Spatio-temporal Analysis of Noise Levels across Hotspot Areas in Port Harcourt Metropolis, Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined spatial and temporal variations of noise levels across hot spot areas in Port Harcourt metropolis, Rivers State Nigeria. It employed a quasi-experimental design. The noise level was captured using Mobile Application known as decibel (dB) X in infinix note 3 android smart phone, which was calibrated with a digital noise meter SET 1350, with a measuring level range of 20–120 decibel while the sampling points were captured with the use of handheld Global Positioning System (GPS) Garmin 78sc which was calibrated to UTM zone 32N. The Geographic Information System (GIS) was the main tool in manipulating surface prediction modeling Inverse Distance Weighting (IDW) in the morning and evening noise levels using Environmental Science Research Institute’s (ESRI) software ArcGIS 10.4 version. In the twelve areas investigated, two sample points were captured in each, making a total of twenty four points. Analyses was done using ANOVA and t-test for the hypotheses and the finding of the results in mean noise levels in the morning and evening indicate that there were no statistical significant difference in the noise level as P =.89 and P =.124 respectively while the t-test indicates statistical significant difference in the majority of the hotspot areas. Therefore, hypotheses of significant mean noise levels were accepted. The finding of the IDW reveals that noise pollution occurs in the morning than in the evening periods in most areas, as they exceed the allowable noise limit of WHO standard is 85 dB (A). Based on the findings, the study recommended among others: that noise pollution planning controls should not be compromised but operates at higher dimension through planting of trees and monitoring in order to ensure strict compliance.