high spatial and spectral resolution using two airborne hyperspectral sensors, namely the Multispectral Infrared and Visible Imaging Spectrometer (MIVIS) and the Visible InfraRed Scanner (VIRS-200). These imagers, generally employed for day-time Earth remote sensing, were flown over the Tuscany coast (Italy) on board of a Casa 212 airplane from an altitude of 1.5-2.0 km. Together with the acquired images, we also describe the experimental activities which preceded the remote sensing campaign in order to optimise the sensor configuration. The obtained results put out the novelty of the performed measurements and highlight the need to employ advanced remote sensing techniques as a spectroscopic tool for light pollution monitoring.
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... Hyperspectral imaging is also faced with the challenges of high dynamic range radiance distributions, noise level (Alamús et al., 2017) and scanning methods. Nevertheless, hyperspectral light pollution measurements still have undeniable benefits in revealing the features hindered by artificial light in remote sensing (Barducci et al., 2003(Barducci et al., , 2006 and identifying the lamp types in urban lighting (Dobler et al., 2016;Kruse & Elvidge, 2011). ...
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... The problem of light pollution has been important since the 1960s due to urban development and the use of artificial lights and bulbs at night (Hosseini and Nasiri, 2007). This kind of pollution is a problem that affects almost every urban area and is produced by a large number of light sources that throw light into the sky, and because of the presence of dust and aerosols in the atmosphere, the light scattered by the sky Clarifies (Barducci et al., 2006). ...
SURVEY OF LIGHT POLLUTION OF ARAK CITY BY USING OF DMSP AND SUONI-NPP SATELLITE IMAGERY
Article
Full-text available
  • Oct 2019
Today, the use of remote sensing techniques and satellite images of night lights has immensely assisted in investigating this kind of pollution. The objectives of this research is to survey the light pollution of the city of Arak in Iran for the years 1997 and 2009, by utilizing satellite images of DMSP night lights and for the years 2013 through 2018, by taking advantage of Soumi-NPP satellite images of night lights and exploring its connection to the city’s electricity power consumption for street lighting. The night light images of the DMSP and NPP satellites, depending on the degree of light intensity, were each, in segregation, categorized into five classes of light pollution levels, ranging from very high to very low levels. Next, light pollution maps were extracted from classified images and then the connection of the ‘high and very high’ classes of light pollution with electric power consumption for street or road lighting was surveyed in these years. Results of the study indicates that the amount of light pollution in these years was in relevance with road or street lighting, as in the years when the amount of electricity consumption for road lighting was high and its role in connection with light pollution was also in great percentages; and in years with a decrease in electricity consumption for road lighting, lower percentages were displayed.
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... La literatura muestra que los sensores multiespectrales e hiperespectrales aeroportados pueden ser utilizados para el análisis de adquisiciones nocturnas, aunque los trabajos publicados hasta ahora se centran más en la detección de las fuentes de emisión de luz artificial y en la clasificación basada en las diferencias espectrales de los diferentes tipos de iluminación (Tardà et al., 2012;Barducci et al., 2006). En cambio, los estudios basados en imágenes nocturnas satelitales están dirigidos al análisis de la huella urbana a escala regional y global (Kyba et al.,2015;Naom et al., 2014). ...
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... In the literature, hyperspectral and multispectral airborne sensors were often used for nocturnal image analysis. Yet, all these studies were focused on the detection of artificial light sources or classification based on specific spectral signature detection [3][4] [5] [6]. On the contrary, studies based on space-borne night imaging mainly dealt with the analysis of global urban extent at global and regional scale [8]. ...
Hyperspectral VNIR and photogrammetric data fusion approach for urban luminance map generation
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2016
This paper puts forward a methodology for the generation of high resolution luminance maps from simul-taneous hyperspectral VNIR and photogrammetric imagery. The integration of hyperspectral radiance at ground level, properly weighted by the photopic-based coefficients, plus a sensor fusion strategy, provides for the first time a quantitative description of the luminous flux at high spatial resolution and with multi-angle geometry. Accordingly, this methodology allows following up any strategic policy aimed to improve urban illumination management and quantifying its effects in terms of energetic efficiency.
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... Considerably better spatial and spectral resolution can be achieved with airborne hyperspectral imaging spectrometers, at the expense of a smaller area coverage. Hyperspectral imaging, that has found many applications in Earth imagery (see, e.g., Aasen et al., 2015;Clark and Kilham, 2016) including urban areas (Demarchi et al., 2014;Kotthaus et al., 2014), has also been successfully applied to the study of nighttime artificial lights (Barducci et al., 2003a(Barducci et al., , 2003b(Barducci et al., , 2006Kruse and Elvidge, 2011). Airborne hyperspectral measurements combined with photogrammetric imagery allow to obtain reliable estimates of the upward luminance from urban areas with spatial resolutions well below one meter, as we have shown in previous works (Pipia et al., 2014;Corbera et al., 2015). ...
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Article
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... In the literature, hyperspectral and multispectral airborne sensors were often used for nocturnal image analysis. Yet, all these studies were focused on the detection of artificial light sources or classification based on specific spectral signature detection [3][4] [5] [6]. On the contrary, studies based on space-borne night imaging mainly dealt with the analysis of global urban extent at global and regional scale [8]. ...
A methodology for luminance map retrieval using airborne hyperspectral and photogrammetric data
Conference Paper
Full-text available
  • Nov 2014
This paper puts forward a methodology developed at the Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya (ICGC) to quantify upwelling light flux using hyperspectral and photogrammetric airborne data. The work was carried out in the frame of a demonstrative study requested by the municipality of Sant Cugat del Vallès, in the vicinity of Barcelona (Spain), and aimed to envisage a new approach to assess artificial lighting policies and actions as alternative to field campaigns. Hyperspectral and high resolution multispectral/panchromatic data were acquired simultaneously over urban areas. In order to avoid moon light contributions, data were acquired during the first days of new moon phase. Hyperspectral data were radiometrically calibrated. Then, National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) atmospheric profiles were employed to estimate the actual Column Water Vapor (CWV) to be passed to ModTran5.0 for the atmospheric transmissivity τ calculation. At-the-ground radiance was finally integrated using the photopic sensitivity curve to generate a luminance map (cdm-2) of the flown area by mosaicking the different flight tracks. In an attempt to improve the spatial resolution and enhance the dynamic range of the luminance map, a sensor-fusion strategy was finally looked into. DMC Photogrammetric data acquired simultaneously to hyperspectral information were converted into at-the-ground radiance and upscaled to CASI spatial resolution. High-resolution (HR) luminance maps with enhanced dynamic range were finally generated by linearly fitting up-scaled DMC mosaics to the CASI-based luminance information. In the end, a preliminary assessment of the methodology is carried out using non-simultaneous in-situ measurements.
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... While astronomers have recognised light emissions as a potential impact to the night sky since as early as the 1960s (Walker 1970;Reigel 1973;Cinzano 2000) only a few methods have been developed to quantify the sky brightening that has occurred over this period. Published methods used to varying success have included direct visual observations (Berry 1976;Moore 2001), computer modelling (Pike 1976), ground based spectrophotometry (Cinzano 2004), aerial based hyperspectral sensors ( Barducci et al. 2006), image resolution devices (Kranicz et. al. 2008), stellar photometry and telescopy (Clark 1999) and handheld sky quality meters in conjunction with digital single lens reflex photography (Kollath 2010). ...
A Novel Technique for Monitoring Light Pollution
Conference Paper
  • Sep 2012
This paper describes a novel instrumental technique using astronomical cameras modified to monitor the whole-of-sky light emissions visible to marine turtles nesting near industrial developments in Western Australia. The results provide quantitative and qualitative data on specific light sources including sky glow which cannot be otherwise be measured in a field setting. The quantitative and qualitative results provide environmental practitioners and managers with the first reliable tool with which to monitor light emissions. This instrumental method has application well beyond marine turtles and can be used to measure and monitor light in any setting and for any receptor (wildlife or human) exposed to light, either astral or artificial.
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Anthropogenic disruption of the night sky darkness in urban and rural areas
Article
Full-text available
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Full-text available
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Analysis and Rejection of Systematic Disturbances in Hyperspectral Remotely Sensed Images of the Earth
Article
Full-text available
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Article
  • Feb 1989
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Article
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Article
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