An estimate of the city population in China using DMSP night-time satellite imagery

The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) has a unique capability to detect the nocturnal observation of artificial lighting which reflect the spatial distribution of human population. However, most previous studies have focused on the developed countries. The objective of this article is to explore if the models of population derived from DMSP OLS data have the potential to map the size and spatial distribution of the human population in China. After the correlation analysis between the population density and light intensity in county scale, we proposed an empirical algorithm based on night-light images. The estimated population density in each county mainly agreed with the census data. This result showed that there was signification linear relationship between the two indexes we have analyzed. It has proven the DMSP night-time images were a valuable data source for regional studies, modeling, and planning activities, especially for regions where current data were lacking.