Haleakala National Park Acoustical Monitoring Report

摘要

Development of an air tour management plan (ATMP) for Haleakala National Park (HALE) has been underway since 2003 when collection of acoustic data to establish baseline ambient conditions was conducted. Due to the length of time it has taken to develop the ATMP and substantial changes in economic conditions in Hawaii since the National Parks Air Tour Management Act was passed in 2000, the National Park Service lacks information about the current level of commercial air tour activity for HALE. Since the first measurement study in 2003, advancements in acoustic monitoring and data analysis now allow for acoustic signatures of aircraft to be easily identified in the spectral data. Therefore, with the assistance of park staff, Natural Sounds Program technicians deployed three acoustic monitoring systems in HALE in spring 2008. The purpose of this measurement study was to gather data about the current level of commercial air tour operations for use in defining current conditions for the ATMP and associated environmental impact statement. Existing ambient sound levels were collected. The data will be used to estimate natural ambient and determine percent time audible statistics for sound sources and serve as a permanent record of existing acoustical conditions in the spring of 2008. Systems were deployed for thirty days to log one-second sound pressure levels and gather continuous audio recordings.