Environmental noise prediction, noise mapping and GIS integration : the case of inner Dublin, Ireland

The recent Environmental Noise Directive (END) of the European Union (EU) requires that noise maps and action plans are compiled for agglomerations with a population
greater than 250,000 individuals. This paper reports on research conducted to predict and
map road transport noise for a study area in central Dublin. Noise emission levels were
calculated for Lden and Lnight using the Harmonoise prediction method as recommended
by the European Union. Emphasis was placed on integrating noise data with a Geographic Information System (GIS). The results demonstrate that using a GIS to integrate noise data with other available spatial data can enhance the accuracy and visualisation of noise maps. In this regard, 3D noise animation was undertaken with a view to increasing public awareness in relation to environmental road transport noise. The results suggest that GIS based noise mapping has the potential to be more effective at
informing environmental policy decision-making, particularly in terms of the actions to be taken as a result of excessively high environmental noise levels. The research also
demonstrates that noise maps are visually sensitive to different methods of data
interpolation. This is something which has not been explored to any great extent in
previous noise mapping studies.