Kyba, C. C. M., Wagner, J. M., Kuechly, H. U., Walker, C. E., Elvidge, C. D., Falchi, F., et al. (2013). Citizen science provides valuable data for monitoring global night sky luminance. Sci Rep, 3, 1835.
Abstract: The skyglow produced by artificial lights at night is one of the most dramatic anthropogenic modifications of Earth's biosphere. The GLOBE at Night citizen science project allows individual observers to quantify skyglow using star maps showing different levels of light pollution. We show that aggregated GLOBE at Night data depend strongly on artificial skyglow, and could be used to track lighting changes worldwide. Naked eye time series can be expected to be very stable, due to the slow pace of human eye evolution. The standard deviation of an individual GLOBE at Night observation is found to be 1.2 stellar magnitudes. Zenith skyglow estimates from the “First World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness” are tested using a subset of the GLOBE at Night data. Although we find the World Atlas overestimates sky brightness in the very center of large cities, its predictions for Milky Way visibility are accurate.
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Lyytimäki, J., Tapio, P., & Assmuth, T. (2012). Unawareness in environmental protection: The case of light pollution from traffic. Land Use Policy, 29(3), 598–604.
Abstract: New information is often emphasized as a basis of effective and scientifically sound environmental policy and management. However, outdated or incorrect information is not automatically nor instantly replaced by new insights. This article focuses on the various ways environmental information can be unintentionally left with insufficient attention or purposefully neglected. Energy-related emissions caused by road traffic in Finland are used as an illustrative example and light pollution caused by artificial lighting is identified as an emerging issue that has gained especially low recognition in the environmental agenda. Four different reasons for this lack of recognition are discussed: recognized unawareness, false awareness, deliberate unawareness and concealed awareness. Paying attention to light pollution is important because of various ecological, socio-cultural and economic effects but also because implementing measures aimed for reducing light pollution create possibilities for alleviating other social and environmental problems in transport and land use policies.
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Perkin, E. K., Hölker, F., Richardson, J. S., Sadler, J. P., Wolter, C., & Tockner, K. (2011). The influence of artificial light on stream and riparian ecosystems: questions, challenges, and perspectives. Ecosphere, 2(11), art122.
Abstract: Artificial light at night is gaining attention for its potential to alter ecosystems. Although terrestrial ecologists have observed that artificial light at night may disrupt migrations, feeding, and other important ecological functions, we know comparatively little about the role artificial light might play in disrupting freshwater and riparian ecosystems. We identify and discuss four future research domains that artificial light may influence in freshwater and associated terrestrial ecosystems, with an emphasis on running waters: (1) dispersal, (2) population genetics and evolution, (3) ecosystem functioning, and (4) potential interactions with other stressors. We suggest that future experimental and modeling studies should focus on the effects of different spectral emissions by different light sources on freshwater organisms, the spatial and temporal scale over which artificial light acts, and the magnitude of change in light at night across the landscape relative to the distribution of running and standing waters. Improved knowledge about the effects of artificial light on freshwater ecosystems will inform policy decisions about changes to artificial light spectral emissions and distributions.
Read More: http://www.esajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1890/ES11-00241.1
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Rodrigues, P., Aubrecht, C., Gil, A., Longcore, T., & Elvidge, C. (2012). Remote sensing to map influence of light pollution on Cory's shearwater in São Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago. Eur J Wildl Res, 58(1), 147–155.
Abstract: Global economic and population growth increase the extent and intensity of artificial night lighting. From an ecological perspective, this is light pollution, which causes changes in reproductive physiology, migration and foraging of many species and ultimately leads to loss of biodiversity. Some seabirds are intimately linked with the light features of their environments because they are nocturnally active. We report light-induced groundings of Cory’s shearwater (Calonectris diomedea) during a 2-year study (2008 and 2009) in São Miguel Island, in the Azores archipelago, and investigate the spatial correlation of locations of grounded birds with an annual composite of remotely sensed stable lights. Results indicate that 16.7% of fledglings are attracted to lights. The exposure of shearwater colonies in the study area to artificial night lighting is low overall. Four colonies account for 87% of the grounded birds. The distance each bird was found from the closest colony was best explained by the ratio of the satellite-measured light levels at the grounding spot to the light levels at the assigned colony of origin. These results demonstrate that satellite-observed nighttime lights are sufficient to assess risk to marine birds at the scale of oceanic islands and indicate their utility for monitoring the effectiveness of programs to manage lighting to reduce risk for these species and conducting global assessments of species vulnerability. To minimize the impact on Cory’s shearwater and other marine birds, we recommend measures such as reduction and control of lighting intensity near colony locations, while continuing and re-enforcing rescue campaigns.
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Jeong, S. W., Park, S., Jin, J. S., Seo, O. N., Kim, G. - S., Kim, Y. - H., et al. (2012). Influences of four different light-emitting diode lights on flowering and polyphenol variations in the leaves of chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium). J Agric Food Chem, 60(39), 9793–9800.
Abstract: Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are an efficient alternative to traditional lamps for plant growth. To investigate the influence of LEDs on flowering and polyphenol biosynthesis in the leaves of chrysanthemum, the plants were grown under supplemental blue, green, red, and white LEDs. Flower budding was formed even after a longer photoperiod than a critical day length of 13.5 h per day under blue light illumination. The weights of leaves and stems were highest under the white light illumination growth condition, whereas the weight of roots appeared to be independent of light quality. Among nine polyphenols characterized by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectroscopy, three polyphenols were identified for the first time in chrysanthemum. A quantitation and principal component analysis biplot demonstrated that luteolin-7-O-glucoside (2), luteolin-7-O-glucuronide (3), and quercetagetin-trimethyl ether (8) were the highest polyphenols yielded under green light, and dicaffeoylquinic acid isomer (4), dicaffeoylquinic acid isomer (5), naringenin (7), and apigenin-7-O-glucuronide (6) were greatest under red light. Chlorogenic acid (1) and 1,2,6-trihydroxy-7,8-dimethoxy-3-methylanthraquinone (9) were produced in similar concentrations under both light types. The white and blue light appeared inefficient for polyphenol production. Taken together, our results suggest that the chrysanthemum flowering and polyphenol production are influenced by light quality composition.
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