Relevance

This indicator measures noise originating from aircraft takeoffs and landings at the City of South Lake Tahoe Airport. Lake Tahoe Airport supported commercial flights into and out of South Lake Tahoe from the early 1960s until 2001, when commercial service was ended. Since 2001, the airport has supported aircraft-related operations for one helicopter sightseeing business, occasional military training touch landing exercises, emergency services, and privately-owned general aviation flights only. Aircraft-generated noise is most frequently recorded during the summer months with most threshold exceedances occurring during the annual celebrity golf tournament and air show each July. TRPA adopted single noise event threshold standards to protect the quality of life for residents and visitors and to reduce impacts to wildlife.

Human and Environmental Drivers

The primary factors influencing single noise event exceedances caused by aircraft are aircraft type and frequency of flight (California Department of Transportation - California Aviation Planning 2007). A large percentage of the exceedances recorded by monitoring may be attributed to natural sources (e.g. wind, lightning, wildlife) and other anthropogenic sources other than aircraft. Additional factors influencing aircraft noise levels include wind, temperature, cloud cover, fog, topography, vegetation, and man-made barriers such as homes and other buildings. Thermal inversions, a common occurrence in the Tahoe Basin (Tahoe Interagency Management System 2011), and cloud cover can cause noise levels to be perceived as louder than they are (California Department of Transportation - California Aviation Planning 2007).

No related projects or programs defined for this indicator.