The first World Atlas of the artificial night sky brightness

By P. Cinzano, F. Falchi, C. D. E. D. D. Astronomia, Padova, Italy., Office of the Director, Noaa National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, Co.. 2001

748 citations recorded by the source corpus.

ABSTRA C T We present the first World Atlas of the zenith artificial night sky brightness at sea level. Based on radiance-calibrated high-resolution DMSP satellite data and on accurate modelling of light propagation in the atmosphere, it provides a nearly global picture of how mankind is proceeding to envelop itself in a luminous fog. Comparing the Atlas with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) population density data base, we determined the fraction of population who are living under a sky of given brightness. About two-thirds of the World population and 99 per cent of the population in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) and European Union live in areas where the night sky is above the threshold set for polluted status. Assuming average eye functionality, about one-fifth of the World population, more than two-thirds of the United States population and more than one half of the European Union population have already lost naked eye visibility of the Milky Way. Finally, about onetenth of the World population, more than 40 per cent of the United States population and one sixth of the European Union population no longer view the heavens with the eye adapted to night vision, because of the sky brightness.

Subfields: Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Global and Planetary Change, Ophthalmology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/ebc5f1d5d18f3a372ec7cab323090afb91534943

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In Ophthalmology

Citations in the corpus

The economics of global light pollution (2010, background): “European population can no longer see the Milky Way at night ( Cinzano et al. 2001 ).”
The nature, extent, and ecological implications of marine light pollution (2014, background): “org A light at night is globally widespread (Cinzano et al. 2001), rapidly expanding in spatial extent (Hölker et al.”
Effect of spectral composition of artificial light on the attraction of moths (2011, background): “During the last decades, artificial night lighting has increased globally (Cinzano et al., 2001; Garstang, 2004).”
Dark Matters: The Effects of Artificial Lighting on Bats (2016, background): “Almost a fifth of the global land area was affected by light pollution in 2001 (Cinzano et al. 2001).”
Effect of artificial night lighting on temporally partitioned spiny mice (2011, background): “Conservative estimates suggest that in 2001 at least 18.7% of the terrestrial area of Earth was exposed to ecological light pollution (Cinzano et al. 2001), and it continues to rise with human populations and technological development.”
The lunar cycle: a cue for amphibian reproductive phenology? (2009, background): “ELP at the sites was not quantified, but all three were in Western Europe, which has high levels of light pollution (Cinzano et al. 2001).”
The Nightsat mission concept (2007, neutral): “…et al. 2002, Maxwell et al., 2004); (f) estimation of artificial sky brightness and its effect on the visibility of astronomical features (Cinzano et al. 2000, 2001a, 2001b, 2004); (g) calculation of anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere (Saxon et al. 1997 and Toenges-Schuller et al.…”
Spectral Identification of Lighting Type and Character (2010, background): “Despite these flaws, a diverse set of global applications have been developed for DMSP nighttime lights ranging from estimation of light pollution levels [6], constructed surface densities [7], population distribution [8], poverty rates [9], electrification rates [10], and estimates of resource cons”
The ecological impacts of nighttime light pollution: a mechanistic appraisal (2013, neutral): “Cinzano, P. (2003).”
Do artificially illuminated skies affect biodiversity in nocturnal landscapes? (2013, background): “Proximity to urban areas will result in confounding factors, but with a careful study design based on skyglow maps like those published in Cinzano et al. (2001), it should be possible to separate skyglow from other urban effects.”
Ecological light pollution (2004, background): “The first atlas of artificial night sky brightness illustrates that astronomical light pollution extends to every inhabited continent (Cinzano et al. 2001).”
Green Light for Nocturnally Migrating Birds (2008, background): “This situation ended very recently when humans started to artificially light the nighttime sky, which is especially clear in wealthy industrialized areas (Cinzano et al. 2001).”
Applications of Satellite Remote Sensing of Nighttime Light Observations: Advances, Challenges, and Perspectives (2019, background): “Widespread studies have been conducted to characterize the distribution of light pollution from local [68,180–182], national [183–185], regional [186], and global scales [187,188] using various NTL datasets derived from different sensors.”
Photoperiodic Response and the Adaptability of Avian Life Cycles to Environmental Change (2004, background): “With increasing urbanisation and the introduction of outdoor lighting, light pollution has considerably increased in the last decades (Riegel, 1973; Cinzano et al., 2001).”
Illuminating the Capabilities of the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (2013, background): “Information on light pollution is of prime importance to the astronomy community, prompting the compilation of world atlas of global anthropogenic lighting based on DSMP observations [104].”