Integrating random forests and propagation models for high-resolution noise mapping

The adverse effects of long-term exposure to environmental noise on human health are of increasing concern. Noise mapping methods such as spatial interpolation and land use regression cannot capture complex relationships between environmental conditions and noise propagation or attenuation in a three-dimension (3D) built environment. In this study, we developed a hybrid approach by combining a traffic propagation model and random forests (RF) machine learning algorithm to map the total environment noise levels for daily average, daytime, nighttime, and day-evening-nighttime at 30 m × 30 m resolution for the island of Montreal, Canada. The propagation model was used to predict traffic noise surfaces using road traffic flow, 3D building information, and a digital elevation model. The traffic noise estimates were compared with ground-based sound-level measurements at 87 points to extract residuals between total environmental noise and traffic noise. Residuals at these points were fit to RF models with multiple environmental and geographic predictor variables (e.g., vegetation index, population density, brightness of nighttime lights, land use types, and distances to noise contour around the airport, bus stops, and road intersections). Using the sound-level measurements as baseline data, the prediction errors, i.e., mean error, mean absolute error, and root mean squared error of daily average noise levels estimated by our hybrid approach was -0.03 dB(A), 2.67 dB(A), and 3.36 dB(A). Combining deterministic and stochastic models can provide accurate total environmental noise estimates for large geographic areas where sound-level measurements are available.