Social survey findings on en route noise annoyance issues

Most surveys of residents' reactions to aircraft noise were conducted in the vicinity of airports. The findings in those surveys have supported planning and regulatory actions for the airport noise environment. Now, however, aircraft noise planning and regulations are being considered for a new environment, the en route environment. As policy makers search for bases for public policy in these new noise environments, it is appropriate to ask whether the same scientific evidence which supports airport noise policy can also support en route noise policy. Several aspects of that question are considered. An introduction establishes the scope of the present study and examines alternative study methodologies. Next, the selected study methodology is described and important assumptions are listed. The body of the paper then consists of the findings on en route issues. The final section presents findings on relevant research methods and considers priorities for further research

Human response to aircraft noise

The human auditory system and the perception of sound are discussed. The major concentration is on the annnoyance response and methods for relating the physical characteristics of sound to those psychosociological attributes associated with human response. Results selected from the extensive laboratory and field research conducted on human response to aircraft noise over the past several decades are presented along with discussions of the methodology commonly used in conducting that research. Finally, some of the more common criteria, regulations, and recommended practices for the control or limitation of aircraft noise are examined in light of the research findings on human response

An updated catalog of 318 social surveys of residents' reactions to environmental noise (1943-1989)

All social surveys of residents' reactions to environmental noise in residential areas which were described in English language publications from 1943 to 1989 are identified. A total of 318 surveys are described. The surveys are indexed by country, noise source, and data of survey. The publications and reports from each survey are listed in a bibliography. Twenty-four surveys are listed which are available for secondary analysis from a data archive

Reactions of Residents to Long-Term Sonic Boom Noise Environments

A combined social survey and noise measurement program has been completed in 14 communities in two regions of the western United States that have been regularly exposed to sonic booms for many years. A total of 1,573 interviews were completed. Three aspects of the sonic booms are most disturbing: being startled, noticing rattles or vibrations, and being concerned about the possibility of damage from the booms. Sonic boom annoyance is greater than that in a conventional aircraft environment with the same continuous equivalent noise exposure. The reactions in the two study regions differ in severity

Effect of Personal and Situational Variables on Noise Annoyance: with Special Reference to Implications for En Route Noise

Over 680 publications from 282 social surveys of residents' reactions to environmental noise have been examined to locate 495 published findings on 26 topics concerning non-noise explanations for residents' reactions to environmental noise. This report (1) tabulates the evidence on the 26 response topics, (2) identifies the 495 findings, and (3) discusses the implications for en route noise assessment. After controlling for noise level, over half of the social survey evidence indicates that noise annoyance is not strongly affected by any of the nine demographic variables examined (age, sex, social status, income, education, homeownership, type of dwelling, length of residence, or receipt of benefits from the noise source), but is positively associated with each of the five attitudinal variables examined (a fear of danger from the noise source, a sensitivity towards noise generally, the belief that the authorities can control the noise, the awareness of non-noise impacts of the source, and the belief that the noise source is not important)

Design methodology for a community response questionnaire on sonic boom exposure

A preliminary draft questionnaire concerning community response to sonic booms was developed. Interviews were conducted in two communities that had experienced supersonic overflights of the SR-71 airplane for several years. Even though the overflights had ceased about 6 months prior to the interviews, people clearly remembered hearing sonic booms. A total of 22 people living in central Utah and 23 people living along Idaho/Washington state border took part in these interviews. The draft questionnaire was constantly modified during the study in order to evaluate different versions. Questions were developed which related to annoyance, startle, sleep disturbance, building vibration, and building damage. Based on the data collected, a proposed community response survey response instrument was developed for application in a full-scale sonic boom study

Residents' reactions to long-term sonic boom exposure: Preliminary results

This presentation is about residents' reactions to sonic booms in a long-term sonic boom exposure environment. Although two phases of the data collection have been completed, the analysis of the data has only begun. The results are thus preliminary. The list of four authors reflects the complex multi-disciplinary character of any field study such as this one. Carey Moulton is responsible for Wyle Laboratories' acoustical data collection effort. Robert Baumgartner and Jeff Thomas of HBRS, a social science research firm, are responsible for social survey field work and data processing. The study is supported by the NASA Langley Research Center. The study has several objectives. The preliminary data addresses two of the primary objectives. The first objective is to describe the reactions to sonic booms of people who are living where sonic booms are a routine, recurring feature of the acoustical environment. The second objective is to compare these residents' reactions to the reactions of residents who hear conventional aircraft noise around airports. Here is an overview of the presentation. This study will first be placed in the context of previous community survey research on sonic booms. Next the noise measurement program will be briefly described and part of a social survey interview will be presented. Finally data will be presented on the residents' reactions and these reactions will be compared with reactions to conventional aircraft. Twelve community studies of residents' reactions to sonic booms were conducted in the United States and Europe in the 1960's and early 1970's. None of the 12 studies combined three essential ingredients that are found in the present study. Residents' long-term responses are related to a measured noise environment. Sonic booms are a permanent feature of the residential environment. The respondents' do not live on a military base. The present study is important because it provides the first dose/response relationship for sonic booms that could be expected to apply to residents in civilian residential areas

Taxis Toward Hydrogen Gas by Methanococcus Maripaludis

Knowledge of taxis (directed swimming) in the Archaea is currently expanding through identification of novel receptors, effectors, and proteins involved in signal transduction to the flagellar motor. Although the ability for biological cells to sense and swim toward hydrogen gas has been hypothesized for many years, this capacity has yet to be observed and demonstrated. Here we show that the average swimming velocity increases in the direction of a source of hydrogen gas for the methanogen, Methanococcus maripaludis using a capillary assay with anoxic gas-phase control and time-lapse microscopy. The results indicate that a methanogen couples motility to hydrogen concentration sensing and is the first direct observation of hydrogenotaxis in any domain of life. Hydrogenotaxis represents a strategy that would impart a competitive advantage to motile microorganisms that compete for hydrogen gas and would impact the C, S and N cycles

Phase II Investigations at Prehistoric and Rock Art Sites, Justiceburg Reservoir, Garza and Kent Counties, Texas Volume I

Phase II cultural resources investigations at the proposed Justiceburg Reservoir in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, were conducted by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. in 19881989. This report documents the archeological work at 62 prehistoric and aboriginal rock art sites and the geoarcheological study conducted as part of the Phase II work. Investigations at 48 prehistoric sites, including open campsites, rockshelters, lithic procurement sites, faunal localities, and rock art sites, resulted in complete National Register assessments; 9 campsites, the 2 rockshelters, and 6 rock art sites are considered to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Less-intensive investigations at 14 prehistoric sites yielded insufficient data for full National Register assessments. The geoarcheological study resulted in the formulation of a model of the geomorphic history of the project area. Of considerable importance is the recognition of a period of catastrophic flushing of alluvial sediments Within the Double Mountain ~ork valley during the middle Holocene, followed by late Holocene sedimentation and stabilization. This supports the concept of a dry middle Holocene Altitherrnal period and helps explain the biased archeological record in the project area. The prehistoric site investigations indicate that most of the archeological remains present at Justiceburg Reservoir date to the late Archaic and Late Prehistoric periods, a phenomenon noted in similar settings elsewhere in the Lower Plains. Of the open campsites assessed as eligible for listing on the National Register, four are classified as late Archaic (4500-2000 B.P.), two are classified as Late Prehistoric I (2000-1000 8.P.), and three are classified as Late Prehistoric II (1000 B.P. to evidence of European contact). The two investigated rockshelters contain evidence of Late Prehistoric I and II occupations. Due to the paucity of regional archeological data and the lack of a well-defined cultural chronology, only two of these sites can be assigned tentatively to recognized cultural complexes. Site 4lGR291 yielded ceramics and arrow points indicating a Palo Duro Complex occupation, ca. A.D. 500, while ceramics and a distinctive hearth associated with the upper component at 41KTS3 suggest a Garza Complex occupation, ca. A.D. 1600-1700. No evidence of European contact was found at any of the habitation sites, but three of the rock art sites contain historic Plains Indian iconography. The investigations at the prehistoric sites resulted in the formulation of a late Holocene cuItural sequence for the project area. Analyses of the various classes of archeological evidence (e.g., artifacts, features, faunal remains) revealed broad cultural patterns that appear to reflect significant changes in subsistence strategies through time. It is suggested that these changes are related to late Holocene environmental conditions and corresponding shifts in the resource base. It is further suggested that bison were the most important resource controlling late Holocene human adaptations in the Texas Lower Plains

Phase II Investigations at Prehistoric and Rock Art Sites, Justiceburg Reservoir, Garza and Kent Counties, Texas Volume I

Phase II cultural resources investigations at the proposed Justiceburg Reservoir in Garza and Kent counties, Texas, were conducted by Prewitt and Associates, Inc. in 19881989. This report documents the archeological work at 62 prehistoric and aboriginal rock art sites and the geoarcheological study conducted as part of the Phase II work. Investigations at 48 prehistoric sites, including open campsites, rockshelters, lithic procurement sites, faunal localities, and rock art sites, resulted in complete National Register assessments; 9 campsites, the 2 rockshelters, and 6 rock art sites are considered to be eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Less-intensive investigations at 14 prehistoric sites yielded insufficient data for full National Register assessments. The geoarcheological study resulted in the formulation of a model of the geomorphic history of the project area. Of considerable importance is the recognition of a period of catastrophic flushing of alluvial sediments Within the Double Mountain ~ork valley during the middle Holocene, followed by late Holocene sedimentation and stabilization. This supports the concept of a dry middle Holocene Altitherrnal period and helps explain the biased archeological record in the project area. The prehistoric site investigations indicate that most of the archeological remains present at Justiceburg Reservoir date to the late Archaic and Late Prehistoric periods, a phenomenon noted in similar settings elsewhere in the Lower Plains. Of the open campsites assessed as eligible for listing on the National Register, four are classified as late Archaic (4500-2000 B.P.), two are classified as Late Prehistoric I (2000-1000 8.P.), and three are classified as Late Prehistoric II (1000 B.P. to evidence of European contact). The two investigated rockshelters contain evidence of Late Prehistoric I and II occupations. Due to the paucity of regional archeological data and the lack of a well-defined cultural chronology, only two of these sites can be assigned tentatively to recognized cultural complexes. Site 4lGR291 yielded ceramics and arrow points indicating a Palo Duro Complex occupation, ca. A.D. 500, while ceramics and a distinctive hearth associated with the upper component at 41KTS3 suggest a Garza Complex occupation, ca. A.D. 1600-1700. No evidence of European contact was found at any of the habitation sites, but three of the rock art sites contain historic Plains Indian iconography. The investigations at the prehistoric sites resulted in the formulation of a late Holocene cuItural sequence for the project area. Analyses of the various classes of archeological evidence (e.g., artifacts, features, faunal remains) revealed broad cultural patterns that appear to reflect significant changes in subsistence strategies through time. It is suggested that these changes are related to late Holocene environmental conditions and corresponding shifts in the resource base. It is further suggested that bison were the most important resource controlling late Holocene human adaptations in the Texas Lower Plains