Noise Map

OBJECTIVE: To map the level of noise across the city. (Reference: Timothy Dyke's "Decible Meter Madness" in Honolulu Weekly, 10-11-2006.)

MOTIVATION: The level of noise to which we are subjected affects our well-being and our experience of the city.

INSTRUCTIONS: We have access to several decibel meters that can measure noise levels objectively. The project should be a systematic sample in order to map or compare noise levels in part of the city.

• Pick a page (from 1 to 16) in Bryan's Section Maps to use as your study area.
• Sign-out a decible meter from Matt.
• Go to the study area and systematically note the dominant sound(s) in each map cell [A1 .. F4] to which you can gain access. You may choose to subdivide cells if you want a finer resolution.
• Note the locations of any "point sources" of these sounds.
• Note the times of day as you progress.
• Prepare your report as below.

THE REPORT: The main part of this is your map. You might map this as an overly for a page of Bryan's Sectional Maps, or you might want to do this with Google Earth, or some GIS. Either way you should show where you sampled and how loud the environment was at each place. (Maybe a range of minimum and maximum recorded.) If you can caracterize and show the kinds sounds (traffic, wind in trees, emergency vehicles, machinery, etc.) please include that. Also if there are "point sources" show where they are.

The map should be accompanied by a one page report with:
• your name, the class, and the observation assignment title in the upper right hand corner of the page.
• A title indicating where your noise survey was conducted.
• A paragraph describing the general location (urban, residential, valley, ridge, etc.) and the sound/noise background.
• A paragraph characterizing and describing the sounds and perhaps commenting on any difficulty in naming, identifying, recognizing, or localizing them. If you can, try to quantify the percentage of area in each sound category.
• A summary paragraph wrapping up what you found.