The Defense Meteorological Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System
(OLS) has a unique capability to detect visible and near-infrared (VNIR)
emission sources at night.
This collection contains global nighttime lights images with no sensor
saturation. The sensor is typically operated at a high-gain setting to
enable the detection of moonlit clouds. However, with six bit quantization
and limited dynamic range, the recorded data are saturated in the bright
cores of urban centers. A limited set of observations at low lunar
illumination were obtained where the gain of the detector was set
significantly lower than its typical operational setting (sometimes by a
factor of 100). Sparse data acquired at low-gain settings were combined
with the operational data acquired at high-gain settings to produce the set
of global nighttime lights images with no sensor saturation. Data from
different satellites were merged and blended into the final product in order
to gain maximum coverage. For more information, see this
readme
file from the provider.
Image and data processing by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center.
DMSP data collected by US Air Force Weather Agency.
Bands
Pixel Size 927.67 meters
Bands
Name
Min
Max
Pixel Size
Description
avg_vis
0*
6060.6*
meters
Average digital band numbers from observations with cloud-free light detection.
cf_cvg
0*
175*
meters
Cloud-free coverages, the total number of observations that
went into each 30-arc second grid cell. This image can be used to identify
areas with low numbers of observations where the quality is reduced.
* estimated min or max value
Terms of Use
Terms of Use
NOAA data, information, and products, regardless of the method of delivery,
are not subject to copyright and carry no restrictions on their subsequent
use by the public. Once obtained, they may be put to any lawful use. The
forgoing data is in the public domain and is being provided without
restriction on use and distribution.
The Defense Meteorological Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) has a unique capability to detect visible and near-infrared (VNIR) emission sources at night. This collection contains global nighttime lights images with no sensor saturation. The sensor is typically operated at a high-gain setting to enable the detection of moonlit clouds. …
[[["Easy to understand","easyToUnderstand","thumb-up"],["Solved my problem","solvedMyProblem","thumb-up"],["Other","otherUp","thumb-up"]],[["Missing the information I need","missingTheInformationINeed","thumb-down"],["Too complicated / too many steps","tooComplicatedTooManySteps","thumb-down"],["Out of date","outOfDate","thumb-down"],["Samples / code issue","samplesCodeIssue","thumb-down"],["Other","otherDown","thumb-down"]],[],[[["\u003cp\u003eThe NOAA/DMSP-OLS/CALIBRATED_LIGHTS_V4 dataset provides global nighttime lights images with no sensor saturation, covering 1996 to 2011.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eIt utilizes data from the Defense Meteorological Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) to detect visible and near-infrared emissions at night.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe dataset includes two bands: 'avg_vis' representing average visible light and 'cf_cvg' indicating cloud-free coverage.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eImages are at a 30 arc second resolution, which is approximately 927 meters.\u003c/p\u003e\n"],["\u003cp\u003eThe data is in the public domain and freely available for use and distribution without restriction.\u003c/p\u003e\n"]]],[],null,["Dataset Availability\n: 1996-03-16T00:00:00Z--2011-07-31T00:00:00Z\n\nDataset Provider\n:\n\n\n [Earth Observation Group, Payne Institute for Public Policy, Colorado School of Mines](https://eogdata.mines.edu/dmsp/download_radcal.html)\n\nTags\n:\n [dmsp](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/dmsp) [eog](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/eog) [imagery](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/imagery) [lights](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/lights) [nighttime](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/nighttime) [ols](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/ols) [population](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/population) [radiance](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/radiance) [visible](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/visible) [yearly](/earth-engine/datasets/tags/yearly) \ncalibrated \n\nDescription \nThe Defense Meteorological Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System\n(OLS) has a unique capability to detect visible and near-infrared (VNIR)\nemission sources at night.\n\nThis collection contains global nighttime lights images with no sensor\nsaturation. The sensor is typically operated at a high-gain setting to\nenable the detection of moonlit clouds. However, with six bit quantization\nand limited dynamic range, the recorded data are saturated in the bright\ncores of urban centers. A limited set of observations at low lunar\nillumination were obtained where the gain of the detector was set\nsignificantly lower than its typical operational setting (sometimes by a\nfactor of 100). Sparse data acquired at low-gain settings were combined\nwith the operational data acquired at high-gain settings to produce the set\nof global nighttime lights images with no sensor saturation. Data from\ndifferent satellites were merged and blended into the final product in order\nto gain maximum coverage. For more information, see this\n[readme](https://eogdata.mines.edu/dmsp/radcal_readme.txt)\nfile from the provider.\n\nImage and data processing by NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center.\nDMSP data collected by US Air Force Weather Agency.\n\nBands\n\n\n**Pixel Size**\n\n927.67 meters\n\n**Bands**\n\n| Name | Min | Max | Description |\n|-----------|-----|----------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|\n| `avg_vis` | 0\\* | 6060.6\\* | Average digital band numbers from observations with cloud-free light detection. |\n| `cf_cvg` | 0\\* | 175\\* | Cloud-free coverages, the total number of observations that went into each 30-arc second grid cell. This image can be used to identify areas with low numbers of observations where the quality is reduced. |\n\n\\* estimated min or max value\n\nTerms of Use\n\n**Terms of Use**\n\nNOAA data, information, and products, regardless of the method of delivery,\nare not subject to copyright and carry no restrictions on their subsequent\nuse by the public. Once obtained, they may be put to any lawful use. The\nforgoing data is in the public domain and is being provided without\nrestriction on use and distribution.\n\nExplore with Earth Engine **Important:** Earth Engine is a platform for petabyte-scale scientific analysis and visualization of geospatial datasets, both for public benefit and for business and government users. Earth Engine is free to use for research, education, and nonprofit use. To get started, please [register for Earth Engine access.](https://console.cloud.google.com/earth-engine)\n\nCode Editor (JavaScript) \n\n```javascript\nvar dataset = ee.ImageCollection('NOAA/DMSP-OLS/CALIBRATED_LIGHTS_V4')\n .filter(ee.Filter.date('2010-01-01', '2010-12-31'));\nvar nighttimeLights = dataset.select('avg_vis');\nvar nighttimeLightsVis = {\n min: 3.0,\n max: 60.0,\n};\nMap.setCenter(7.82, 49.1, 4);\nMap.addLayer(nighttimeLights, nighttimeLightsVis, 'Nighttime Lights');\n```\n[Open in Code Editor](https://code.earthengine.google.com/?scriptPath=Examples:Datasets/NOAA/NOAA_DMSP-OLS_CALIBRATED_LIGHTS_V4) \n[DMSP OLS: Global Radiance-Calibrated Nighttime Lights Version 4, Defense Meteorological Program Operational Linescan System](/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/NOAA_DMSP-OLS_CALIBRATED_LIGHTS_V4) \nThe Defense Meteorological Program (DMSP) Operational Line-Scan System (OLS) has a unique capability to detect visible and near-infrared (VNIR) emission sources at night. This collection contains global nighttime lights images with no sensor saturation. The sensor is typically operated at a high-gain setting to enable the detection of moonlit clouds. ... \nNOAA/DMSP-OLS/CALIBRATED_LIGHTS_V4, dmsp,eog,imagery,lights,nighttime,ols,population,radiance,visible,yearly \n1996-03-16T00:00:00Z/2011-07-31T00:00:00Z \n-65 -180 75 180 \nGoogle Earth Engine \nhttps://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets\n\n- [](https://doi.org/https://eogdata.mines.edu/dmsp/download_radcal.html)\n- [](https://doi.org/https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/NOAA_DMSP-OLS_CALIBRATED_LIGHTS_V4)"]]
