A proposed method of data collection and analysis for soundscape-based noise evaluation

Abstract

As an information-rich means of describing and accessing a particular aural environment, soundscape analysis requires additional types of information beyond those used for energy-average and statistical methods of noise evaluation. Managing the flow of data from different types of measurements is crucial in providing a meaningful description of the sonic landscape of a site. The proposed method of data collection and processing produced a means of describing the aural environment with quantitative descriptors from analysis of simultaneously recorded sound level measurements and sound recordings. Sound recordings were analyzed to determine the makeup of a soundscape comprised of individual sounds. The sounds were organized into a taxonomy; and analysis of frequency of occurrence, sound levels, and spectra of each sound, duration of each sound, and the rate of change of each sound were conducted to quantitatively describe the elements of the sonic landscape. This method of data analysis was applied to a soundscape study and produced information that exceeded the abilities of sound-energy measurements alone in providing helpful quantitative descriptors for qualitative soundscape analysis.