Title
Coloring Panchromatic Nighttime Satellite Images: Comparing the Performance of Several Machine Learning Methods
Abstract
Artificial light-at-night (ALAN), emitted from the ground and visible from space, marks human presence on earth. Since the launch of the Suomi National Polar Partnership satellite with the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day-Night Band (VIIRS/DNB) onboard, global nighttime images have significantly improved; however, they remained panchromatic. Although multispectral images are also available, they are either commercial or free of charge, but sporadic. In this article, we use several machine learning techniques, such as linear, kernel, random forest regressions, and elastic map approach, to transform panchromatic VIIRS/DBN into red, green, blue (RGB) images. To validate the proposed approach, we analyze RGB images for eight urban areas worldwide. We link RGB values, obtained from ISS photographs, to panchromatic ALAN intensities, their pixel-wise differences, and several land-use-type proxies. Each dataset is used for model training, while other datasets are used for model validation. The analysis shows that model-estimated RGB images demonstrate a high degree of correspondence with the original RGB images from the ISS database. Yet, estimates, based on linear, kernel, and random forest regressions, provide better correlations, contrast similarity, and lower WMSEs levels, while RGB images, generated using elastic map approach, provide higher consistency of predictions.
Year
DOI
Venue
2022
10.1109/TGRS.2021.3076011
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Artificial light-at-night (ALAN), elastic map approach, International Space Station (ISS), multiple linear regression, non-linear kernel regression, panchromatic nighttime imagery, RGB nighttime imagery, validation, Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day-Night Band (VIIRS/DNB)
Journal
60
ISSN
Citations 
PageRank 
0196-2892
0
0.34
References 
Authors
0
6
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
N. Rybnikova100.34
Boris A. Portnov241.90
E. M. Mirkes300.34
Andrei Yu. Zinovyev49311.87
A. Brook500.34
Alexander N Gorban69016.13