Journal article
County-level artificial light at night (ALAN) in the contiguous US (2012-2019): spatial variations, temporal trends, and environmental justice analyses
Environmental science and pollution research international, Vol.30(54), pp.115870-115881
11/2023
DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-30572-y
PMID: 37897576
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing environmental hazard with economic, ecological, and public health implications. Previous studies suggested a higher burden of light pollution and related adverse effects in disadvantaged communities. It is critical to characterize the geographic distribution and temporal trend of ALAN and identify associated demographic and socioeconomic factors at the population level to lay the foundation for environmental and public health monitoring and policy-making. We used satellite data from the Black Marble suite to characterize ALAN in all counties in contiguous US and reported considerable variations in ALAN spatiotemporal patterns between 2012 and 2019. As expected, ALAN levels were generally higher in metropolitan and coastal areas; however, several rural counties in Texas experienced remarkable increase in ALAN since 2012, while population-level ALAN burden also increased substantially in many metropolitan areas. Importantly, we found that during this period, although the overall ALAN levels in the USA declined modestly, the temporal trend of ALAN varied across areas with different racial/ethnic compositions: counties with a higher percentage of racial/ethnic minority groups, particularly Hispanic populations, exhibited significantly less decline. As a result, the differences in ALAN levels, as measured by the Black Marble product, across racial/ethnic groups became larger between 2012 and 2019. In conclusion, our study documented variations in ALAN spatiotemporal patterns across America and identified multiple population correlates of ALAN patterns that warrant further investigations. Future studies should identify underlying factors (e.g., economic development and decline, urban planning, and transition to newer lighting technologies such as light emitting diodes) that may have contributed to ALAN disparities in the USA.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- County-level artificial light at night (ALAN) in the contiguous US (2012-2019): spatial variations, temporal trends, and environmental justice analyses
- Creators
- Qian Xiao - The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonMeng Zhou - University of IowaYue Lyu - The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonJiachen Lu - The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonKehe Zhang - The University of Texas Health Science Center at HoustonMariana Figueiro - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiJun Wang - University of IowaCici Bauer - The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Environmental science and pollution research international, Vol.30(54), pp.115870-115881
- DOI
- 10.1007/s11356-023-30572-y
- PMID
- 37897576
- ISSN
- 1614-7499
- eISSN
- 1614-7499
- Grant note
- DOI: 10.13039/100000104, name: NASA, award: 80NSSC21K0510
- Language
- English
- Electronic publication date
- 10/28/2023
- Date published
- 11/2023
- Academic Unit
- Electrical and Computer Engineering; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Iowa Technology Institute; Physics and Astronomy; Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
- Record Identifier
- 9984502958002771
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