Estimating and Visualising Factors Affecting Traffic Noise Propagation, by use of Advanced GIS Techniques

Abstract

This paper proposes a methodology through which advanced Geographic Information Systems’ (GIS) techniques are applied in the study of environmental traffic-related noise. The spatial nature of the factors affecting traffic noise propagation necessitates the use of GIS, a field of applications offering by default specialised analytical tools and functionalities for managing spatial information. In this respect contemporary GIS tools have been employed in order to estimate and visualise the impacts of the above factors, on the noise generated by road traffic. GIS capabilities such as spatial analysis and geographical processing, were integrated with proven methods used for calculating road traffic noise, with the aim to enhance the study of factors such as distance from the noise source, screening form intervening obstacles and reflections from buildings facade. Separate maps representing the impacts of each individual factor, on the basic noise level were produced providing a comprehensive view of traffic noise propagation. All of the analysis was based on splitting the study area into a high-density grid, where each grid-cell corresponded to a reception point. By combining each individual factor’s contribution for every separate grid-cell, yielded to the global traffic noise sound field of the entire study area.