Sky Brightness Measurements for Light Pollution Mapping in North Holland

225 locations in the province of North Holland measured zenith sky brightness in 2011 and 2012 with greenhouse lighting off. The resulting map visualizes the degree of darkness, incorporating prior measurements from Amsterdam and Texel. Sky brightness is influenced by light sources from cities or greenhouses within a radius of approximately 30 kilometers.

Use Cases

• Mapping light pollution levels based on zenith sky brightness measurements.
• Assessing the impact of greenhouse lighting on regional darkness by analyzing data collected with lights off.
• Studying the spatial influence of urban areas by correlating brightness with distance from cities.
• Establishing baseline darkness levels for environmental monitoring and conservation efforts.

Strengths

• Contains measurements from 225 specific locations, providing a structured spatial sample.
• Covers a defined two-year time period (2011-2012) for temporal consistency.
• Integrates prior measurement campaigns from Amsterdam and Texel, enhancing regional coverage.

Limitations

• Data is over a decade old (2011-2012), limiting analysis of current light pollution trends.
• Critical metadata such as column names, row counts, and specific measurement units are unknown, hindering detailed analysis.
• The dataset's primary format is a visual map (WMS, PNG), which may limit quantitative data extraction compared to raw tabular data.

Provenance

Source

Ministerie van Binnenlandse Zaken en Koninkrijksrelaties

Collection Method

Direct field measurements of sky brightness at the zenith point.

Time Range

2011-2012

Geography

Province of North Holland, Netherlands, including Amsterdam and Texel.