SPreAD-GIS: a GIS tool for modeling anthropogenic noise propagation in natural ecosystems

Sarah E. Reed, Jennifer L. Boggs and Jacob P. Mann

Our goal was to identify and demonstrate the best available methods for forecasting potential noise propagation from motor vehicle activity in forested and other natural ecosystems. We reviewed eight software tools and evaluated them on the basis of their cost, ease of use, and capacity to incorporate various factors likely to affect noise propagation in wildland settings. We found that many existing programs were developed in proprietary software at high cost to the user, or had limited functionality or user support available. Further, many programs were unable to incorporate other information relevant to land mananagement and planning decisions. Based on the results of this review, we decided to adapt the System for the Prediction of Acoustic Detectability (SPreAD) to a geographic information system (GIS) environment. SPreAD-GIS incorporates commonly-available datasets on land cover, topography, and weather conditions to calculate noise propagation patterns and excess noise above ambient conditions for one-third octave frequency bands (0.125-2 kHz) around one or multiple sound sources. User-specified noise characteristics, ambient sound conditions, and frequency-weighting make SPreAD-GIS flexible to incorporate field measurements and model noise propagation for any source type, environment, or species. SPreAD-GIS is a free, open-source application written in Python and implemented as a toolbox in ArcGIS software.  

Download SPreAD-GIS v. 2.0