ASA 128th Meeting - Austin, Texas - 1994 Nov 28 .. Dec 02

4aAB4. Effects of aircraft noise on wildlife: Techniques used in Air Force research.

Robert C. Kull

AL/OEBN, 2610 Seventh St., Wright-Patterson AFB, OH 45433-7901

Many researchers have set out to study the effects of noise on animals, especially aircraft noise, for the past 20 years yet have failed in properly describing the noise their subject animals were exposed to. In 1989 the Air Force began a series of wildlife studies to determine the effects of aircraft noise. Research included effects on Desert Bighorn Sheep, caribou, kit fox, domestic turkeys, dairy cows, horses, and raptors. One major objective in these studies was to accurately determine the noise exposure levels from aircraft. Conventional methods were used for research on domestic animals, but studies on wild animals posed special problems. Various techniques and procedures of how noise exposures were determined will be described.