Spectral Noise Measurements supply Instantaneous Traffic Information for Multidisciplinary Mobility and Traffic Related Projects.

The effect of traffic on health and quality of life is a multidisciplinary field which requires good knowledge of the driving force: the local traffic and traffic dynamics. The noise exposure is not only an important indicator for the health effects. The measured exposure can be used as instantaneous traffic information for the adjacent traffic related disciplines. The noise measurements can be static (fixed network) or mobile (walking or biking). The spectral content in the noise measurements detects the local traffic dynamics and adds relevant information in a high temporal and spatial resolution. The technique is illustrated for the exposure to particulate matter (Black Carbon), an exposure measure with an extreme spatiotemporal variation. The instantaneous traffic assessments and quantification of the traffic dynamics enables the disentanglement of the variation due to local traffic counts, traffic dynamics, instantaneous meteorological influences and long-term changes in background exposure. The integration of fixed noise measurement networks and continuous mobile noise sampling in multidisciplinary smart city setups quantifies the variability of traffic in an enhanced resolution in both space and time.