Artificial light at night reveals hotspots and rapid development of industrial activity in the Arctic.

ABSTRACT: Climate warming enables easier access and operation in the Arctic, fostering industrial and urban development. However, there is no comprehensive pan-Arctic overview of industrial and urban development, which is crucial for the planning of sustainable development of the region. In this study, we utilize satellite-derived artificial light at night (ALAN) data to quantify the hotspots and the development of light-emitting human activity across the Arctic from 1992 to 2013. We find that out of 16.4 million km² analyzed a total area of 839,710 km² (5.14%) is lit by human activity with an annual increase of 4.8%. The European Arctic and the oil and gas extraction regions in Russia and Alaska are hotspots of ALAN with up to a third of the land area lit, while the Canadian A

SUBMITTER: Akandil C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11536070 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature