Artificial Lighting

Northeastern Illinois University

Working with the lab of Dr. Aaron Schirmer, we have begun to explore the implications of artificial lighting on our aquatic ecosystems. Past work with satellite data has revealed that very few greenspaces in the city remain unimpacted by ecologically relevant levels of artificial lighting. And while the city’s riverfront ordinance does a great job of maintaining public accessibility to our waterways, property developers aren’t always required to do what’s best for the river ecosystem. The two actions they are required to take are to maintain the walking path 24/7 year round (which means heavily salting in the winter) and to provide security lighting, which may or may not be redirected to exactly where it’s needed. Additionally, many riverfront properties over time have developed a generally shrubby but persistent canopy. Multi-storied canopy is a very important feature for riparian edges to have, but in many cases, redevelopment means removing the existing canopy and replacing it with a handful of young trees, which no longer would prevent artificial light sources from being cast on the river directly. For this reason, we are interested in the amounts of light cast on the river, how it affects the wildlife that rely on the river, and develop ways and procedures to ensure that public riverwalk spaces are both safely illuminated, without contributing to local light pollution.