Global Atlas of Human Diurnal Rhythms from Nighttime Light

2013 global atlas of intercalibrated nighttime light (NTL) imagery capturing three distinct nocturnal overpass times (7:30 p.m., 1:30 a.m., and 4:30 a.m.). The data is synthesized into a composite color product, supporting analysis of the global diurnal rhythms of human activity. It provides a spatially consistent view of nighttime illumination patterns across the world.

Use Cases

• Mapping urban activity rhythms based on multi-temporal nighttime light intensity
• Analyzing regional differences in nocturnal human behavior from geospatial composites
• Studying the correlation between light emissions and socioeconomic indicators across the globe
• Validating models of human settlement and activity using satellite-derived time-series data

Strengths

• Provides a global, intercalibrated product for consistent cross-regional comparison
• Captures three distinct time points (7:30 p.m., 1:30 a.m., 4:30 a.m.) within a single night for 2013
• Released under a permissive CC-BY-4.0 license for broad reuse
• Dataset size of approximately 516 MB suggests a substantial raster coverage

Limitations

• Specific column names and data structure are not provided in the metadata
• Temporal coverage is limited to the single year 2013
• The exact spatial resolution and pixel values are not detailed in the available descriptions

Provenance

Source

Bin Wu, supporting the article 'Satellite observations reveal the global diurnal rhythms of human activity'

Collection Method

Synthesized from satellite-derived nighttime light imagery captured at three overpass times

Time Range

2013

Freshness

Last updated on 2026-03-19 (a future date, which may indicate a placeholder or error)

Geography

Global