Soundscape metrics: What are we measuring?

Abstract

The coinage of the term “Soundscape” can trace its origin back to composer R. Murray Schafer’s soundscape studies in the 1960s, along with his seminal book “Soundscape: The Tuning of the World,” which framed the term in the phenomenological context of how we inhabit our acoustical environments. The term remained largely a philosophical conceit based on subjective impressions of inhabited sound environments until it was reined in by way of ISO 12913.1:2014 (Definition and conceptual framework), and ISO 12913.2:2014 (Data collection and reporting requirements). In these standards the conceptual framework includes (1) context, (2) sound sources, (3) acoustic environment, (4) auditory sensation, (5) interpretation of auditory sensation, (6) responses, and (7) outcomes. With the exception of (4) auditory sensation, and (5) interpretation of auditory sensation, these characteristics could all be used in non-human bioacoustic assessments and standards—utilizing the same indicators (measured by instruments). Where our toolbox falls short is in the “descriptors” because we have not yet found much success translating animal interpretations of their experience of their sound environments. In order to derive some predictable metrics of these, we would need to develop reliable ways of interpreting responses and outcomes correlated to context, sound sources, and acoustic environments.