Nighttime Light as a Proxy for Socioeconomic and Environmental Change in Urban and Mining Contexts

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_20How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Nighttime light data; Mongolia; Mine area; Correlation analysis

Abstract

This study applies Nighttime Light (NTL) data in conjunction with socioeconomic and environmental parameters to investigate two contrasting sites in Mongolia: the urban area of Ulaanbaatar and the Energy Resources LLC (ER) open-pit coking coal mine site. The primary objective is to assess the extent to which NTL intensity correlates with key indicators, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), population, energy use per capita (EUPC), and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.

In Ulaanbaatar, NTL data effectively captures patterns of urban expansion and exhibits strong alignment with economic development and demographic growth. In contrast, the NTL signal at the ER mining site highlights activity zones and infrastructure associated with coal extraction, demonstrating a more variable spatial and temporal pattern that is responsive to market fluctuations and logistical adjustments.

The study further examines innovative interpretations of NTL in both urban and industrial contexts. In urban settings, NTL typically reflects complex, large-scale mixed-use lighting environments. Conversely, in mining areas, NTL is capable of distinctly delineating functional zones, including extraction areas and transportation corridors. Notably, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the relationship between NTL and conventional indicators was disrupted. Despite significant declines in GDP, CO2 emissions, and energy consumption, both NTL intensity and population levels remained relatively stable. This decoupling suggests that NTL may have limitations as a proxy indicator during periods of global or systemic disruption.

Overall, the results highlight the utility of NTL data as both a quantitative metric and a visual diagnostic tool for spatial monitoring and planning in data-scarce contexts such as Mongolia, where official statistics are often limited, delayed, or inconsistent.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Munkh-Erdene Tuvshinkhuu
AU  - Enkhjargal Sodnomdarjaa
AU  - Gantuya Ganbat
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/25
TI  - Nighttime Light as a Proxy for Socioeconomic and Environmental Change in Urban and Mining Contexts
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference Resources and Technology (RESAT 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 275
EP  - 287
SN  - 2352-5401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-928-5_20
ID  - Tuvshinkhuu2025
ER  -