Noise Research
- Ongoing Research Efforts
- Optimized Profile Descent
- Future Outlook: A Quieter Airplane Design
- Useful metrics for analyzing aircraft noise
- PARTNER Project 44: Aviation-Related Noise Effect on the Elderly
- PARTNER Project 19: A Review of the Literature Related to Potential Health Effects of Aircraft Noise
- A Pilot Study on Aircraft Noise and Sleep Disturbance
- Noise Emission and Propagation Modeling
- Rotorcraft Noise Abatement Operating Conditions Modeling
- Analytical Approach for Quantifying Noise from Advanced Operational Procedures
Noise research - Highlights
There are many research efforts being conducted on the effects of aviation noise. These efforts are investigating ways to reduce the effects of noise. This section includes just a few examples of the ongoing research.

PARTNER Project 44: Aviation-Related Noise Effect on the Elderly
Lead investigators at the Boston University School of Public Health and Harvard School of Public Health are employing national data on Medicare enrollees and noise contours surrounding each of 95 airports to evaluate the linkage between aviation-related noise and hospital admissions for cardiovascular disease. The anticipated outcomes include the first national-scale investigation of health impacts of airport noise in the US and conclusions regarding airports where health impacts appear more significant and where future investigations may be warranted. Read More...
PARTNER Publications
The Partnership for AiR Transportation Noise and Emissions Reduction (PARTNER) website presents research that is being conducted by a leading aviation cooperative research organization.
Recent noise related publications from PARTNER can be found on the PARTNER publications page. Recent publications include:
Aircraft Noise Characteristics and Metrics. Shashikant Ramdas More. A PARTNER Project 24 Report. July 2011. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2011-004.
A Review of the Literature Related to Potential Heath Effects of Aircraft Noise. PARTNER Project 19 final report. Hales Swift. July 2010. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2010-003.
Sonic Boom and Subsonic Aircraft Noise Outdoor Simulation Design Study. Victor W. Sparrow, Steven L. Garrett. A PARTNER Project 24 report. May 2010. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2010-002.
Passive Sound Insulation: PARTNER Project 1.5 Report. Daniel H. Robinson, Robert J. Bernhard, Luc G. Mongeau. January 2008. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2008-003.
Vibration and Rattle Mitigation: PARTNER Project 1.6 Report. Daniel H. Robinson, Robert J. Bernhard, Luc G. Mongeau. January 2008. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2008-004.
Low Frequency Noise Study. Kathleen Hodgdon, Anthony Atchley, Robert Bernhard. April 2007. (Report No. PARTNER-COE-2007-001) PARTNER Project 1, Low Frequency Noise Study, final report.
Land Use Management and Airport Controls: A further study of trends and indicators of incompatible land use. Kai Ming Li, Gary Eiff. September 2008. Report No. PARTNER-COE-2008-006
En Route Traffic Optimization to Reduce Environmental Impact: PARTNER Project 5 Report. John-Paul Clarke, Marcus Lowther, Liling Ren, WIlliam Singhose, Senay Solak, Adan Vela, Lawrence Wong. July 2008. Report no. PARTNER-COE-2008-005
Land Use Management and Airport Controls: Trends and indicators of incompatible land use. Kai Ming Li, Gary Eiff, John Laffitte, Dwayne McDaniel. December 2007. (Report No. PARTNER-COE-2008-001) PARTNER Project 6 final report.
PARTNER is an FAA/NASA/Transport Canada-sponsored Center of Excellence. PARTNER fosters breakthrough technological, operational, policy, and workforce advances for the betterment of mobility, economy, national security, and the environment.
Additional Research Information
Additional research information is available through the following research based websites.
NASA is conducting research on subsonic, supersonic and rotary wing aircraft. Additional information on the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics projects can be found at:
Additional information can be found on the
- Transportation Research Board website.
- FAA Environment and Energy Research Office website.
FAA Noise Research Roadmap Workshop
The FAA recently conducted several workshops that brought together researchers, community members, consultants and representatives of government agencies to discuss fundamental topics for the FAA Noise Research Roadmap. The objective was to solicit and discuss ideas and issues that would contribute to noise research objectives. The overall objective for the Research Roadmap is to identify research needs and address the various aspects of the effects of aviation noise impact on members of communities. The FAA wants to identify research efforts that are supported by other agencies, and leverage resources in addition to conducting FAA sponsored research projects.
The research roadmap workshops were initiated after a request from the FAA's Research, Engineering and Development Advisory Committee (REDAC). A preliminary forum was held in conjunction with Internoise 2009 in August 2009, a international meeting for noise researchers. The discussion focused on community annoyance and sleep disturbance due to aviation noise impact.
The first workshop was held December 10-11, 2009, in Washington DC and the second workshop was held in March 4, 2010, in San Diego, CA..
- August 2009, International Aircraft Noise Forum at Internoise 2009, Ottawa, Ontario
- Summary Report
- Background material for forum attendees
- Roster of forum attendees
- Comments from form attendees
- December 2009, Washington, DC
- March 4, 2010, Workshop in San Diego, CA
Photo Credit: Ken Plotkin