Importance of the time acquisition difference between DMSP/OLS and SNPP/VIIRS/DNB and the RAW trends in Europe

TL;DR

This paper examines how differences in acquisition times between DMSP-OLS and SNPP-VIIRS/DNB datasets affect the analysis of light pollution trends in Europe, highlighting the importance of accounting for temporal discrepancies.

Contribution

It introduces an analysis of the impact of acquisition time differences on light pollution trend interpretation using two satellite datasets in Europe.

Findings

Acquisition time differences influence perceived light pollution levels.

Late-night dimming policies affect satellite light measurements.

Country-specific practices cause variability in light pollution trends.

Abstract

Using the SNPP-VIIRS/DNB and the DMSP-OLS it is possible to have an idea of the evolution of the light pollution until the LEDs started to appear massively. Another of the issues of dealing with these two datasets is the different time of acquisition. In general this means that countries get dimmer late at night, although that is not always true. A counterexample of this is the country of the Netherlands because of the opening of the shutters late at night. Other countries have a much bigger drop late at night because of some practices like the total or partial turn off of public and private lighting but also dimming policies. Examples of this are countries like France, Austria and the UK.