How can GIS predict the impact of future noise sources?

A GIS is a system for storing, manipulating and analyzing information with reference to spatial location, that is, all data manipulated in the GIS environment has a pair of coordinates, whether geographic or planar. One of the greatest advantages of GIS is the integration of data from the most diverse sources, allowing for a huge range of possible studies. The data can be vector, such as points, lines and polygons, or raster, which is nothing more than an image where each pixel will contain a value corresponding to the observed phenomenon. Through operations such as superposition, interpolation, map algebra and the possibility of creating workflows with a programming language, GIS can revolutionize the study you intend to carry out.

Integrating field noise test results into a GIS environment allows their spatialization in a digital environment. In this way, the use of GIS can estimate the intensity and propagation of a certain noise through maps and models, allowing the analysis of different scenarios. Sources of noise emission are known and have control in environmental legislation, as exposure to intense noise damages hearing, making this a health, safety and environmental issue. When you intend to implement a specific noise-generating source, analyzing its location using GIS will help identify critical points of protection against it, creating damage mitigation strategies, such as alternative schedules, location changes or even the creation of acoustic barriers.

GIS plays a critical role in predicting the impact of future noise sources by integrating spatial data, conducting noise modeling, analyzing spatial relationships, facilitating scenario planning, engaging stakeholders, and providing decision support tools for effective noise management and planning

Using emission propagation modeling. Searching the literature for the propagation intensity of the type of noise to be emitted, as well as its absorption capacity by different materials and inserting this information into the GIS is an excellent way to do this. This spatial analysis can be performed through kriging, which consists of predicting measurements at locations based on the reported data. Combining this technique with the production of a map of land use and occupation where different blocks can be segmented and classified according to the greatest presence of a certain material, according to its physical-chemical absorption characteristic and applying weights to the materials, will result in a noise propagation-absorption map.

GIS integrates a database, which allows the addition, editing, manipulation and updating of this data whenever necessary. This means that products generated in GIS can be shared, validated and corrected through the advancement of data acquisition and processing techniques, making the results of the products generated increasingly accurate. Through this reliability that the GIS brings in its forms of spatial analysis, it ends up being crucial in decision-making and planning of territorial organization, being able to support studies and policies regarding the topic of noise.