Estimating population and energy consumption in Brazilian Amazonia using DMSP night-time satellite data

This paper describes a methodology to assess the evidence of human presence and human activities in the Brazilian Amazonia region using DMSP/OLS night-time satellite sensor imagery. It consists on exploring the potential of the sensor data for regional studies analysing the correlation between DMSP night-time light foci and population, and the correlation between DMSP night-time light foci and electrical power consumption. In the mosaic of DMSP/OLS night-time light imagery from September 1999, 248 towns were detected from a total of 749 municı́pios in Amazonia. It was found that the night-time light foci were related to human presence in the region, including urban settlements, mining, industries, and civil construction, observed in ancillary Landsat TM and JERS imagery data. The analysis considering only the state of Pará revealed a linear relation (R2=0.79) between urban population from the 1996 census data and DMSP night-time light foci. Similarly, electrical power consumption for 1999 was linearly correlated with DMSP night-time light foci. Thus the DMSP/OLS imagery can be used as an indicator of human presence in the analysis of spatial-temporal patterns in the Amazonia region. These results are very useful considering the continental dimension of Amazonia, the absence of demographic information between the official population census (every 10 years), and the dynamics and complexity of human activities in the region. Therefore DMSP night-time light foci are a valuable data source for global studies, modelling, and planning activities when the human dimension must be considered throughout Amazonia.