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Determination of health hazards of noise pollution is a challenge for any developing city intersection. The people working at roadside open-air shops or near the congested roads of any intersection face intense noise pollution. It becomes very difficult to efficiently determine the hazards of noise on the health of people living near the intersection. An attempt was made to determine the noise-induced health hazards of the developing city of Bahadurpur, UP, India. The noise levels were monitored over 17 station points of the intersection for three months at different times of the day. Equivalent noise level (Leq) maps were determined within an accuracy of ±4dB. Areas adjacent to intersections indicated noise exposure levels close to 100 dB. Health hazards for the people of the intersection were determined through the testing of auditory and non-auditory health parameters for 100 people. A total of 75–92% of the people who work/live near the noisy intersection were found to be suffering from hearing impairment, tinnitus, sleep disturbance, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, etc. Whether the recorded health hazards were indeed related to noise exposure was confirmed by testing the health parameters of people from the nearby and less noisy area of Pure Ganga. The nearby site reported mild hazards to the health of the population. An alarming level of hearing impairment was prevalent in the noisy Bahadurpur intersection (79–95%) compared to the same in Pure Ganga (13–30%). The estimated noise-induced health hazards were also compared for noisy and less-noisy study sites using ANOVA statistics. The results suggested that the health hazards reported in the two sites are not similar. Further, the severe hazards to people’s health at the underdeveloped intersection were found to be primarily caused by the intense exposure to noise.

This study presents the results of a traffic simulation analysis and emissions (greenhouse gas and noise) assessment comparing pre-pandemic (2019) and post-pandemic (2022) periods. The estimation of road traffic demand is based on conventional data sources and floating car data; next, the traffic simulation procedure was performed providing road network traffic volumes, which are the input for the emission models. The diffusion of teleworking, e-commerce, as well as the digitization of many processes, services and activities, lead to a significant change in urban mobility. Results show a significant though still not complete resumption of commuters travel activity (−10% compared to pre-pandemic period) in the morning peak-hour. This translates into an 11% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and a 0.1% increase in noise emissions.

As the first step to obtain a city urban area noise map of road traffic noise, sound power levels of vehicles on the roads should be accurately estimated over a wide area. In Japan, ASJ RTN-Model 2018 was proposed as the representative road traffic noise prediction model, and by using the model sound power level of a vehicle can be determined if the vehicle type, traveling speed, and driving mode are known. As such data on urban road network, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Japan publishes the road traffic census including road traffic volume and travel speed of major roads in Japan. The data, however, is limited to major roads and there is no data on minor roads. In this study, to estimate noise condition and situation on arbitrary road, a method for estimating the traveling speed and the traffic volume of vehicles on the road from aerial photographs was examined. Road traffic noise levels along several roads in Tokyo were analyzed by the proposed method and the validity of the calculation results were verified by comparing with short-time measurement results obtained along the target roads.

This paper describes a new method developed within the BEEP project (Big data for Environmental and occupational EPidemiology) to estimate road traffic flows and to improve the truthfulness of noise maps for agglomerations through Big Data treatment. This new approach, based on data provided by Google API, acquires information regarding travel time to estimate traffic volumes using link delay functions. To achieve this goal, an appropriate experimental plan was designed to simultaneously collect travel times by Google Application Programming Interface (API) and traffic volumes on site. The experimental survey, carried out in the cities of Rome and Pisa, involved different types of road links with traffic lights or roundabouts and different number of lanes. The influence of link characteristics on the correlation between travel time and traffic flow was analysed. The method developed was used in a small area of the city of Rome, and noise maps derived by Big Data were compared to noise maps produced via conventional means.

Dalam kegiatan operasionalnya CV. X yang bergerak pada pengolahan kayu, berpotensi menimbulkan kebisingan yang berasal dari mesin-mesin yang digunakan dalam proses produksi pallet. Kebisingan di perusahaan ini dapat berpengaruh terhadap kesehatan dan kenyamanan pekerja. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui intensitas kebisingan yang dihasilkan oleh mesin produksi, lama waktu pemaparan, pemetaan kebisingan dan upaya pengendalian kebisingan. Metode pengukuran kebisingan mengacu pada metode noise mapping dan alat yang digunakan adalah Sound Level Meter. Data yang diperoleh kemudian diolah menjadi peta kontur dengan variasi warna biru, hijau, kuning, ungu dan merah. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan tingkat kebisingan tertinggi sebesar 99,4 dB dan tingkat kebisingan terendah sebesar 67,3 dB. Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan menggunakan persamaan NIOSH dari 128 titik pengukuran metode noise mapping terdapat 38 titik dengan tingkat kebisingan >85 dB yang menunjukkan waktu pemaparan di atas standar yang sudah direkomendasikan NIOSH. Tingkat kebisingan tertinggi sebesar 99,4 dB dengan lama pemaparan selama 0,3 jam dan tingkat kebisingan terendah sebesar 67,3 dB dengan lama pemaparan selama 475 jam. Upaya pengendalian yang dapat dilakukan untuk mengurangi kebisingan seperti pengendalian dari sumber, jalur transmisi, dan penerima.

Environmental noise affects life and health within urban environments through interfering with sleep, rest, study and personal communication. Noise mapping is an important issue of local authorities but due to its requirements (staff, costs and frequency), the available data are limited or outdated. Our aim was to involve people with smartphones in the mapping process and to determine the accuracy of the measurements performed with these devices in a natural environment. The main questions were whether the measured data were dependent on the type of applied software and smartphones. We tested three software (Noise Watch, Noise Meter and Sound Level Meter) and 12 different smartphones. We evaluated the measurements with hypothesis testing and correlation analysis. Although the accuracy of smartphones was below the professional equipment, measurements can be conducted easily due to their availability; thus, a reliability analysis is important. We found that comparison between professional devices and smartphones in a laboratory was misleading as it lacks the environmental factors biasing the measurements. The best method to compare the measurements carried out with smartphones and professional Noise Meters was to use large number of measuring points in a heterogenic outdoor environment where the noise ranged from the low to large values. We revealed that both the applied software and smartphones have relevant effect on the measurements, and, although it is possible to use these devices for noise mapping, one should consider not to apply different software and smartphones. Accordingly, crowdsourcing is not a reliable data collection method because: (1) measurements should be supervised, (2) smartphones’ accuracy should be tested and (3) measurement circumstances should be the same. If any of these requirements are violated, the quality of the resulting maps can be questioned.

The paper discusses noise mapping from the prospective of general evaluation of the state of the city environment. Suggested is a noise evaluation procedure based on a two-step spatial discretization - coarse and fine grids. The coarse grid is used for evaluation of average noise levels (background noise). For this, rather simple method is proposed, where average noise levels are estimated directly for the whole coarse grid cells instead of averaging the noise levels computed point-wise. The fine grid is used for finding the obstacle density to apply in calculations over the coarse grid. It may be used also for additional noise levels detailing in the close vicinity of noise sources where noise propagation is strongly affected by surrounding structures. The detailed results allow correction of the averages over the coarse grid. In comparison with other approaches, the suggested procedure takes little computing time to execute for the entire city. Test example shows reasonable agreement with results computed using the ‘Ecolog-Noise’ software package that has gained popularity in Russian Federation since its introduction in 2008. Another example describes the application of the proposed method for a moderate size densely built city.

An evaluation was made of the acoustic quality of classrooms on two campuses of the Federal University of Parana. Despite the heavy vehicle traffic flow on the streets in and around the campuses, the noise maps of the Polytechnic Center campus indicated that the noise that reaches the facades of the buildings vary from 55 to 60 dB(A), putting this campus within the limit of 60 dB(A) established by municipal law for Special Educational Zones (SEZ). In contrast, noise pollution at the Jardim Botanico campus has reached serious proportions, with noise maps indicating that its buildings are directly affected by noise levels of 65 to 70 dB(A). A simulation of the construction of two acoustic barriers showed their effectiveness in reducing noise levels to 55 and 60 dB(A). However, the downside is that acoustic barriers are expensive to build and cause visual pollution.

Existing studies in Singapore on environmental noise are scarce and limited in scale due to the need for expensive equipment and sophisticated modelling expertise. This study presents the approach of using participatory sensing and mobile phones to monitor environmental sound levels around Singapore. iPhones running the AmbiCiti application was adopted to sample equivalent continuous 30-second average outdoor sound levels (LAeq ,30 sec). The aggregated mean of each region was evaluated and the spatial distribution of environmental noise was analysed using noise maps generated from the measurement data. A total of 18,768 LAeq ,30 sec measurements were collected over ten weeks. About 93.6% of the daytime measurements (07:00 – 19:00) exceeded the WHO recommended level of 55 dBA to minimise negative non-auditory health effects due to noise. The results of this study suggest that the population of Singapore is potentially at risk of adverse non-auditory health effects and, to a lesser extent, hearing loss due to community noise levels. However, the measurements exceeding 70 dBA were frequent enough to warrant concern about contributions to the cumulative lifetime sound exposure contributing to hearing loss. The work also demonstrates that sound maps of an area can be efficiently generated using calibrated applications running on smart phones.

3 1798 15 M20 М22 Noise emissions are a significant environmental impact caused by the mining industry in all technological phases of surface mining, mineral processing, and waste disposal. This paper presents the role of noise impact assessment and control in large-scale surface mining operations. Mine planning develops the model of mining operations, ore excavation, and waste dumping scheduling and processing rates, including spatial distribution of mining activities. Such a level of mine planning requires an environmental impact assessment study. This can be achieved by applying noise impact assessment models. The described approach can be used to verify the effectiveness of the proposed protection measures to reduce or eliminate the identified negative impacts. This paper presents a case study of environmental noise impact assessment and control at the Serbia Zijin Copper DOO Bor mine, encompassing the analysis of the noise protection measures efficiency within the planning of large-scale mining operations at the open-pit mine Veliki Krivelj.

PT. XYZ is a factory engaged in processing of palm oil derivatives in producing a fatty acid. The machines used in the processing process at PT. Permata Hijau Palm Oleo KIM II Mabar generate the noise. This research aimed to find out the existing noise level and noise mapping, also the proposal of noise control on the production floor. Then, the data collection method conducted through observation using the equivalent noise level (Leq) method and noise mapping was through surfer 14. The data collection conducted in 16 points on the production floor. Furthermore, the result and noise distribution pattern showed that the high noise level was in several points, those were point 5 (85.77); point 6 (86.82); point 7 (86.33), point 8 (88.18); point 10 (86.96); point 13 (86.85); point 14 (87.67). The allowed threshold value refers to the Decree of the Minister of Manpower and Transmigration No.Per.13/MEN/X/2011 is 85 dB. Thus, the company needs to perform noise control such as barrier usage, regularly and scheduled machine maintenance to prevent and decrease the effect of the noise

Noise pollution has been rising as a critical issue in recent days particularly for the people living in urban areas. This study has been conducted to find out the effects of traffic induced noise on nearby residential building through 3D noise mapping with and without noise Barriers. Monitoring has been carried out at various densely populated preselected locations of Delhi, India. Thereafter, 3D noise mapping has been done using hourly average noise levels for the locations exposed with maximum noise. The developed 3D noise map shows the variation of noise level along X, Y and Z direction for all selected locations before and after installation of noise barriers. Moreover, the result also shows that exact assessment of noise impact is possible through 3D noise mapping, when a multistory building close to the source of noise is taken into consideration. This paper also elaborates the adequate height, distance and NRC value of noise barrier to reduce the effect of road traffic noise on nearby high rise building. Reduction pattern of noise level can easily be visualized and evaluated by using these maps. This type of study could support decision makers during adaptation of suitable remedial measures.

The tranquillity in national parks worldwide is currently under threat from intrusion of anthropogenic noise of a growing tourism industry and activity related to park management. This was addressed by creating informative tranquillity maps, where perceived tranquillity can be considered a key indicator of soundscape quality in natural areas. Tranquillity of an area can be assessed using TRAPT (Tranquillity Rating Prediction Tool), that has been developed and refined for assessing urban green spaces, national parks and wilderness areas in the United Kingdom. The subjective response to helicopter noise levels of a sample group of 35 people representing the general New Zealand population was obtained, based on visual and audio stimuli that were collected in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park. These results were used to produce a revised TRAPT equation. It was discovered that levels under 32 dBA correspond to an excellent level of tranquillity. This threshold was used to produce a noise level exposure calculation for two national parks using noise prediction model AEDT (Aviation Environmental Development Tool). Contours representing tranquillity duration were then calculated and plotted, to serve as a planning tool for use by the Department of Conservation. A similar approach could be used for other national parks worldwide.

Road traffic noise has been recognized as a serious issue that affects the urban regions. Due to urbanization and industrialization, transportation in urban areas has increased. Traffic noise characteristics in cities belonging to a developing country like India are highly varied compared to developed nations because of its heterogeneous conditions. The objective of the research study is to assess noise pollution due to heterogeneous traffic conditions and the impact of horn honking due to un-authorized parked vehicles on the main roadside. Noise mapping has been done using the computer simulation model by taking various noise sources and noise propagation to the receiver point. Traffic volume, vehicular speed, noise levels, road geometry, un-authorized parking, and horn honking were measured on tier-II city roads in Surat, India. The study showed not so significant correlation between traffic volume, road geometry, vehicular speed and equivalent noise due to heterogeneous road traffic conditions. Further, analysis of traffic noise showed that horn honking due to un-authorized parked vehicles contributed an additional up to 11 dB (A), which is quite significant. The prediction models such as U.K’s CoRTN, U.S’s TNM, Germany’s RLS-90 and their modified versions have limited applicability for heterogeneity. Hence, the noise prediction models, which can be used for homogeneous road traffic conditions are not successfully applicable in heterogeneous road traffic conditions. In this research, a new horn honking correction factor is introduced with respect to unauthorized parked vehicles. The horn honking correction values can be integrated into noise model RLS-90, while assessing heterogeneous traffic conditions.

This research presents a modeling framework that allows checking the statistical requirements for producing noise maps based on mobile measurements. First, a sound field of reference is created based on a micro-simulation traffic modeling coupled with acoustic modeling, which outputs sound levels each second on a grid of receivers. The aggregated indicators ( L Aeq ) calculated from this sound field serve then as reference. Mobile targets performing measurements evolve within the simulation, aiming to estimate these indicators. The difference between the reference noise map and the one generated by the moving receivers, characterized by the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), is computed for different aggregation radius of mobile receivers, and as a function of the number of passes-by and to the distance to its nearest cross street. It is observed that the mobile sampling is actually possible and the RMSE can be reduced by setting an optimal aggregation radius and a minimum number of passes-by. With the optimal parameters, 95% of the mobile samples fall within an estimation error interval of [−3.0, 2.2] dBA from the reference. It is also shown that the distance to the nearest cross street affects the estimation error depending on the traffic flow, producing a RMSE greater than 2 dB for distances lower than 30 m.

This article presents a methodological approach to try to respond to some of the protection and management needs against the noise of a peri-urban natural park. The methodology presented is based on the generation of "ad hoc" noise maps. To analyze its possibilities and the limits of use, a coastal park surrounded by a densely populated area in the southwest of Spain is used as a case study. In this study, birds in their diverse ecosystems are the main target noise receiver of the study. The source of noise pollution considered is the traffic noise of the highways and the urbanized areas surrounding the park. However, the methodology can be extrapolated to any source of noise and other protection figures. An adequate diagnosis of the environmental noise would help to overcome the supposed incompatibility between the preservation of nature and the tourist exploitation of natural spaces. With this in mind, it has also been proposed as target noise receivers, the ornithologists and visitors who wish to become bird-watchers and bird-listeners. To this end, it has been proposed to produce noise maps with certain methodological guidelines that fit on a case-by-case basis. Several heights are used in this paper, adapting the map to noise receivers. With the same purpose, noise level maps in octave bands were developed. The tonal frequencies of interest are those that the birds use in their songs (according to the species, normally between 2 and 8 kHz). The maps have been contrasted with noise measurements carried out throughout the park. The study shows that in the areas most exposed to the noise of the Rio San Pedro and the university campus, noise levels at 2 kHz can reach 74 dB during the peak traffic hours. In addition, a large percentage of the area of both areas is affected by noise levels that exceed 50 dB (100% and 44% respectively). We are also concerned that a small population of birds has been counted in these areas based on preliminary observations at peak traffic times. The results can help the decision-makers to evaluate how traffic noise invades different ecosystems and where it can mask the sound of birds.

Dalam kegiatan operasional PT. Y bergerak dalam produksi Fatty Alcohol, berpotensi menghasilkan kebisingan yang diperoleh dari mesin dalam pembuatan Fatty Alcohol. Kebisingan yang terjadi pada area produksi berpengaruh pada kesehatan dan kenyamanan operator saat bekerja. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui tingkat kebisingan, lama waktu pemaparan, area paparan kebisingan dan analisis penyebab kebisingan serta usulan pengendalian kebisingan dilantai produksi. Metode pengukuran kebisingan mengacu pada metode noise mapping serta instrument sound level meter. Data yang diperoleh kemudian diolah menjadi peta kontur dengan variasi warna hijau, kuning, orange dan merah melalui Software surfer 16. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan tingkat kebisingan tertinggi sebesar 92,9 dB dan tingkat kebisingan terendah sebesar 83,0 dB. Berdasarkan hasil perhitungan menggunakan persamaan NIOSH dari 18 titik pengukuran metode noise mapping terdapat 8 titik dengan tingkat kebisingan >85 dB yang menunjukkan waktu pemaparan di atas standar yang sudah direkomendasikan NIOSH. Tingkat kebisingan tertinggi sebesar 92.9 dB dengan lama pemaparan selama 0.011 jam (0,67 menit) dan tingkat kebisingan terendah sebesar 83 dB dengan lama pemaparan selama 640 menit (10,67 jam). Upaya pengendalian kebisingan dapat melibatkan tiga elemen yaitu sumber kebisingan, lintasan rambatan kebisingan dan penerima kebisingan.

In today’s era, vehicular noise pollution has been identified as a serious danger that influence the attribute of the urban regions. To identify the influence of noise effects, noise maps are very useful. A noise mapping study has been carried out to study the propagation of urban road traffic noise in the areas along with field measurements. The computer simulation model (Sound- PLAN software) is used to developed noise maps. In developing nations like India, traffic composition is heterogeneous. These traffic compositions contain vehicles, which have different sizes, speeds variations and operating systems. Because of fluctuating speeds, deficiency of lane disciplines, and non-authorized parking on main road lanes, honking events becomes inevitable, which changes and affects the urban soundscape of nations like India. Due to horn events (heterogeneous traffic condition), noise level (LAeq) increase by 0.5–8 dB (A) as compared to homogeneous traffic conditions.

An evaluation was made of the acoustic environment of the Green Line North (GLN) by noise mapping calculations. In addition, the equivalent sound pressure levels, Leq, that reach the facades of a residential building and a hospital located along the GLN, were simulated to determine the noise levels to which they are subjected. The simulated noise levels were compared with the maximum allowable noise levels established by Curitiba Municipal Law and by the Brazilian standard on Noise Assessment in Populated Areas. It was concluded unequivocally that, in the current situation, noise pollution affects the hospital and the gated community. A simulation of heavy vehicle traffic reduction was performed, aiming at evaluating the impact of this mitigation measure. Even the reduction of number of heavy vehicle to 10% of the original number proved to be insufficient to attend values established by the municipal law and the Brazilian standard.

In this study, noise pollution assessments were performed along Marechal Deodoro Avenue and Batel Avenue, which are two major thoroughfares in the city of Curitiba, Brazil. Eleven points were evaluated at Batel Avenue and 16 points at Marechal Deodoro Avenue. The results of the noise level measurements and the calculation of noise maps indicated that both thoroughfares are acoustically polluted. The simulated and measured noise levels, in the 27 evaluated points, exceed the limits established by law 10,625 of the city of Curitiba, which establishes acceptable levels for the comfort of the population in the external environment. With regard to the traffic composition in the areas under study, the vehicle flow was found to consist mostly of light vehicles, representing 88% of the total flow along Batel Avenue and 85% on Marshal Deodoro Street. Based on the noise maps and measured noise levels, it was found that the entire length of Marshal Deodoro Avenue and Batel Avenue are strongly affected by street noise, which is readily explained by the constant traffic, high vehicle flow (number of vehicles/hour) and high vehicle speed at some points of these thoroughfares.

Deliberately changing terrain undulation and ground characteristics (“acoustical landscaping”) is an potential noise abatement solution near roads. However, there is hardly any research regarding the validity of sound propagation models to predict its effectiveness. Long-term continuous sound pressure level measurements near a complex road traffic and sound propagation case were performed. Three types of modeling approaches were validated, covering the full spectrum of available techniques. A two-dimensional full-wave technique (the finite-difference time-domain method, FDTD), but also an advanced engineering model (the Harmonoise point-to-point model), provide accurate transmission loss predictions, both in 1/3 octave bands and for total A-weighted sound pressure levels. Two common and widely used semi-empirical engineering methods (ISO9613-2 and CNOSSOS) yield rather inaccurate results, notwithstanding the short propagation distance. The sensitivity to input data was assessed by modeling various scenarios with the FDTD method. Detailed ground effect modeling was shown to be of main importance.

The paper presents some results concerning the development of a multi-sensor hybrid approach for measuring rail roughness using acoustic and vibration signals measured on-board. The main objective of the system is to provide better input data for noise mapping and maintenance strategies. Several improvements to existing systems are proposed, based on the analysis of transfer functions. First numerical and experimental results are discussed.

The Azores archipelago, lying on the North Atlantic (NA) ocean, hosts one of the greatest diversities of cetaceans, and is an important habitat for several resident and migratory species. However, this unique diversity may be at risk due to the ocean noise generated by increasing commercial and recreational vessel traffic in the area. AIS shipping distribution and water column variability, together with suitable numerical propagation models were used to generate noise level maps for the area around Faial-Pico-Sao Jorge Islands, during June 2018. The generated noise level time-space distribution generally agrees with detected environmental variability and known navigation in the area, namely ferries between islands and fishing patterns. EAPA 52/2018 info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Quietness in an urban environment is vital for the well-being of city residents. Nevertheless, the ambiguity in the conceptualization of the terms noise and quietness as urban acoustic planning and design objectives, has resulted in two different approaches: the soundscape approach and the noise control approach. The main purpose of this research is to supplement the existing approaches by proposing a new ecological acoustics approach in order to identify quiet areas in the city of Mytilene (Lesbos Island, North Aegean, Greece). The use of the soundscape approach involved the participation of Mytilene’s residents and the collection of subjective and objective eligibility criteria. By means of Multi-Criteria Decision Making two urban green areas were highlighted as potential quiet areas. For the noise control approach, road noise maps have been created through a commercial noise mapping software, validated by trough measurements. As a result, two areas located in the outskirts of the city were highlighted. Finally, the novel ecological acoustics approach involved acoustic recordings and the extraction of the Composite Urban Quietness Index (CUQI). The outcome of this approach converged with the soundscape approach results. Quietness, as an urban acoustic planning and design goal, could be viewed as an opportunity for ecologically sustainable urban environments.

Cities are getting bigger and bigger, this means an increase in the concentration of population and therefore noise. This can pose a danger to our health, because without realizing it we could be exposing our body to noise levels much higher than permitted, but due to routine and being used to them, we do not give importance. To try to tackle this problem, the first step is to know the noise levels. To this end, cities carry out noise mapping measurement campaigns. The problem is that these campaigns are carried out every few years and the measures are implemented at specific points in the city. Nowadays, thanks to the development of small embedded systems which can integrate high capacity data processors, as well as long and short-range communications systems, it is possible to design intelligent devices, under the IoT paradigm, which provide detailed and ubiquitous information in real time about noise levels in cities.

In addition to air pollution, environmental noise has become one of the major hazards for citizens, being Road Traffic Noise (RTN) as its main source in urban areas. Recently, low-cost Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASNs) have become an alternative to traditional strategic noise mapping in cities. In order to monitor RTN solely, WASN-based approaches should automatize the off-line removal of those events unrelated to regular road traffic (e.g., sirens, airplanes, trams, etc.). Within the LIFE DYNAMAP project, 15 urban Anomalous Noise Events (ANEs) were described through an expert-based recording campaign. However, that work only focused on the overall analysis of the events gathered during non-sequential diurnal periods. As a step forward to characterize the temporal and local particularities of urban ANEs in real acoustic environments, this work analyses their distribution between day (06:00&ndash, 22:00) and night (22:00&ndash, 06:00) in narrow (1 lane) and wide (more than 1 lane) streets. The study is developed on a manually-labelled 151-h acoustic database obtained from the 24-nodes WASN deployed across DYNAMAP&rsquo, s Milan pilot area during a weekday and a weekend day. Results confirm the unbalanced nature of the problem (RTN represents 83.5% of the data), while identifying 26 ANE subcategories mainly derived from pedestrians, animals, transports and industry. Their presence depends more significantly on the time period than on the street type, as most events have been observed in the day-time during the weekday, despite being especially present in narrow streets. Moreover, although ANEs show quite similar median durations regardless of time and location in general terms, they usually present higher median signal-to-noise ratios at night, mainly on the weekend, which becomes especially relevant for the WASN-based computation of equivalent RTN levels.

Trabajo presentado en los 10th SESAR Innovation Days, celebrado online del 7 al 10 de diciembre de 2020., The main purpose of this research is to assess the impact of aircraft noise around an airport considering spatial and temporal variations in the population. The concept of dynamic airport noise mapping has been demonstrated on Ljubljana airport case study. Detailed population mobility information for Slovenia were retrieved from a survey. The hourly noise contour levels generated by the airport's departure and arrival operations were calculated, and the annoyed population was thus estimated considering a reference scenario, where only the residential area was taken into account, and also a dynamic one, in which the population's mobility was included. The results show that for the dynamic scenario, the total number of people annoyed by noise increases by 2.9%, while the number of highly annoyed people decreases by 10% compared to the reference scenario. On the individual level, there are many cases of both overestimating and underestimating the noise impact. Since so far the standard in airport noise mapping has been to use census data, we have shown the importance of including explicit population mobility in noise impact calculations., This work has been achieved in ANIMA, a project that has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreementNo 769627. This research wasalsosupported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia. T.L and J.J.R. acknowledge funding from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, the AEI and FEDER (EU) under the grant PACSS (RTI2018-093732-B-C22) and the Maria de Maeztu program for Units of Excellence in R&D (MDM-2017-0711).

Manpower is an element that is dealing directly with the various consequences of industrial activities undertaken. Unqualified physical work environment such as noise that has exceeded the NAV is one of the examples faced by the workforce in the workplace. One of the activities that produce noise is the activity in the fiberline department in the pulp making industry which is the pulp making area. This study aims to map the noise and its effect on employee fatigue in the pulp making industry in the fiberline department. Research stages include noise measurement, noise mapping, filling out questionnaires by employees about work fatigue, calculation of questionnaire results, determining the effect of noise and work fatigue with regression analysis, and correlation determination. The noise mapping results at 30 point measurements indicate that the bleaching and pulp engine border areas exceed the safe threshold noise. Regression analysis results show the higher the noise level, the higher the level of work fatigue in employees. The result of correlation analysis is known that the correlation is positive or strongly correlated which shows that the effect of noise on fatigue is very strong. The noise mapping results can be known which area exceeds the noise threshold, so the company can anticipate the negative impact, as well as the strong relationship between noise and work fatigue.

In this paper the results of noise maps counted for cars and trams, in 10 areas in the city of Poznan, are analyzed in the context of possible action plans. These results are compared with the information from surveys, involving 794 participants, performed at the same 10 areas. The general results showed that basing solely on the values of noise indicators, i.e. information from the noise maps, is not sufficient for reliable planning of noise action plans, particularly those created in response to multiple noise sources. The exceedance of a noise limit for a given sound source does not necessarily mean that this source is the most annoying for inhabitants. To find a solution to this problem, we propose conducting dedicated noise surveys in the specific areas in each city (in which the noise maps are calculated) where we know a priori that more than one noise source will occur at the same time and could be potentially annoying. In the proposed survey we suggest using two specified questions: whether a given sound source is annoying or not, and which sound source should be the first one to be eliminated, if this is possible. This new survey proposal is the result of an analysis of the survey performed within this study. Some methodological changes are proposed with regard to the survey that was actually used. This new approach could improve decisions about action plans and provide more complex information about peoples’ assessment of noise annoyance evoked by different sound sources.

This study is intended on the assessment of traffic noise at Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Bakap where this study area located near the main road (Jalan Sungai Bakap). The objectives of this study are to determine noise levels during school hours, to identify the source of noise and to establish the noise profiling in the Sekolah Kebangsaan Sungai Bakap environment. With using sound level meter instrument, the noise levels at school were measured where 19 points were selected at school area in order to collect the value of all parameters measured in this study (Leq, Lmax, Lmin, L10, L50, and L90). Each of the noise measurements was taken for 3 minutes in duration and the time taken for all measurements conducted from 8.30 a.m. to 12.00 p.m. Noise mapping performed using ArcMap and My maps website based on the latitude, longitude and also noise parameters. Manually traffic count was conducted to count the number of vehicles on the road. Traffic composition data in this study was categorized into four types, which passenger car and van, motorcycle, medium lorries and heavy lorries. The result showed that the measured noise levels at school area in term of Leq were between the range of 54.8–72.9 dB(A), where it was found that the highest noise level generated was at road zones. From this study, all noise data collected exceeded the Malaysian noise limit. Apart from that, based on the noise mapping it showed that highest noise levels were located in traffic zones area.

• Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad y Fondos FEDER. Proyecto RA2015-70487-R, para David Montes Gonzalez, Juan Miguel Barrigon Morillas • Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia. P proyecto POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007633, para Luis Manuel Cortecao Godinho, Paulo Jorge Amado Mendes

The purpose of this study was to assess the noise generated by a major urban expressway (Green Line) and ascertain the influence of its propagation in the surrounding area. To this end, noise was monitored on the expressway and adjacent thoroughfares at a total of 31 measurement points. Noise mapping was also performed, and noise perception interviews were held with 397 interviewees. Noise measurements were taken using B&K 2238, B&K 2260 and B&K 2250 sound level meters. Noise mapping was performed using B&K Predictor 7810 software. The results of the noise measurements and mapping indicated that the urban expressway under study contributes significantly to noise pollution in the region, as well as to noise coming from the secondary thoroughfares. However, owing to the urban zoning of the area in question, the interviewees stated that the noise in the region does not annoy them (56%), while those that feel annoyed (44%) complained most frequently about the noise coming from the secondary thoroughfares adjacent to this major urban expressway.

Noise mapping is a well-established practice among the European nations, and it has been follow for almost two decades. Recently, as per guidelines of the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), India, noise mapping has been made mandatory in the mining expanses. This study is an effort to map the noise levels in nearby areas of mines in the northern Keonjhar district. The motive of this study is to quantify the existing A-weighted time-average sound level (LAeq,T ) in the study area to probe its effects on the human dwellings and noise sensitive areas with the probability of future development of the mines, roads, and industrial and commercial zone. The LAeq,T was measured at 39 identified locations, including industrial, commercial, residential, and sensitive zones, 15 open cast mines, 3 major highways, and 3 haulage roads. With the utilisation of Predictor LimA Software and other GIS tools, the worked out data is mapped and noise contours are developed for the visualisation and identification of the extent and distribution of sound levels across the study area. This investigation discloses that the present noise level at 60% of the locations in silence and residential zone exposed to significantly high noise levels surpasses the prescribed limit of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), India. The observed day and night time LAeq, T level of both zones ranged between 43.2-62.2 dB(A) and 30.5-53.4 dB(A), respectively, whereas, the average Ldn values vary between 32.7 and 51.2 dB(A). The extensive mobility of heavy vehicles adjoining the sensitive areas and a nearby plethora of open cast mines is the leading cause of exceeded noise levels. The study divulges that the delicate establishments like schools and hospitals are susceptible to high noise levels throughout the day and night. A correlation between observed and software predicted values gives R2 of 0.605 for Ld, 0.217 for Ln, and 0.524 for Ldn. Finally, the mitigation measure is proposed and demonstrated using a contour map showing a significant reduction in the noise levels by 0-5.3 dB(A).

In China, fast city rebuilding poses the challenge of frequent refresh cycle of urban traffic noise mapping. Computational complexity and lack of resources are the primary bottleneck in traffic noise mapping. In this paper, we present a flexible distributed heterogeneous computing method based on GPU-CPU cooperation, which reduces the overhead, improves the efficiency of parallel computing and consistently generates good quality results for traffic noise mapping. A genetic algorithm based large-scale task partition algorithm is employed to solve load balancing problem in distributed noise mapping calculation. The methodology is evaluated by an example, whose results show that the proposed task partition method can significantly improve running efficiency. Parallel efficiency increases from 54% to 78%. In addition, test speed is further improved by 21% with the GPU-CPU collaborative computing, even with only low-end type GPUs.

Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) time-series Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) products are regularly used for vegetation monitoring missions and climate change ...

The DYNAMAP project (Dynamic Acoustic Mapping – Development of low cost sensors networks for real time noise mapping) is a LIFE project aiming at developing a dynamic noise mapping system able to detect and represent in real time the acoustic impact due to road infrastructures. Scope of the project is the European Directive 2002/49/EC relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise (END). The main project idea is focused on the research of a technical solution able to ease and reduce the cost of noise mapping, through an automatic monitoring system, based on customized low-cost sensors and a software tool implemented on a general purpose GIS platform, performing the update of noise maps in real time (dynamic noise maps). The feasibility of this approach will be proved implementing the system in two pilot areas with different territorial and environmental characteristics: an agglomeration and a major road. The first pilot area will be located in Milan, in a significant portion of the town, while the second one will be situated along the motorway A90 surrounding the city of Rome. The two pilot areas show peculiar needs and characteristics, such as the presence of multiple noise sources, roads junctions, traffic and weather conditions, that require a different system’s implementation approach. In this paper the main issues related to the design of the system configuration in the pilot area of Rome are described.

For the time being, acoustic impact to human inhabited areas has significantly increased. Imported methods of urban noise reduction are acoustic monitoring and noise mapping of urban territories. Important measures which allow for reductions of negative noise impact are acoustic monitoring and noise mapping of urban territories. The peculiarities and negative features of existing methods of monitoring of acoustic pollution have been considered. New methods of monitoring, using automated systems are suggested, allowing the undertaking of continuous measurements of noise, and of the other parameters in the environment. A new approach to noise mapping is suggested. New approaches to monitoring of acoustic pollution are approbated in conditions of the urban territory of Samara region of Russia. By using the results of noise measurements and developing a program provision, noise maps of the urban territory of Samara region have been developed.

The study summarizes 3 years’ experience in mapping and analysing environmental noise using smartphones. The authors used participatory noise mapping utilizing smartphone-based measurement data. The data were visualized on maps and the results were investigated. The maps confirm that data from participatory measurements can reveal environmental noise exposure. The findings could be used as a starting point for local governments to finance official noise measurements.

Background The potentially negative effects of timber harvesting on biodiversity and habitat conservation leads to the consideration of a wide range of restrictions to forest logging in natural areas. In particular, high noise levels produced by forest machinery present a challenge to developing sustainable forest management plans. The Cinereous vulture (Aegypius monachus), the largest bird of prey whose nests are located in mature trees, is considered to be appropriate as an indicator species for environment-friendly forest planning. In this work, we evaluated spatially differences in sound propagation between stands. We hypothesized that differences due to the influence of orography in mountainous forests would allow the relaxation of spatial and temporary restrictions to timber logging, without causing any great disturbance at nesting sites of sensitive species. Methods Our study was conducted in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest of Spain, where an important colony of the Western European population of Cinereous vulture is located. We built 62 noise maps to characterize noise pollution due to tree logging at planning level. We modeled two different scenarios, in order to characterize; (i) the effect of a chainsaw operator during a complete cycle for felling a tree (Scenario 1), and (ii) the effect of the peak level produced by the breaking noise emitted by the trunk of the tree and its impact on the ground (Scenario 2). A strategy of three logical steps was designed; (i) landscape-scale analysis of noise propagation in stands, (ii) hierarchical cluster analysis of stands, (iii) assessment of the potentially significant influence of noise management in timber harvesting. Results The minimum distance (DIST) from chainsaw operator sites to the 40 dB(A) contour lines was the only variable that had a significant influence on the clustering results. On the other hand, mean values of a newly proposed metric called average radius or radial distance (ARD) oscillated between 174 m in cluster #1 (Scenario 1) and 407 m in cluster #2 (Scenario 2). Discussion Our results highlight the convenience of considering noise modeling tools at a forest planning level in order to address the compatibility of forest logging and the necessity of protecting nature. We found that spatial propagation of noise made by chainsaws at felling sites does not differ between stands even in a mountainous terrain, contrary to what we initially hypothesized. However, temporary logging restrictions could be excluded in about 36% of the current conditioned management areas according to ARD results in Scenario 2 (400 m). This proposal could be based on a sound pressure level (in decibels) criteria instead of conventional buffer protection distance criteria. In addition, it is suggested that the current size of restricted management areas could be generally extended from a 100 m radius to a 200 m one around the Cinereous vulture nest sites.

This paper addresses the use of noise measurements when noise mapping simulations are intended to be validated. For this, a discussion about the measurement uncertainty and how to include it in the process of validation is carried out. Then, the contribution provided by the geo-referencing error of a GPS and its impact in the uncertainty is assessed. This is achieved by means of environmental noise measurements, which are conducted based on the accuracy radius given by a standard GPS. Furthermore, an assessment of the approach is conducted by means of numerical simulations using the commercial package SoundPLAN. The results indicate that the uncertainty of noise measurements should be included as it restricts the validation threshold (usually assumed as ±3 dB). Furthermore, the error generated by the inaccuracy of the geo-referencing process increases the uncertainty of the measurements and, therefore, of the noise maps. Finally, a method to calculate a total uncertainty, which partially includes the contributions of the geo-referencing error is also proposed.

It is well known that the quality of the acoustic environment is very often degraded by major environmental interventions such as extended motorways. Considering this, the European Union has imposed relevant legislation on its member states to monitor these environmental changes/interventions and to develop strategic noise maps and action plans, in order to protect the natural and human environment. Egnatia Odos is a major motorway that crosses northern Greece and connects the country with the main European Motorway network. In the present work, the results of an extended traffic noise measuring campaign at selected sections of the Egnatia motorway are presented, together with the strategic noise maps and calculations of the population exposure. It was concluded that, although the noise levels in the countryside were low, in the suburban areas near the city of Thessaloniki the traffic noise was reported high during both the day and night. However, the extent of the traffic noise issue was found considerably greater during night-time. The number of exceedances was rather limited, though a considerable amount of population (11.5% and 5.4% during the day and night, respectively) seems to be affected by relatively high noise levels, highlighting the importance of traffic noise monitoring.

The aim of this research was to map the noise level. The survey method with a questionnaire for 30 respondents taken at random was used to obtain data on effects on the academic atmosphere during the period August - October 2019. Measurement noise levels based on Equivalent Continuous Noise Level Data during the day (L_S), night (L_M) and one-day (L_SM). This data is collected from 256 coordinates by a digital sound level meter and two application software. Mapping using the Surfer application ver11, results show that the noise level category into 5 areas: (1) Red zone, 75-80 dB(A); (2) Yellow zone, 65-75 dB(A); (3) Green zone, 55-65 dB(A); (4) Dark blue zone, 50-55 dB(A); and (5) the blue/bright zone, 45-50 dB(A). Noise levels in near or inside building and students gather is close to the threshold. At near to highways, canteen and near housing, open space and parking area indicate that exceed the threshold of 55 dB (A) and 33.1% of students perceived disturbed when the noise level is at 61 + 3 dB(A). As a result, to improve the academic atmosphere, the area near the highway built physical barriers or tree planting and manage the parking area better.

Noise generated from human activities (in particular by infrastructure and construction sites) can have a strong impact on the physiology and behavior of birds. In this work, a quantitative method for evaluating the impact of noise on wild birds is proposed. The method combines the results of previous studies that considered the effect of noise on birds and involved noise mapping evaluations. A forecast noise simulation was used to generate maps of (1) signal masking areas and (2) potential density variation. These results allow the determination of the highest risk areas for wild birds.