Growth in "mega-cities" is altering the landscape and the atmosphere insuch a way as to curtail normal photosynthesis. By using data from TheDefense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System,researchers have been able to look at urban sprawl by monitoring theemission of light from cities at night. By overlaying these "light maps"onto other data such as soil and vegetation maps, the research showsthat urbanization can have a variable but measurable impact onphotosynthetic productivity.
For more information, read Bright Lights, Big City
References & Resources
Image by the NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio
