Geronimo, R., Franklin, E., Brainard, R., Elvidge, C., Santos, M., Venegas, R., et al. (2018). Mapping Fishing Activities and Suitable Fishing Grounds Using Nighttime Satellite Images and Maximum Entropy Modelling. Remote Sensing, 10(10), 1604.
Abstract: Fisheries surveys over broad spatial areas are crucial in defining and delineating appropriate fisheries management areas. Yet accurate mapping and tracking of fishing activities remain largely restricted to developed countries with sufficient resources to use automated identification systems and vessel monitoring systems. For many countries, the spatial extent and boundaries of fishing grounds are not completely known. We used satellite images at night to detect fishing grounds in the Philippines for fishing gears that use powerful lights to attract coastal pelagic fishes. We used nightly boat detection data, extracted by U.S. NOAA from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), for the Philippines from 2012 to 2016, covering 1713 nights, to examine spatio-temporal patterns of fishing activities in the country. Using density-based clustering, we identified 134 core fishing areas (CFAs) ranging in size from 6 to 23,215 km2 within the Philippines’ contiguous maritime zone. The CFAs had different seasonal patterns and range of intensities in total light output, possibly reflecting differences in multi-gear and multi-species signatures of fishing activities in each fishing ground. Using maximum entropy modeling, we identified bathymetry and chlorophyll as the main environmental predictors of spatial occurrence of these CFAs when analyzed together, highlighting the multi-gear nature of the CFAs. Applications of the model to specific CFAs identified different environmental drivers of fishing distribution, coinciding with known oceanographic associations for a CFA’s dominant target species. This case study highlights nighttime satellite images as a useful source of spatial fishing effort information for fisheries, especially in Southeast Asia.
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Kohiyama, M., Hayashi, H., Maki, N., Higashida, M., Kroehl, H. W., Elvidge, C. D., et al. (2004). Early damaged area estimation system using DMSP-OLS night-time imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 25(11), 2015–2036.
Abstract: The disaster information system, the Early Damaged Area Estimation System (EDES), was developed to estimate damaged areas of natural disaster using the night-time imagery of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Linescan System (DMSP-OLS). The system employs two estimation methods to detect the city lights loss or reduction as possible impacted areas; one is the bi-temporal images (BTI) method and the other is the time-series images (TSI) method. Both methods are based on significance tests assuming that brightness of city lights fluctuates as normal random variables, and the BTI method is simplified by introducing the assumption that the standard deviation of city lights fluctuation is constant. The validity of the estimation method is discussed based on the result of the application to the 2001 Western India earthquake disaster. The estimation results identify the damaged areas distant from the epicentre fairly well, especially when using the TSI method. The system is designed to estimate the global urban damage and to provide geographic information through the Internet within 24 h after a severe disaster event. The information is expected to support the disaster response and relief activities of governments and non-governmental organizations.
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You, X., & Monahan, K. M. (2017). A thirst for development: mapping water stress using night-time stable lights as predictors of province-level water stress in China. Area, 49(4), 477–485.
Abstract: Given the rapid development within China, the inequality of available water resources has been increasingly of interest. Current methods for assessing water stress are inadequate for province‐scale rapid monitoring. A more responsive indicator at a finer scale is needed to understand the distribution of water stress in China. This paper selected Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line‐scan System night‐time stable lights as a proxy for water stress at the province level in China from 2004 to 2012, as night‐time lights are closely linked with population density, electricity consumption and other social, economic and environmental indicators associated with water stress. The linear regression results showed the intensity of night‐time lights can serve as a predictive tool to assess water stress across provinces with an R2 from 0.797 to 0.854. The model worked especially well in some regions, such as East China, North China and South West China. Nonetheless, confounding factors interfered with the predictive relationship, including population density, level of economic development, natural resource endowment and industrial structures, etc. The model was not greatly improved by building a multi‐variable linear regression including agricultural and industrial indicators. A straightforward predictor of water stress using remotely sensed data was developed.
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Baskaran, T., Min, B., & Uppal, Y. (2015). Election cycles and electricity provision: Evidence from a quasi-experiment with Indian special elections. Journal of Public Economics, 126, 64–73.
Abstract: We present evidence from India showing that state governments induce electoral cycles in electricity service provision. Our data and research strategy allow us to build on models of political business cycles and targeted distribution in two important ways. First, we demonstrate that by manipulating the flow of critical inputs into economic activity like electricity, elected leaders can influence economic outcomes even in contexts where they have constrained fiscal capacity. Second, we identify the effect of elections on electricity provision by focusing on special elections held for exogenous reasons. Our results show that state governments induce substantive increases in electricity service to constituencies that hold special elections. Manipulation of the power supply is stronger in contested constituencies and during special elections held in states where the government commands only a small majority. Overall, we find no evidence of positive welfare effects from the electoral manipulation of electricity supply.
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Agnew, J., Gillespie, T. W., Gonzalez, J., & Min, B. (2008). Baghdad Nights: Evaluating the US Military ‘Surge’ Using Nighttime Light Signatures. Environ Plan A, 40(10), 2285–2295.
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