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There are a variety of noises in natural environments, and an increasing number of them are man made. Benfield and his colleagues investigated the influences of various sorts of noises (natural, ground traffic, aircraft, and human voices) on assessments of natural environments. All sounds used were relatively quite (45 to 60 dB(A)). The researchers determined that “the presence of any anthropogenic noise – air traffic, ground traffic, or voices – negatively impacted environmental assessments, and more so at louder levels, while the natural soundscape had no effect on assessments. . . . These effects were strongest for scenes that were high in scenic beauty.” Noise mitigation tools proposed include mechanized shuttle systems into remote areas and signs requesting visitors to speak quietly. Since noise effects varied based on scenic beauty, researchers suggest that in use of these and similar techniques “priority be given to scenic overlooks or other locations that visitors feel are particularly beautiful since these settings are most sensitive to noise effects.”
Jacob Benfield, Paul Bell, Lucy Troup, and Nicholas Soderstrom. 2010. “Aesthetic and Affective Effects of Vocal and Traffic Noise on Natural Landscape Assessment.” Journal of Environmental Psychology, vol. 30, pp. 103-111.
