Earth Observation Group
Utilizing Cutting Edge Satellite Technology and Data to Inform Stakeholders on Issues Related to Oil and Gas, Power Outages, Forest Fires, and Fishing
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The Earth Observation Group (EOG) specializes in nighttime observations of lights and combustion sources worldwide. The group started working with Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) data in 1994 and has produced a time series of annual cloud-free composites of nighttime lights. EOG’s current focus is on deriving products from nighttime Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) data.
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SPECIAL STUDIES
Global Gas Flaring from Space
With VIIRS Nightfire (VNF), EOG continues to monitor each and every single one gas flares around the world. Annual summary of global gas flare activities is also compiled. Learn more
Looking for older dataset produced with DMSP? Learn more
VIIRS Lumen Watch
A quick and comprehensive way to monitor an area of interest with Nighttime Light. Especially useful to monitor the trend and incidents of power supply. See our demo for Rohingya Refugee Camp near the border of Bangladesh and Myanmar. Demo
NOS Multilens Aerial Photography
The U.S. National Ocean Survey collected coastal aerial photography with multilens cameras from the the 1920’s until the 1960’s for use in shoreline mapping. The multilens approach was adapted to ensure stereo coverage and to extend the coverage achieved within single flightlines. The original collection is in paper print format and is in long-term storage at the Federal Records Center in north Broomfield, Colorado. Approximately 10% of the collection was digitally scanned under NOAA’s Climate Data Modernization Program. The topographic maps with flightlines and frame centers was also digitized and serves as a base for access to the scanned photos.
Film scans: Multilens Navigator
A History of Flying and Photography In the Photogrammetry Division of the National Ocean Survey
Nightsat
Nightsat is a concept for a satellite system capable of global observation of the location, form and density of development within human settlements at moderate spatial resolution. The capability has been demonstrated by Austronaut Donald Pettit and others from the International Space Station.
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Changes in VIIRS Nighttime Lights and Flares in the Iran Region in March of 2026 5/6/2026
Changes in VIIRS Nighttime Lights and Flares in the Iran Region in March 2026
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Director Christopher Elvidge research looks at colorized satellite nighttime lights showing zone of dimming and brightening in the Persian Gulf region in March, 2026. May 6, 2026.
Ras Laffan LNG Thermal Profiles Suggest an Operational Shift at Multiple Trains 4/10/2026
Ras Laffan LNG Thermal Profiles Suggest an Operational Shift at Multiple Trains
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how a new VIIRS Nightfire analysis indicates that several sources in the Ras Laffan LNG cluster may contain both compressor and flare emissions within a single satellite pixel, with March 2026 observations pointing to a possible change in operating regime. April 10, 2026.
Kharg Island Refinery VIIRS Nightfire Temporal Profiles 4/1/2026
Kharg Island Refinery VIIRS Nightfire Temporal Profiles
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Director Christopher Elvidge writes about how the behaviour of the flares at three refineries on Kharg Island. Two out of three were affect by the war which started on February 28. One site began to have gaps in detections, with only five in the past month. Another site exhibits a large increase in the source area of the flares. April 1, 2026.
Recent War-Time Changes in Upstream Gas Flaring Across the Middle East Observed by VIIRS Nightfire 3/24/2026
Recent War-Time Changes in Upstream Gas Flaring Across the Middle East Observed by VIIRS Nightfire
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin and Director Morgan Bazilian write about how a change detector for the most recent steps in flaring regime since 1 January 2025 was applied to 2,225 upstream flares identified by VIIRS Nightfire across the Middle East. March 24, 2026.
Conflict monitoring with VIIRS Nightfire: the war in Ukraine 3/2/2026
Conflict monitoring with VIIRS Nightfire: the war in Ukraine
Merlijn I. Dingemanse, Earth Observation Group Researcher Associate Mikhail Zhizhin and Daniele Cerra write about how leveraging the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite’s Nightfire product, we extract signals of conflict across Ukraine, tracking the status of heavy industry, delineating the frontline, and detecting urban combat. March 2, 2026.
VIIRS Nightfire Super-Resolution Method for Multiyear Cataloging of Natural Gas Flaring Sites: 2012-2025 1/16/2026
VIIRS Nightfire Super-Resolution Method for Multiyear Cataloging of Natural Gas Flaring Sites: 2012-2025
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Mikhail Zhizhin, Christopher D. Elvidge, Tilottama Ghosh, Gregory Gleason, and Director Morgan Bazilian present a new method for mapping global gas flaring using a multiyear spatio-temporal database of VIIRS Nightfire (VNF) nighttime infrared detections from the Suomi NPP, NOAA-20, and NOAA-21 satellites. The method is designed to resolve closely spaced industrial combustion sources and to produce a stable, physically meaningful flare catalog suitable for long-term monitoring and emissions analysis. January 16, 2026.
Review of Long-Term Patterns in Nighttime VIIRS Detections of Lights, Boats and Offshore Lights, Fires, and Flares in S.E. Asia: 2012-2023 11/23/2025
Review of Long-Term Patterns in Nighttime VIIRS Detections of Lights, Boats and Offshore Lights, Fires, and Flares in S.E. Asia: 2012-2023
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Director Christopher Elvidge, Research Associates Tillotama Ghosh and Mikhail Zhizhin, and Director Morgan Bazilian write about the comprehensive multi-year composite research completed by the group for South East Asia using VNL, VBD, and VNF products. November 23, 2025.
IceSpec: An ice-core hyperspectral imaging framework 10/29/2025
IceSpec: An ice-core hyperspectral imaging framework
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Senior Research Associate Mikhail Zhizhin and research associates write about how IceSpec, a novel hyperspectral line-scan imaging system for ice cores, nondestructively captures light-scattering features via dark-field illumination. Its calibrated visible and near-infrared spectral data enhance analysis and archiving, advancing research on stratigraphic impurities, ice dynamics and paleoclimate. October 29, 2025.
An Improved Calibration for Satellite Estimation of Flared Gas Volumes from VIIRS Nighttime Data 9/8/2025
An Improved Calibration for Satellite Estimation of Flared Gas Volumes from VIIRS Nighttime Data
Payne Institute Earth Observation Group Mikhail Zhizhin, Christopher D. Elvidge, Tamara Sparks, Tilottama Ghosh, Morgan Bazilian and Feng-Chi Hsu write about how the VIIRS Nightfire (VNF) data product is particularly useful for monitoring of global natural gas flaring and estimation of flared gas volumes. In this paper we report on the development of an empirical calibration for estimating flared gas volumes based on VIIRS observations of flares running at low, medium, and high flared gas volumes. Tests were run with both single and double flares, with and without atmospheric correction. September 8, 2025.
Colorado School of Mines’ Earth Observation Group Releases Key Data for 2025 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report 7/22/2025
Colorado School of Mines’ Earth Observation Group Releases Key Data for 2025 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report
The Payne Institute contributed satellite data to the World Bank 2025 Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report. The research is based on satellite data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), underscores persistent challenges in reducing flaring intensity, which has remained largely unchanged over the past 15 years. July 22, 2025.
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