The power of spectrally enhanced artificial night-time lights data: Assessing NTL risks along the urban-natural interface

Abstract

Artificial night-time lights (NTL) have long been known for their adverse effects on humans and the environment. Recent studies report that the severity of NTL impact on organisms is associated not only with its intensity but also a spectrum. The spectral resolution of freely available satellite NTL data is restricted to red, green, and blue sub-spectra, which are significantly wider than the ranges of vulnerability, reported by laboratory studies for various species. The present study is the first attempt to overlap spectrum-specific NTL data, describing the intensities of light emitted by different lamp types with relatively narrow emission peaks, with the sites where species vulnerable to specific NTL sub-spectra were detected. We overlap those light intensity maps with increasingly detailed maps of natural areas located along the urban-natural interface of the Haifa region. We analyze light pollution in the ecological corridors, which host numerous species with different, but unknown, spectrum-specific effects of NTL (a coarse-level analysis), and in the sites of several species, with either known or unknown spectrum-specific effects of NTL (a fine-level analysis). We show that a considerable part of the ecological corridors is polluted by metal halide and high-pressure sodium lamps which may negatively influence plants, bees, sea turtles, birds, and mammals. One habitat site of the Near Eastern fire salamander (Salamandra infraimmaculata) is polluted by lamps with green-light emission peaks which may explain the low reproductive success of this population. Despite the study limitations, related to the region-specific NTL data of spectrum-specific resolution and scarcity of evidence about the spectrum-specific NTL harmful effects on organisms, we believe that the obtained results would contribute to the elaboration of more informed fine-tuned artificial lighting policies which would diminish the burden of urban built-up zones on their neighboring natural areas.