It has been a great time discovering and learning about the impacts of light pollution on humans and animals as well as possible solutions to prevent and counteract the effects of light pollution. On the whole, I was glad that we chose to focus on the topic of light pollution. Compared to other forms of pollution like water and air pollution, light pollution is often overlooked, and even perceived as…
As we have seen in previous blog posts, light pollution not only affects organisms on land, anthropogenic light sources also penetrate into deep waters and is a significant factor that has disrupted the livelihood of various aquatic creatures such as sea turtles, corals and fish. In this post, we will see the extent to which light is able to reach the waters of the northern Gulf of Aqaba. The Gulf…
Now, let’s take a look at three real life examples on how this method can be used to assess ecological light pollution in different locations and weather conditions. (a) Terrestrial field site, Marburg, Germany, with cloud cover In this experiment to understand the flight to light behavior of moths, the camera was situated at the center of six sodium vapour light sources (labelled 1 to 6 in figure below)…
While it is important to look at the impacts of light pollution, attention should also be paid to how light pollution is being measured as this affects the quality of data collected and hence influences the effectiveness of solutions to reduce the impact of light pollution. In this two part series we will first look at existing measures and assess its effectiveness, concluding with a new method of assessing ecological…
Globally, the firefly population has been under threat because of familiar subjects such as urbanisation and habitat loss as well as increasing use of pesticides, however, more recent studies have attributed the decrease in firefly population with artificial light at night (ALAN) (Dunham, 2020). One of the main impacts that ALAN has on these fireflies are its effects on the mating process. As seen from the comic above, fireflies are…
The West Nile Virus (WNV), a mosquito borne virus, first occurred on the US East Coast in 1999. Since then, the disease has transmitted across the entire country in just a few years, infecting not just humans, but animals such as birds and horses as shown in the figure below. The WNV spreads to people via the bite of an infected mosquito and can cause fevers, body aches, rashes, diarrhea,…
Ever notice the reddish orange clouds at night that look something like this? While most of us would associate the colour of the clouds with the setting of the sun, it’s time to think again. Research have shown that the redness in these clouds shows the interaction of clouds with sky glow from cities. With increased cloud cover, long-wave red light radiation from cities that are usually emitted into space…
I’m sure many of us are familiar with solutions to reduce light pollution such as to turn off lights when not in use and to switch to more shielded light sources. However in this post we will take a look at more novel ways to reduce the impacts of light pollution in different cities. These include tangible technical solutions as well as the more intangible aspects through spreading awareness. …
“Thus hath the candle songs the moath” -Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice Just like the quote above, more commonly known today as the phrase “like a moth drawn to a flame”, light pollution can result in increased mortality for moths as these nocturnal creatures often fly into urban light sources. Through direct burning or increased exposure to predators, their attraction to light can be fatal. Take a look at the…
Unlike the impact of light pollution on animals and plants which are generally negative, the impact that light pollution has on bats is one that is not entirely bad. With the right amount of tree cover that shields light from street lamps, certain species of bats can in fact thrive in urban conditions as Ultraviolet (UV) light attracts insects that bats feed on and a dense tree cover provides protection…
