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New group on nighttime light remote sensing grounded in the GI

As of October 1, Christopher Kyba has taken up a new post as Heisenberg Professor for Nighttime Lights Remote Sensing. The working group will advance European capabilities in this expanding subfield of remote sensing through both research and teaching activities.

Artificial light is intrinsically connected to human activity, and therefore provides information that is complementary to that which can be obtained via infrared, radar, or visible band views of Earth during the day. The working group will develop methods to derive information from the spectral, temporal, and spatial patterns of artificial light emissions, improve understanding of the systematic variability of light emissions from place to place and over time, and lead the European effort to develop next generation satellites designed specifically for observing nighttime lights.

Prof. Kyba is supported by a 5-year grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG) under the Heisenberg Programme, for his project entlitled “LongNight”. Two of the specific aims of the grant are to develop undergraduate and masters level courses on the topic of Nighttime Light Remote Sensing, and to aim to explain the causes of large disparities in the observed per-capita light emissions from different European countries and cities.

In order to improve networking among remote sensing scientists interested in working on nighttime lights, the working group is launching an online seminar series that will feature talks from researchers around the world. The first seminar on October 6 will be presented by American researchers examining electrification in developing countries. At the second seminar on December 3, Swiss researchers will present the capabilities of the SDGSAT-1 for ecological applications.

The working group will also support the continued work of citizen scientists in the co-designed “Nachtlichter” project, which has been running since 2018. Citizen scientists interested in joining the project should contact Lea Morgenroth.

A funded PhD position on the topic of nighttime light remote sensing will be advertised soon. External researchers interested in working with the group as part of a research visit, secondment, or sabbatical are encouraged to contact Prof. Kyba directly.



01.10.2025
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Autor:in:
Christopher Kyba

Schlagworte:
Nighttime Lights Remote Sensing, GI-News