Mapping sound pressure levels on continental scales using a geospatial sound model
Mennitt D, Fristrup K, Sherrill K, Nelson L. 2013. Mapping sound pressure levels on continental scales using a geospatial sound model. In INTER-NOISE and NOISE-CON Congress and Conference Proceedings. Innsbruck, Austria. September 15-18, 2013
Local acoustical conditions measured by ANSI type 1 sound level meters are influenced by events and processes ranging from soft animal vocalizations at 10 meter scales to thunder and transportation noise at 10-100 km scales. Because many wildlife habitats, geological processes, and anthropogenic impacts occur on a regional scale, acoustical analyses must encompass a similar extent. Using long-term sound pressure level measurements from hundreds of sites across the contiguous United States, geospatial models have been developed to predict sound levels. These models do not directly apply the physics of sound propagation or characteristics of individual sound sources. Instead, these geospatial sound models incorporate spatial representations of biological, geophysical, climatic, and anthropogenic factors to assess expected contributions to the existing sound pressure level from both anthropogenic and natural sources. These methods enable mapping of sound pressure levels at regional and national scales.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Mennitt, Daniel; Fristrup, Kurt; Sherrill, Kirk; Nelson, Lisa
- Units
- NRSS , NSNS , NSNSD
- Keywords
- acoustics, ambient sounds, geospatial data
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Soundscape | Soundscape