Sam Barrett and Glen Hancock, PhD researchers at the University of Salford, recently conducted fascinating fieldwork on the Isles of Scilly. For the RefMap project, they need to assess the effects of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) noise on a mixed-species colony of seabirds.
During this research, a large agricultural model: the XAG P100 Pro, was flown over the colony at three different distances above ground level (AGL) to assess the response of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) and lesser black-backed gulls (Larus fuscus). Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) were also present during baselining observations but left before flights began so they were not assessed. The study location is a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). As the gulls were at the chick rearing stage of their breeding season, it represented a unique opportunity to assess the response of birds to UAS noise at a location with minimal human disturbance when sensitivity to disturbance is increased. Sound measurements were also taken to record the acoustic environment of the site before and during UAS operations to determine how UAS noise influenced the soundscape and the level of noise birds were being exposed to during flights. Data from this preliminary fieldwork is currently being collated for analysis and together with the results of future assessments will provide evidence on how birds are impacted by UAS noise during commercial and agricultural operations.
It is expected that over the coming years, UAS, or ‘drones’, will revolutionise island living in a variety of ways, from postal and medical deliveries to novel transport solutions. Remote communities like the Isles of Scilly not only serve as locations for drones that provide many tangible benefits but also present a unique sonic and social context that drone noise will affect. Whilst standard methods exist for measuring noise levels, this does not consider the context of the UAS sounds within the wider sound environment or broader emotional reactions based on this. A drone flying over remote clifftops, for instance, could elicit very different reactions to a UAS delivery vehicle landing in the middle of a busy urban setting. The ‘soundscape approach’ aims to consider the broad range of human reactions to sound environments, assessing emotional responses in several dimensions.
Following this approach, Dr. Marc Ciufo Green of the University of Salford conducted a series of in-situ listening experiments, known as ‘soundwalks’, on a clifftop on the island of St. Martin’s. Participants included a mix of tourists and residents, ensuring a range of demographic opinions were captured. XAG P100 drone flights were carefully planned to represent delivery operations involving different payload weights, and selectively added to the existing soundscape in a series of locations along the clifftop. Participants were questioned on their perceptions of the soundscape using a series of word pairs, including ‘Pleasant – Unpleasant’, ‘Chaotic – Calm’, ‘Eventful – Uneventful’, and others.
Using this data, the perceptual impact of different types of drone operations will be assessed, and this will help to inform future flight path optimisation and regulation of UAS operations in remote communities such as the Isles of Scilly.
Author: University of Salford
Editor: Future Needs