Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
We flood our world with light, believing more is better... but what happens when it reaches the sea?
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is now transforming marine ecosystems around the world. Blue-rich LEDs penetrate deeper into coastal waters than ever before, disrupting coral spawning, fish navigation, and the nightly migrations of plankton, the planet’s largest movement of life.
More than 22% of global coastlines are already affected by light pollution, and that number is increasing every year. Yet this is one environmental problem we can solve – by rethinking how and where we use light.
Featuring Dr Tom Davies (University of Plymouth) and Professor Tim Smyth (Plymouth Marine Laboratory), this film examines the often unseen issue of marine light pollution and showcases research and solutions led from Plymouth, a worldwide hub for ocean science.
Find out more: plymouth.ac.uk/research/marine-light-pollution
We flood our world with light, believing more is better... but what happens when it reaches the sea?
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is now transforming marine ecosystems around the world. Blue-rich LEDs penetrate deeper into coastal waters than ever before, disrupting coral spawning, fish navigation, and the nightly migrations of plankton, the planet’s largest movement of life.
More than 22% of global coastlines are already affected by light pollution, and that number is increasing every year. Yet this is one environmental problem we can solve – by rethinking how and where we use light.
Featuring Dr Tom Davies (University of Plymouth) and Professor Tim Smyth (Plymouth Marine Laboratory), this film examines the often unseen issue of marine light pollution and showcases research and solutions led from Plymouth, a worldwide hub for ocean science.
Find out more: plymouth.ac.uk/research/marine-light-pollution
