{ "cells": [ { "cell_type": "markdown", "metadata": {}, "source": [ "[](https://colab.research.google.com/github/worldbank/OpenNightLights/blob/master/onl/tutorials/mod3_6_making_VIIRS_annual_composites.ipynb)\n", "\n", "\n", "# Making simple VIIRS-DNB annual composites (5 min)\n", "\n", "Temporal composites, such as annual composites, are created for satellite data for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it can be desirable to visualize or conduct trend analysis on a smoother, less dense time series, especially if you're comparing multiple data sources and need a common temporal unit of analysis, like a year.\n", "\n", "Often the aim is to reduce the noise that occurs with shorter time periods under the intuition that noise (e.g. via stochastic processes) will be minimalized, or \"canceled out\", when data are aggregated over longer time periods, whereas the true signal will be preserved or even strengthened relative to the noise levels.\n", "\n", "We've been working with DMSP-OLS data to this point. For this exercise, we'll work with the VIIRS-DNB data so you can get familiar with this source. Refer to {doc}`mod1_2_introduction_to_nighttime_light_data` for a refresher on the VIIRS-DNB dataset. \n", "\n", "We will create a simple annual composite of VIIRS-DNB by aggregating monthly composites in Google Earth Engine (GEE) using the `Reduce()` function on an ImageCollection.\n", "\n", "**Our tasks in this exercise:**\n", "1. Brief background on the VIIRS-DNB stray-light monthly composite data.\n", "2. Filter a selection of VIIRS-DNB data for the year 2015.\n", "3. Create an annual composite of 2015 using the Reduce function.\n", "4. Create a time series of annual composites from VIIRS-DNB monthly composites for 2015-2019.\n", "\n", "## Background on VIIRS-DNB monthly composites\n", "\n", "For this exercise, we're going to work with the VIIRS-Day/Night Band (DNB) image collection that has been corrected for stray-light and filtered for data quality, which includes cloud coverage. The daily images are aggregated into monthly composites. In Google Earth Engine, this Image Collection is: `NOAA/VIIRS/DNB/MONTHLY_V1/VCMSLCFG`\n", "\n", "