Sounds: Managing the Transient

Sounds: Managing the TransientDamon Joyce Physical ScientistNatural Sounds ProgramNatural Resource Program CenterFort Collins, CONatural Sounds ProgramMissionto protect, maintain, or restore acoustical environments throughout the National Park System. We fulfill this mission by working in partnership with parks and others to increase scientific and public understanding of the value and character of soundscapes2006 NPS Management Policy (4.9)The Service will restore to the natural condition wherever possible those park soundscapes that have become degraded by unnatural sounds (noise), and will protect natural soundscapes from unacceptable impacts.Sequoia & Kings Canyon N.P.

3Yosemite National Park

Current Data Monitoring ProtocolCollection period of 25 days per season (usually summer and winter)Continuous 1-second sound pressure level (SPL) data for overall sound level and 33 different frequencies1-second local wind speed measurements (direction, temperature, and humidity if possible)Continuous MP3 audio for entire collection periodCurrent Data Monitoring ProtocolCollection period of 25 days per season (usually summer and winter)Continuous 1-second sound pressure level (SPL) data for overall sound level and 33 different frequencies1-second local wind speed measurements (direction, temperature, and humidity if possible)Continuous MP3 audio for entire collection period

0.5Gb of binary SPL data, 32Gb of audio

Splat

Splat

Splat

Splat

SPL v. Frequency

CIRO13SPL v. Frequency

OLYM14Data ExtentNSP responds to TARs, and this summer we are scheduled to collect data at 29 sitesTo date, NSP has over 7Tb of data stored on local drives, corresponding to 5 years of collectionMany parks are starting up their own soundscape program (LAME, MORA, NOCA, GRCA, BRCA, DENA, YOSE, YELL, and GRTE already have programs in place)Data rates could be as high as 4-6Tb per year when all parks are taken into account

Continuous Audio LimitationsContinuous audio accounts for 99% of data storage (600 hours of MP3 audio consumes ~32Gb disk space)Cannot be further compressedNot practical to make available to public through any existing datastoreData exists in 256Mb blocks (6.2hr blocks at 96kbps)No simple way to efficiently query samples within blocksHistoric data was sample-based only (10s/2min)

SPL Data LimitationsOutdated interagency text-based data format1-second data of questionable use to datastore usersHistoric data in multiple formats, with multiple metrics, using multiple standardsContinuous Audio SolutionsInstituted a standard naming convention (SITE_YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS.mp3) based on recording start timeCreated a utility to easily extract subsections of MP3 audioParallel file structureLots and lots of hard drives

1) When audio metadata is added to an eventual database, much of the info can be populated automatically2) Can be used as a backend for server queries3) Useful for backups4) HDDs are cheaper and more portable than tape backup devices18SPL Data SolutionsDraft database designed by the Volpe Transportation Center (DOT)Report the relevantSeveral levels of metrics, depending on quality and scale of dataAutomated method for calculation of metricsDatabase: Metadata contains elev, lat/lon, etc and should let us track across multiple sites/regions/habitatReport: Try to foresee variables that are important, factors that actually influence the soundscape19Continuous Audio UnresolvedDatabase of references?Looming data storage problem, as parks collect data faster than storage capacities can handle Compress historic audio samples?20SPL Data UnresolvedHow to handle data from 3rd parties not following official protocol?To what extent do we want to make data public?21Questions?