New perspectives on spatial and temporal aspects of aircraft noise: Dynamic noise maps for Heathrow airport

Abstract

This paper presents findings from the H2020 ANIMA project which sought to develop new methodologies, approaches and tools to manage aviation noise impact. Specifically, the work reported here focuses on Heathrow Airport and sought to understand how the consideration of people's daily movements could inform measures of exposure to aircraft noise. By using travel data to reflect human mobility over space and time, a more realistic picture of where people are located throughout the day, and the sound levels they experience at these locations, can give more nuanced understanding of aircraft noise exposure. The study showed that this dynamic approach to mapping noise helps develop greater knowledge of who is exposed to aircraft noise, where they are exposed and when. The research found that, through dynamic mapping, the total number of people estimated to be highly annoyed by aircraft noise increased by 10.9% compared to contour-based mapping using only census data. The implication here is that people spend more time during the day in the areas most affected by aircraft noise, while there are fewer people in less affected areas around the airport. The findings take the science of sound exposure forward as they build on the information that traditional, static noise contours can offer (where the assumption is made that people are located at their residence over all hours of the day and thus exposed to the sound at that location) by better capturing levels of sound exposure as people go about their daily lives, both near an airport and beyond. This approach has applications for airports, air navigation service providers, policymakers and legislators. Ultimately, it can contribute to improved sound experience for people and communities near airports.