Insect populations have declined significantly over the last few decades. Anthropogenic factors such as deforestation, land-use change, climate change, and pesticides play a major role in insect ...population decline. In addition to those factors, insects also face challenges from air, noise, and light pollution derived from human activities. Light pollution in the form of artificial light at night (ALAN) is generally known to be one of the factors driving insect declines but it has rarely been studied in Indonesia. In this literature review, we collected empirical evidence from previous studies to provide a comprehensive report on the impact of ALAN on insects. Most studies demonstrate a decline in insect populations in areas with high ALAN intensity, such as urban areas. Furthermore, ALAN was reported to disrupt insect visual systems, which results in disturbances to predator avoidance and foraging movements. Until now, most work related to artificial light in Indonesia have focused on light as a method of controlling pests. Hence, studies related to artificial light as a pollutant are urgently needed to increase our understanding of the effects of ALAN on the survival of organisms, especially insects. Future research must seek suitable solutions to create environmentally and ecologically friendly conditions for various organisms, especially those susceptible to the negative effects of light, such as insects.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global change driver but how it interacts with plant invasions is unclear. Determining this requires understanding direct effects of ALAN on physiology, ...phenology, growth, and fitness of both invasive and native plant species and its indirect effects mediated through mutualistic and/or antagonistic interactions.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a global change driver but how it interacts with plant invasions is unclear. Determining this requires understanding direct effects of ALAN on physiology, phenology, growth, and fitness of both invasive and native plant species and its indirect effects mediated through mutualistic and/or antagonistic interactions.
Bridge illumination gave rise to night-time illuminated paths across aquatic systems. However, if bridge artificial light at night (ALAN) reach waterbodies, it can result in polarised light pollution ...(PLP), which might alter the optical conditions of a river by night and potentially interfere with moonlight polarisation signals reflected off the water’s surface. It is a night-time phenomenon that can detrimentally change the behaviour of organisms sensitive to horizontally reflected polarised moonlight, a navigational cue and signal known to be used by flying water-seeking insects to detect suitable aquatic habitats to reproduce and lay eggs. In this study, we quantify the reflection of ALAN-induced polarisation patterns at the water’s surface near seven illuminated bridges crossing the river Spree in Berlin. The photometric data shows that bridge illumination induces PLP, which reflects from the water’s surface when measured at specific locations in space considered as potential flying paths for polarotactic aquatic insects. ALAN-induced polarisation findings at illuminated bridges suggest that PLP is a pollutant that illuminates aquatic areas. It requires better research as it can potentially affect polarimetric navigation in flying aquatic insects. As the extent of light pollution reaches riverine systems and aquatic habitats, the potential effects of PLP on freshwaters need the proper development of sustainable lighting solutions that can aid in preserving riverine nightscapes.
Understanding the causes and potential mitigations of light pollution requires measuring and monitoring artificial light at night (ALAN). We review how ALAN is measured, both from the ground and ...through remote sensing by satellites in Earth orbit. A variety of techniques are described, including single-channel photometers, all-sky cameras, and drones. Spectroscopic differences between light sources can be used to determine which are most responsible for light pollution, but they complicate the interpretation of photometric data. The variability of Earth's atmosphere leads to difficulty in comparisons between datasets. Theoretical models provide complementary information to calibrate experiments and interpret their results. Here, we identify several shortcomings and challenges in current approaches to measuring light pollution and suggest ways forward.
Measuring night sky brightness: methods and challenges Hänel, Andreas; Posch, Thomas; Ribas, Salvador J. ...
Journal of quantitative spectroscopy & radiative transfer,
January 2018, 2018-01-00, Letnik:
205
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
•First comprehensive overview paper on techniques for measuring night sky brightness.•Discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of 1d photometric, 2d photometric and spectroscopic techniques.•Pros ...and cons of deriving long time series versus a comprehensive characterization of an astronomical site at a given time.•Providing a set of reference values on night sky brightness, some of which are hard to find in the literature.•Containing Examples of 2d maps as well as of spectra of the night sky.
Measuring the brightness of the night sky has become an increasingly important topic in recent years, as artificial lights and their scattering by the Earth’s atmosphere continue spreading around the globe. Several instruments and techniques have been developed for this task. We give an overview of these, and discuss their strengths and limitations. The different quantities that can and should be derived when measuring the night sky brightness are discussed, as well as the procedures that have been and still need to be defined in this context. We conclude that in many situations, calibrated consumer digital cameras with fisheye lenses provide the best relation between ease-of-use and wealth of obtainable information on the night sky. While they do not obtain full spectral information, they are able to sample the complete sky in a period of minutes, with colour information in three bands. This is important, as given the current global changes in lamp spectra, changes in sky radiance observed only with single band devices may lead to incorrect conclusions regarding long term changes in sky brightness. The acquisition of all-sky information is desirable, as zenith-only information does not provide an adequate characterization of a site. Nevertheless, zenith-only single-band one-channel devices such as the “Sky Quality Meter” continue to be a viable option for long-term studies of night sky brightness and for studies conducted from a moving platform. Accurate interpretation of such data requires some understanding of the colour composition of the sky light. We recommend supplementing long-term time series derived with such devices with periodic all-sky sampling by a calibrated camera system and calibrated luxmeters or luminance meters.
Artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts natural light cycles, with biological impacts that span from behaviour of individual organisms to ecosystem functions, and across bacteria, fungi, plants and ...animals. Global consequences have almost invariably been inferred from the geographic distribution of ALAN. How ALAN is distributed in environmental space, and the extent to which combinations of environmental conditions with natural light cycles have been lost, is also key. Globally (between 60°N and 56°S), we ordinated four bioclimatic variables at 1.61 * 1.21 km resolution to map the position and density of terrestrial pixels within nighttime environmental space. We then used the Black Marble Nighttime Lights product to determine where direct ALAN emissions were present in environmental space in 2012 and how these had expanded in environmental space by 2022. Finally, we used the World Atlas of Artificial Sky Brightness to determine the proportion of environmental space that is unaffected by ALAN across its spatial distribution. We found that by 2012 direct ALAN emissions occurred across 71.9 % of possible nighttime terrestrial environmental conditions, with temperate nighttime environments and highly modified habitats disproportionately impacted. From 2012 to 2022 direct ALAN emissions primarily grew within 34.4 % of environmental space where it was already present, with this growth concentrated in tropical environments. Additionally considering skyglow, just 13.2 % of environmental space now only experiences natural light cycles throughout its distribution. With opportunities to maintain much of environmental space under such cycles fast disappearing, the removal, reduction and amelioration of ALAN from areas of environmental space in which it is already widespread is critical.
Display omitted
•Artificial light at night has a multitude of ecological and environmental impacts.•How it is distributed in environmental space is key to understanding these impacts.•Direct emissions are now present across 71.9 % of environmental space.•Only 13.2 % of environmental space is undisturbed by skyglow across its distribution.•Protecting darkness across environmental conditions increases ecosystem resilience.
ABSTRACT
The population of artificial satellites and space debris orbiting the Earth imposes non-negligible constraints on both space operations and ground-based optical and radio astronomy. The ...ongoing deployment of several satellite ‘mega-constellations’ in the 2020s represents an additional threat that raises significant concerns. The expected severity of its unwanted consequences is still under study, including radio interference and information loss by satellite streaks appearing in science images. In this Letter, we report a new skyglow effect produced by space objects: increased night sky brightness caused by sunlight reflected and scattered by that large set of orbiting bodies whose direct radiance is a diffuse component when observed with the naked eye or with low angular resolution photometric instruments. According to our preliminary estimates, the zenith luminance of this additional light pollution source may have already reached ∼20 $\mu$cd m−2, which amounts to an approximately 10 per cent increase over the brightness of the night sky determined by natural sources of light. This is the critical limit adopted in 1979 by the International Astronomical Union for the light pollution level not to be exceeded at the sites of astronomical observatories.
Aims.
We measured the Sloan
g
′ magnitudes of the Starlink’s STARLINK-1130 (Darksat) and 1113 low Earth orbit (LEO) communication satellites to determine the effectiveness of the Darksat darkening ...treatment at 475.4 nm.
Methods.
Two observations of the Starlink’s Darksat LEO communication satellite were conducted on 2020/02/08 and 2020/03/06 using Sloan
r
′ and
g
′ filters, respectively. A second satellite, STARLINK-1113, was observed on 2020/03/06 using a Sloan
g
′ filter. The initial observation on 2020/02/08 was a test observation conducted when Darksat was still in the process of manoeuvring to its nominal orbit and orientation. Based on the successful test observation, the first main observation took place on 2020/03/06, along with an observation of the second Starlink satellite.
Results.
The calibration, image processing, and analysis of the Darksat Sloan
g
′ image gives an estimated Sloan
g
′ magnitude of 7.46 ± 0.04 at a range of 976.50 km. For STARLINK-1113, an estimated Sloan
g
′ magnitude of 6.59 ± 0.05 at a range of 941.62 km was found. When scaled to a range of 550 km and corrected for the solar and observer phase angles, a reduction by a factor of two is seen in the reflected solar flux between Darksat and STARLINK-1113.
Conclusions.
The data and results presented in this work demonstrate that the special darkening coating used by Starlink for Darksat has darkened the Sloan g’ magnitude by 0.77 ± 0.05 mag when the range is equal to a nominal orbital height (550 km). This result will serve members of the astronomical community who are actively modelling the satellite mega-constellations to ascertain their actual impact on both amateur and professional astronomical observations. Both concurrent and subsequent observations are planned to cover the full optical and NIR spectrum using an ensemble of instruments, telescopes, and observatories.
What we lose when it is never night Kemp, Christopher
Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science),
02/2023, Letnik:
379, Številka:
6633
Journal Article
Recenzirano
A bat scientist laments the ecological effects of light pollution
We present the results of the analysis of satellite imagery to study light pollution in Spain. Both calibrated and non-calibrated DMSP-OLS images were used. We describe the method to scale the ...non-calibrated DMSP-OLS images which allows us to use differential photometry techniques in order to study the evolution of the light pollution. Population data and DMSP-OLS satellite calibrated images for the year 2006 were compared to test the reliability of official statistics in public lighting consumption. We found a relationship between the population and the energy consumption which is valid for several regions. Finally the true evolution of the electricity consumption for street lighting in Spain from 1992 to 2010 was derived; it has been doubled in the last 18 years in most of the provinces.
•First time deduced correct statistics of lighting using satellite images.•Evolution is recovered only through differential photometry.•New technique of differential photometry multiregion.•The results are in agreement with data from many provinces, we use this as a test.•This procedure can be used for all Europe, perhaps the world.
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