The , which has once been characterized by its frigid, inhospitable climate and long winter nights, is now experiencing dramatic transformationsas the region warming almost four times faster than the global average. One of the clearest examples of climate change on the planet.
This rapid warming has stimulated greater activity and industrial developmentchanges that can now be seen in surprising detail thanks to nighttime satellite observations. And they confront the closest nations, of course.
Now, an international team of researchers, taking advantage of data from the United States Defense Meteorological Satellite Program, has discovered that Artificial lighting in the Arctic increased by 5% annually between 1992 and 2013. During this 21-year period, 62,000 square kilometers of the Arctic landscape went from dark to illuminated, reports .
“Only 15% of the illuminated areas of the Arctic during the study period contained human settlements such as houses or apartment buildings, which tells us that most of the artificial light is due to industrial activities rather than urban or residential development“Zhuosen Wang, a member of the research team and a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, said in a statement. The main drivers of this lighting include oil and gas extraction and mining operations.
The study found stark contrasts in the Arctic. The Russian Arctic experienced the greatest growth in artificial light, with illuminated areas expanding by almost 440,000 square kilometersan area larger than the surface of California. Regions such as Khanty-Mansi and Yamal-Nenets led this increase, driven by expansions of oil fields, such as Samotlor, one of the largest in the world.
In 2013, oil and gas extraction zones in the Russian Arctic (including Khanty-Mansi, Yamal-Nenets and Nenets) covered an illuminated area of 339,000 square kilometers, almost the size of Germany.
Extractive industries showed patterns of both growth and regression. Wang notes: “Extractive industries follow life cycle phases of expansion and contractionso we see reductions in artificial lighting in some places that They depend on oil, gas or miningwithout significant human settlements or economic diversification”.
The European Arctic represented a total of 157,000 square kilometers of illuminated area, significantly exceeding the 49,000 observed in the North American Arctic.
Among notable industrial sites, the research team identified key mineral extraction operations, including Alaska’s remote Red Dog Minewhich was recognized as the world’s second largest zinc producer in 2018.
While data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program provided the basis for this analysis, NASA’s Black Marble team, led by Wang, is working with newer, higher resolution data of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument aboard the NASA-NOAA satellites. They can detect dimmer light sources, the team faces challenges such as filtering natural light from auroras and moonlit snow.
“By providing high-resolution, real-time information, we will be able to better identify changes in industrial activity“said Miguel Román, deputy director of atmospheres at Goddard, in a statement.
He added that “these analyzes canhelp ensure responsible management of resources y protect vital ecosystems for local and global stability”.
