Strategic Noise Mapping in France to 2023: Coupling a national database with the open-source model NoiseModelling

The Environmental Noise Directive (END) requires the realization of strategic noise maps, every 5 years, in order to evaluate the noise impact of roads, railways, airports and the main industries on the inhabitants. To achieve round 4 for major roads and major railways, France has decided to create a national database called PlaMADE, which gathers all the necessary input data (traffic, building, population, relief...) in a unique format, a COVADIS GeoStandard. On the basis of these data, and using the open-source noise propagation calculation tool NoiseModelling, all the indicators and maps have been produced for the first time in an automatic way at a national scale. This paper presents the technical and methodological details of the coupling between the PlaMADE database and the NoiseModelling tool.