![]() Significant areas of the ocean are seeing light exposures to depths of 10 meters (33 feet), 20 meters (66 feet), or more. This represents about 3 percent of the world’s Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)-the area extending 370 kilometers (200 nautical miles) off a country’s coast. The scientists found that 1.9 million square kilometers (735,000 square miles) of the ocean experience biologically significant amounts of artificial light pollution to a depth of 1 meter (3 feet). ![]() “The effects of artificial light in marine ecosystems should be a real focus for global change research,” Smyth said. In particular, Smyth said, the study highlights areas where ecosystems are particularly stressed by artificial light, which could lead to rapid evolutionary changes and adaptation. The study gives researchers a guide to where they should focus future studies of the effects of artificial light on marine life. The results show the depths to which marine species could be exposed to light sufficient to cause a biological response. The model projects how nighttime light pollution above the water’s surface will penetrate and be absorbed underwater. The research team built a model based on two satellite datasets: one of nighttime light pollution and one of ocean color, which reveals the water’s optical properties. “But how much of an impact it has in the marine environment has been pretty understudied.” “These very low light levels that artificial light generates are critically important for biological organisms,” said lead author and oceanographer Tim Smyth, who specializes in marine optics and remote sensing of ocean color at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. A team of researchers from England, Norway, and Israel have released the first global atlas of artificial light in the sea. Now, for the first time, scientists have quantified underwater light levels for coastal zones around the world. Ecologists and biologists have long recognized that artificial light at night can have adverse effects on the health of humans and terrestrial wildlife, including disrupted sleep patterns, feeding schedules, and reproductive cycles.Ī growing body of research is showing that marine life is also sensitive to artificial light, including extremely low levels and certain wavelengths, particularly blue and green light.
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