Identifying, Examining, and Planning Areas Protected from Light Pollution. The Case Study of Planning the First National Dark Sky Park in Greece
1
School of Applied Arts, Hellenic Open University, Parodos Aristotelous 18, 26335 Patras, Greece
2
Lighting Laboratory, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Zografou, 15780 Athens, Greece
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sustainability 2019, 11(21), 5963; https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215963
Received: 30 September 2019 / Revised: 19 October 2019 / Accepted: 22 October 2019 / Published: 26 October 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Lighting and Light Pollution - A Special Issue in Memory of Dr. Thomas Posch and Dr. Abraham Haim)
Light pollution is a type of pollution that climaxes in cities and occurs increasingly away from them, due to the increase of artificial lighting and inappropriate lighting design (selection of luminaires, aiming, illuminance/luminance levels, and spectral characteristics). Increasingly, light pollution also affects the countryside due to local lighting but also distant lighting propagating from urban areas. This has a significant impact on ecosystems and astronomical observing sites. This work analyzes the main facts about light pollution (causes, impact, and solutions) and studies the methods, parameters, and special requirements for planning of light pollution protected areas. This dark sky park planning methodology is implemented as a case study in mount Parnon which has been selected due to its significance as a Natura 2000 protected area and because it is Greece’s most popular astronomical observing site. Mount Parnon is located close to two major cities as well as significant highways, however the site itself remains dark due to its sparse population. Planning a dark sky park involves a complete study of facts regarding the specific site. Existing lighting installations are surveyed in detail by recording types of luminaires and lamps and recording their positions in a map. Lighting illuminance levels are measured by photometers and spectra are analyzed using a spectrometer. Sky brightness levels measurements are performed using specialized photometers and light pollution origins are traced using wide-field photography. Finally, a proposal is made for a dark sky park scheme suited to the specific case of the site.
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Keywords:
astronomy; dark sky parks; environment; exterior lighting; light pollution; lighting; road lighting
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MDPI and ACS Style
Papalambrou, A.; Doulos, L.T. Identifying, Examining, and Planning Areas Protected from Light Pollution. The Case Study of Planning the First National Dark Sky Park in Greece. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215963
AMA Style
Papalambrou A, Doulos LT. Identifying, Examining, and Planning Areas Protected from Light Pollution. The Case Study of Planning the First National Dark Sky Park in Greece. Sustainability. 2019; 11(21):5963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215963
Chicago/Turabian StylePapalambrou, Andreas; Doulos, Lambros T. 2019. "Identifying, Examining, and Planning Areas Protected from Light Pollution. The Case Study of Planning the First National Dark Sky Park in Greece" Sustainability 11, no. 21: 5963. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11215963
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