Modelling US light pollution

Olsen, Reed Neil; Gallaway, Terrel; Mitchell, David M.

doi:10.1080/09640568.2013.774268

Cited by 29 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…For example, within the northeastern U.S., migrating birds aloft are likely exposed consistently to the skyglow of large metropolitan areas, which can be perceived up to 300 km away (Olsen et al . ). Little is known about how migrating birds adjust their in‐flight orientation, but cues based on both celestial light and the Earth's magnetic field are most likely involved (Chernetsov 2017), and the avian magnetic sense can be confounded by polarized light (Muheim et al .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Artificial light at night confounds broad‐scale habitat use by migrating birds

et al. 2018

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With many of the world's migratory bird populations in alarming decline, broad-scale assessments of responses to migratory hazards may prove crucial to successful conservation efforts. Most birds migrate at night through increasingly light-polluted skies. Bright light sources can attract airborne migrants and lead to collisions with structures, but might also influence selection of migratory stopover habitat and thereby acquisition of food resources. We demonstrate, using multi-year weather radar measurements of nocturnal migrants across the northeastern U.S., that autumnal migrant stopover density increased at regional scales with proximity to the brightest areas, but decreased within a few kilometers of brightly-lit sources. This finding implies broad-scale attraction to artificial light while airborne, impeding selection for extensive forest habitat. Given that high-quality stopover habitat is critical to successful migration, and hindrances during migration can decrease fitness, artificial lights present a potentially heightened conservation concern for migratory bird populations.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Artificial light at night confounds broad‐scale habitat use by migrating birds

et al. 2018

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“…Policymakers interested in reducing energy consumption and waste light emission could use such data to investigate whether such facilities are overlit compared to others worldwide [44]. Although DNB has poor resolution compared to aerial photos, statistical analysis of the data on a large spatial scale could be used to understand the most important sources of light emission [45,46]. Future analyses similar to Case Study 2 could also investigate whether the observed difference in the brightest areas of Western and Central European capitals is due to cultural differences in lighting.…”

Section: Commentarymentioning

confidence: 99%

High-Resolution Imagery of Earth at Night: New Sources, Opportunities and Challenges

et al. 2014

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Images of the Earth at night are an exceptional source of human geographical data, because artificial light highlights human activity in a way that daytime scenes do not. The quality of such imagery dramatically improved in 2012 with two new spaceborne detectors. The higher resolution and precision of the data considerably expands the scope of possible applications. In this paper, we introduce the two new data sources and discuss their potential limitations using three case studies. Data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day-Night Band (VIIRS DNB) is shown to have sufficient resolution to identify major sources of waste light, such as airports, and we find considerable variation in the peak radiance of the world's largest airports. Nighttime imagery brings "cultural footprints" to light: DNB data reveals that American cities emit many times more light per capita than German cities and that cities in the former East of Germany emit more light per capita than those in the former West. Photographs from the International Space Station, the second new source of imagery, provide some limited spectral information, as well as street-level resolution. These images may be of greater use for epidemiological studies than the lower resolution DNB data.Remote Sens. 2015, 7 2

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“…Recently, economists (Gallaway et al 2010;Olsen et al 2013) and other social scientists (Claudio 2009;Lyytimäki et al 2012) have joined the debate. Lighting engineers have traditionally focused on developing better -and often brighteroutdoor lighting, but some attention has also been directed towards assessing and managing the light pollution (Brons et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Voices for the darkness: online survey on public perceptions on light pollution as an environmental problem

Lyytimäki

Rinne

2013

Journal of Integrative Environmental Sciences

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Light pollution is increasingly affecting ecosystems and human health. We present results from an online survey aimed to chart what aspects of lighting are considered harmful and how light pollution is perceived by the public. We focus on affluent societies by using Finland as an example of a northern industrialised country. The survey generated 2053 responses, particularly from well-educated urban persons living in residential areas and interested in astronomy or environmental issues. The results show that the lighting of residential areas and lighting serving traffic are considered the most common sources of light pollution while commercial lighting is perceived as the most annoying form of light use. Respondents commonly considered light pollution as a disturbance for outdoor recreation and relaxation. The results suggest that the ecological and health effects of light pollution emphasised by the research are poorly known by the people emphasising the aesthetic aspects. The results indicate relatively wide but passive acceptance for policy measures aimed at reducing light pollution.

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Modelling US light pollution

Cited by 29 publications

References 43 publications

Artificial light at night confounds broad‐scale habitat use by migrating birds

Artificial light at night confounds broad‐scale habitat use by migrating birds

High-Resolution Imagery of Earth at Night: New Sources, Opportunities and Challenges

Voices for the darkness: online survey on public perceptions on light pollution as an environmental problem

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