Episode 78 - Sky Glow Disrupts Biological Processes


If bright light at night bothers you, it is much worse for marine life, and they don’t realize it, they just react. Their instinctual biological processes change in reaction to artificial light and sky glow which then affects the food chain. To add to that, the blue light from LED’s penetrates deeper into the water. The sky glow disrupts biological processes that are guided by moonlight. Dr. Davies and Prof. Smyth are doing the research. Now it’s up to us to take action. Dr Davies is a marine conservation ecologist at the University of Plymouth, UK working. His research seeks to understand the impacts and management of man-made global change on ecosystems, and human-environment interrelationships. He has published research on the impacts and management of a variety of global change issues – most notably Artificial Light at Night (ALAN). Prof. Tim Smyth is the Head of Science for Marine Biogeochemistry and Observations at PML. This involves leading a team of around 20 people ranging from PhD students to experienced senior scientists across a range of disciplines from air-sea exchange, nutrient cycling to molecular science within the broad remit of marine biogeochemistry. His brief also includes oversight of the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) as well as the Western Channel Observatory (WCO) which he has been leading for the past 15 years.

Dr. Tom Davies at University of Plymouth

Plymouth Marine Laboratory

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