Summary of current status of VBD development and research areas.

1. VIIRS Boat Detection (VBD)
Current status and research areas
Christopher D. Elvidge, Kimberly
Baugh, Feng-Chi Hsu, Tilottama
Ghosh, Mikhail Zhizhin
Earth Observation Group
Payne Institute for Public Policy
Colorado School of Mine
celvidge@mines.edu
December 5, 2019
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2. The Visible Infrared
Imaging Radiometer
Suite (VIIRS) primary
mission is weather
prediction. With 14
orbits per day – VIIRS
collects a complete
set of day and night
images every 24
hours.

3. Low light
imaging data
are collected
at night to
enable
detection of
moonlit
clouds. Electric
lighting is also
detected.
Manila, March 23, 2016

4. Offshore lights
are frequently
boats.
Mindoro
Strait
March 23,
2016.
Mindoro Island
Busuanga
Island
Boats
Boats
Boats
Flare

5. Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)
• Joint program between NASA and NOAA.
• First VIIRS (SNPP) launched in 2011 – usable data 2012
to present.
• Second VIIRS (NOAA-20) launched 2017 – usable data
2018 to present.
• Three more instruments planned to ensure continuity
past 2030.
• Polar orbit – 100 minutes, 3000 km swath, 14 orbits
per day, 22 spectral channels, near 1 km pixels.
• Global coverage – always turned on.
• Source data are available on an open access basis.
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6. VIIRS Boat Detection Data Flow
VIIRS in 101 minute long orbit Download once per orbit at
Svalbard ground station
Data arrive at Mines about 2 hours
from the collection
Via undersea data
cables
NOAA National Weather ServiceVIIRS boat detection data
NOAA’s
National
Satellite
Operations
Facility
(NSOF),
Suitland,
Maryland

7. Algorithms run on images, output points, vast
data volume reduction
VIIRS day/night
band (DNB)
nighttime
image data
Boat detection
data (points)
300 GB 3-5 MB

8. Nightly global boat detection product
with ~four hour temporal latency
Detections are sorted into classes using quality flag (QF) values. The placemarks are
sized small, medium and large based on the observed radiance.

9. Last nights data – December 5, 2019
Day / night band data granule
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3000 km wide
570 km high China
Korea
Japan
Boats
Detections
Green = strong
Cyan = weak

10. Last nights data – December 5, 2019
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Yellow
Sea
Korea
Jeju
Detections
Green = strong
Cyan = weak

11. Last nights data – December 5, 2019
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Detections
Sailing boat = strong
Target = weak
Source image VBD kmz

12. Summary
• The VIIRS has a remarkable capability to detect lights on boats.
• Many fishing boats in Asia and other areas carry 100,000 watts of
unshielded lighting.
• The detection limit is in the range of 1000 watts.
• The detection is blocked by heavy cloud cover, but many vessels
are bright enough to be detected under optically thin clouds.
• The Earth Observation Group developed algorithms and
processing chain to make a near real time VIIRS boat detection
(VBD) product.
• VBD is one of the few global, near real time sources of vessel
detections.
• VBD data are disjoint with AIS and VMS. Very little overlap
between the transponder tracks and light detections.
• EOG is seeking to expand the utilization of VBD data.

13. VBD publications
• Elvidge, Christopher, Mikhail Zhizhin, Kimberly Baugh, and
Feng-Chi Hsu. "Automatic boat identification system for
VIIRS low light imaging data." Remote Sensing 7, no. 3
(2015): 3020-3036.
• Elvidge, Christopher D., Tilottama Ghosh, Kimberly Baugh,
Mikhail Zhizhin, Feng-Chi Hsu, Nilo Selim Katada, Wilmon
Penalosa, and Bui Quang Hung. "Rating the effectiveness of
fishery closures with Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer
Suite boat detection data." Frontiers in Marine Science 5
(2018): 132.
• Feng-Chi, Hsu, Christopher D. Elvidge and others “Cross-
matching VIIRS Boat Detections with Vessel Monitoring
System Tracks in Indonesia” in review.
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