An Exploratory Study on Ultrasound Presence in Urban Spaces

What is it about?

Ultrasound is typically defined as sound waves with a fundamental frequency of more than 20kHz (American National Standards Institute [ANSI] Acoustics documentation)—such frequencies are not audible to humans. Increasing mechanisation and automation of everyday human activity have led to a proliferation of devices using ultrasound—for instance, many motion detectors controlling doors, lighting and so on. However, very little is known about the effects of ultrasound on human health, or, more generally, as a domestic and urban pollutant, and even less about the prevalence of ultrasound in our daily lives. This paper presents a preliminary study on the presence and prevalence of ultrasound in the city center of Aalborg, Northern Denmark.

Featured Image

Photo by Viktor Hesse on Unsplash

Photo by Viktor Hesse on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Ultrasound is a frequently overlooked feature of our environment as it is not audible to humans and little is known of its health effects on humans. Presently, regulations governing noise pollution in urban areas concern only human-audible sound, and there are few regulations governing technologies that emit ultrasound as a by-product of their operation. Moreover, developing fields of research have highlighted the role of ultrasound in non-human species communication and the deleterious consequences for some species of human-produced ultrasound. If urban spaces are to become more sustainable through urban greening—capable of sustaining significant populations of non-human species—studies must be undertaken to begin investigating the presence of ultrasound in such areas.