Category: Earth Observation Group – Payne

Global Satellite Monitoring of Exothermic Industrial Activity via Infrared Emissions

Global Satellite Monitoring of Exothermic Industrial Activity via Infrared Emissions

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Christopher Elvidge, Mikhail Zhizhin, Tamara Sparks, Tilottama Ghosh, Stephen Pon, Director Morgan Bazilian, Paul Sutton, and Steven Miller report 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. September 28, 2023.

Discovering Hidden Offshore Lighting Structures with Multiyear Low-Light Imaging Satellite Data 8/18/2023

Discovering Hidden Offshore Lighting Structures with Multiyear Low-Light Imaging Satellite Data

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Christopher Elvidge, Tilottama Ghosh, Namrata Chatterjee, Mikhail Zhizhin and Morgan Bazilian write about how in 2015, the Earth Observation Group developed the VIIRS Boat Detection (VBD) product and today several fishery agencies use VBD data to monitor fishing activity and compliance with closures. Recently EOG compiled the full record VBD detections as a 15 arc second global grid. The record spans 2012-2021 in Asia and 2017-2021 elsewhere.  Upon reviewing the multiyear accumulation of VBD detections we were surprised to find a diversity of previously unseen lighting features. The additional features include lit platforms, transit lanes, and vessel anchorages associated with ports and passage straits.  August 18, 2023.

Lights on the Water? Accumulating VIIRS boat detection grids in Southeast Asia spanning 2012–2021 7/26/2023

Lights on the Water? Accumulating VIIRS boat detection grids in Southeast Asia spanning 2012–2021

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Christopher D. Elvidge, Tilottama Ghosh, Namrata Chatterjee, and Mikhail Zhizhin write about how it has been known since the 1970s that heavily lit fishing boats can be detected with nighttime visible low-light imaging data collected by polar-orbiting meteorological sensors (Croft, 1979). The two-sensor series having low-light imaging capabilities include the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) and the NASA/NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).  The VIIRS sensor provides key improvements (Elvidge et al., 2013) in low-light imaging from 2012 to the present and the pixel resolution (742 m × 742 m) is finer and has in-flight calibration to radiance units.  The VBD data were produced in near real-time and the nightly record extends back to April 2012 in Asia. In addition to the nightly product, the EOG also made monthly and annual summary grids.  Starting on page 33. July 26, 2023.

The 2023 CCNow Journalism Awards Finalists 6/28/2023

The 2023 CCNow Journalism Awards – Finalists

The Payne Institute Earth Observation Group contributed satellite imagery to this 2023 CCNow Finalist for Journalism Award (Up In Flames article in Reuters) that analyzed the flaring sites across Mexico.  The article is about how gas flaring soars in Mexico, derailing its climate change pledges as it seeks to boost oil output. The new data suggests that in spite of signing an international pledge to reduce methane emissions, Mexico is moving in the opposite direction from a global push to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas production. June 28, 2023.  

Turkmenistan Darvaza Gas Crater Seen by VIIRS Nightfire 6/14/2023

Turkmenistan Darvaza Gas Crater Seen by VIIRS Nightfire

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Director Christopher Elvidge uses VIIRS Nightfire to look at the Darvaza Gas Crater in Turkmenistan, also known as the “Gates of Hell.”  The nightly temporal profile shows a gradual decline in the activity levels and an indication of annual cycling. The temperature has been steady near 1224 K. That is about 400 K cooler than the typical gas flare, perhaps an indication of inefficient combustion.  June 14, 2023.  

World Online Ranking of Best Environmental Scientists – 2023 Report 4/18/2023

World Online Ranking of Best Environmental Scientists – 2023 Report

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Director Dr. Christopher Elvidge was named in the Research.com second annual report on the top scientists in the field of environmental science. This year, they  release an updated list that aims to contribute to increasing the online visibility of researchers, professors, and academics who actively share their knowledge in this community.  Dr. Elvidge was ranked 464 in the world and 226 in United States.  April 17,2023.

Exclusive: Mexico’s Pemex increased gas flaring at top field, despite pledge to stop 2/28/2023

Exclusive: Mexico’s Pemex increased gas flaring at top field, despite pledge to stop

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin contributes to this article by analyzing satellite data. State oil company Pemex promised late last year that it would stop burning natural gas from a major field in southeast Mexico by mid-January, amid mounting pressure to improve its poor environmental record. But satellite data analyzed by scientists exclusively for Reuters – as well as a visit by reporters to the site – showed that gas flaring from the vast Ixachi field in Veracruz state not only continued, but it increased. February 28, 2003.

Night-Time Detection of Subpixel Emitters with VIIRS Mid-Wave Infrared Bands M12–M13. 2/21/2023

Night-Time Detection of Subpixel Emitters with VIIRS Mid-Wave Infrared Bands M12–M13

Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin, Director Christopher D. Elvidge and Alexey Poyda talk about a new approach to subpixel infrared (IR) emitter detection in VIIRS mid-wave (MWIR) infrared bands M12–M13 at night, based on the presence of a tightly clustered background diagonal present in full granule scattergrams of M12 versus M13 radiances. This diagonal is found universally in night-time VIIRS data collected worldwide. The diagonal feature is absent during the day due to solar reflectance. The existence of the diagonal is attributed to close spacing in the bandpass centers of the VIIRS’ two MWIR bands.  Februay 21, 2023.