Abstract
Simple SummaryImaging and photometric techniques are used to characterize the brightness of nighttime conditions in protected areas in support of conservation efforts.Since the introduction of electric lighting over a century ago, and particularly in the decades following the Second World War, indications of artificial light on the nighttime Earth as seen from Earth orbit have increased at a rate exceeding that of world population growth during the same period. Modification of the natural photic environment at night is a clear and imminent consequence of the proliferation of anthropogenic light at night into outdoor spaces, and with this unprecedented change comes a host of known and suspected ecological consequences. In the past two decades, the conservation community has gradually come to view light pollution as a threat requiring the development of best management practices. Establishing those practices demands a means of quantifying the problem, identifying polluting sources, and monitoring the evolution of their impacts through time. The proliferation of solid-state lighting and the changes to source spectral power distribution it has brought relative to legacy lighting technologies add the complication of color to the overall situation. In this paper, I describe the challenge of quantifying light pollution threats to ecologically-sensitive sites in the context of efforts to conserve natural nighttime darkness, assess the current state of the art in detection and imaging technology as applied to this realm, review some recent innovations, and consider future prospects for imaging approaches to provide substantial support for darkness conservation initiatives around the world.
Highlights
Over a century after the introduction of electric lighting, the use of artificial light at night (ALAN)has become a truly global phenomenon
Remote sensing observations of the Earth at night indicate that a majority of humans live in places where the night sky at the zenith is measurably affected by light pollution [1]
Average increases in the consumption of ALAN closely mirror the global average rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, indicating an economic rebound effect in the outdoor lighting sector
Summary
Over a century after the introduction of electric lighting, the use of artificial light at night (ALAN). Average increases in the consumption of ALAN closely mirror the global average rate of gross domestic product (GDP) growth, indicating an economic rebound effect in the outdoor lighting sector. This appears to be enabled by the. Nature reserves, and similar protected areas around the world find themselves at the forefront of the effort to preserve what remains of the planet’s natural nighttime darkness In many instances, they are motivated by the economic development potential of sustainable forms of tourism. Sensing of light in the nocturnal environment helps to determine the conservation state of these places, identify emerging threats, and suggest land management actions to preserve natural nighttime darkness.
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