Displays

Climate change (CC) will morph the environmental landscape, thus leading to climate stress imposed on Cultural Heritage (CH). Especially, tangible CH, like castles, palaces, monuments and churches as well as gardens are exposed to CH effects. Such effects are heat waves, flooding, higher sea level, just to name a few.

The management and preservation of such CH buildings and whole sites, particularly in the context of CC, is a complex task in which authorities and decision makers need to aggregate and oversee information from diverse sources and domains. Yet, only by considering all relevant and available information, stakeholders can make well-grounded decisions. This imposes a complex task upon the authorities, not only due to the diversity and heterogeneity, but also to the quantity of available data.
Only if the current and future situation of the CH in focus is understood, strategies for protecting them can be developed.

The first challenge is to apply different kind of sensors to the buildings and gardens to collect data about the weather (temperature, precipitation, etc.), the situation of walls incl. cracks and the state of plants. After that, this data needs to be managed and made accessible in homogeneous way for further processing and analysis.
The domain of smart city research faces the exact same problems. Sensors are applied all over the city for example about traffic, infrastructure, air and water quality and weather data. In contrast to CH the community is much larger and the industry is involved as well.

Therefore, it is beneficial to look into technologies developed for smart cities and analyze how they can be applied to the monitoring of CH sites. For retrieving, managing and processing sensor data there are open standards evolving, for example the SensorThings API standard by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). Currently, many tools evolve around such standards from which some are available as open source.
First results of successfully applying these technologies from different CH and smart city projects will be presented.

How to cite: Moßgraber, J., Hellmund, T., Hertweck, P., and van der Schaaf, H.: Smart City Technologies for Cultural Heritage Protection, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-3383, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-3383, 2020.

During the 7th century BC, Vetulonia (Tuscany, Italy) was one of the most important cities in northern Etruria and its powerful princes commissioned monumental tumuli that reached more then 90 metres in diameter, among the largest in the ancient world. Between the end of 1800 and the beginning of 1900, many of these funeral mounds have been investigated. The one of Poggio Pepe (eastern side of the Vetulonia hill) has never been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, the internal structure is still unknown and, given the absence of a depression at the top of the mound, the inside of the chamber could be still well preserved, with the roof intact.

A joint project among three different departments of the University of Florence, lead to a new investigation campaign on this tumulus. Four radial 2D- electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were carried out. The main aims were to verify the structures conservation state and to identify the ancient tomb access. The roof conservation status is of great importance for the excavation strategy: if research will ascertain that the roof is still preserved, the excavation of the funeral chamber will start from the corridor and appropriate works will have to be planned to support the central cover. On the contrary, excavation will begin from the top of the mound. Moreover, since the exploration of tumuli is a challenging geophysical problem, other goal was to evaluate the influence, on the acquired 2D-ERT data, of the error in collecting electrode coordinates (GPS error). It is well known that the final results resolution and accuracy depend on the spatial distribution of the acquisition points on the ground surface. The precision in locating these points plays a key role, too. Nevertheless, it is hard to find in literature papers that discuss the influence on the final results of the errors in locating acquisition points.

The geophysical surveys identified remains of the wall that originally surrounded the great tumulus, and intercepted radial surface structures that have been interpreted as the highest part of the sidewalls of the tomb access corridor. Moreover, an anomaly that could represents the walls of the funeral chamber (3 m - 4 m per side) was recognized. Further development of the investigation and data analysis will allow a greater definition of the internal structures and particular attention will be given to the state of the tomb roof.

The results of the preliminary analysis of the influence of GPS error on the apparent resistivity data suggest that, in case of consistent GPS uncertainty, caused by physical and atmospheric conditions, the shallow apparent resistivity is strongly influenced by a wrong deployment of electrodes. Therefore, in case of archaeological application, where the investigation depth is limited to the first meters below the ground surface, the measurement campaign should be rescheduled in a different period, when different conditions will occur. This leads to an improvement of ERT data quality and, consequently, to a better accuracy in the localization of the archaeological target, with a minimization of the excavation cost.

How to cite: Pazzi, V., Ciani, L., Cappuccini, L., Ceccatelli, M., Patrizi, G., Guidi, G., Casagli, N., and Catelani, M.: Evaluation of the GPS errors influence on the resistivity in ERT investigation of funeral mounds, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4826, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4826, 2020.

The preservation of archaeological sites, often considered as open-air museum, is a priority and a challenge due to their exposure to environmental actions and natural hazards. Every day, the artifacts populating these sites, which can have either structural or decorative functions, are subjected to continuous degradation processes, related to frost-thaw cycles, humidity and temperature variations, causing a deterioration of the materials mechanical properties. Anthropogenic pressure (visitors, human actions) can acts towards his direction, as well. In order to evaluate the ongoing process of degradation affecting a specific site, the study of the actual conditions of the materials is typically one of the first steps of the analysis. With this perspective, in this work, the results of the investigations carried out on the constituent materials of the Knossos Palace in Crete are presented. The Knossos Palace is one of the most important archaeological sites in Crete. The main excavation work took place at the beginning of the 20^th century, directed by Sir Arthur Evans. The importance of this site led him and his collaborators to design and perform preservation actions, which included the reconstruction of relevant parts of the Knossos Palace. In addition for preserving the site, reconstructions were a way of highlighting the palace magnificence and the importance of the Minoan civilization. At that time concrete was already one of the most widely used building material. Considered a durable material, the concrete was used in the construction of reinforcement structures and new architectural elements, often placed in direct contact with the original ones. Nevertheless, the restoration/reconstruction made by Evans, using concrete, is nowadays considered an integral part of the monument and its history, to be studied and protected.

In the context of the HERACLES Project [1], samples of stones and concrete used in the Palace of Knossos were analysed to determine their morphological and chemical characteristics and their mechanical properties. For this purpose, an integrated approach, i.e. the use of several analytical techniques, was considered essential to support the material preservation actions.

[1]European Project HERACLES has received funding from the European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation HORIZON 2020 under GA n° 700395

How to cite: Curulli, A., Montesperelli, G., Ronca, S., Carvalho, F., Veiga, J. P., Cavalagli, N., Ubertini, F., Aguas, H., Kavoulaki, E., and Padeletti, G.: A multi-disciplinary materials study as a contribtion to evaluate degradation issues of monuments and archaeological sites towards their preservation, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7010, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7010, 2020.

The role of applied geophysics for the new scenario of the increasing global urbanization is going to grow day by day. In this scenario a detailed knowledge of the geological subsoil and its iteration with urban infrastructures became a fundamental issue for urban planning. A novel sub-discipline, called Urban Geophysics (Lapenna, 2017) , has recently been developing in the field of geophysics for analyzing limits and potentialities of well-known geophysical techniques in urban and industrialized areas. The application of some geophysical methods allows the recognition of geological structures from near surface down to more several hundred meters. The urban environment, characterized by a difficult logistic and a high level of noise, has a strong impact on the applicability of the geophysical prospecting methods and on the data quality.

This paper presents the results obtained by Deep Electrical Resistivity Tomography (DERT) and P-wave seismic reflection surveys performed in the city of Ferrara, which is interested in the management of geothermal resources and in the mitigation of seismic risk (CLARA-“Cloud Platform and smart underground imaging for natural risk assessment” Project funded by Italian MIUR). Along the eastern flank of the city walls, DERT and Reflection Seismic profiles were carried out in order to improve the geological information of the urban context.

DERT applications are not very common and there are only few published examples. It consists to inject direct current (square wave) into the ground, depending on the arrangement of the input points and the electrical resistivity of the subsoil, the shape of the electric field that is measured at the surface. The peculiarity of the DERT is the use of large electrode distances (>200 m) and long profiles (>3000 m) in order to reach large investigation depths (>300 m).

Seismic reflection investigations offer a powerful non‐invasive tool suitable for mapping the subsurface geological framework from the very near‐surface to hundreds of metres below surface. Recently several seismic surveys was performed in urban environment by using frequency-controlled vibroseis sources both in P- and SH-wave.

Along the eastern flank of the city walls, a DERT (5500m long) and a reflection seismic (2500m acquired by a MiniVib source in P-wave configuration) profiles were carried out in order to improve the geological information of the urban context. The joint interpretation of DERT and seismic data allowed to reconstruct the 'local' stratigraphic-depositional evolution until a depth of about 1 km, and to highlight the occurrence of a sin-depositional Quaternary tectonic tilting associated to the growth of a fault-propagation fold.

How to cite: Rizzo, E., Capozzoli, L., De Martino, G., Piscitelli, S., Bellanova, J., Caputo, R., Lapenna, V., Petronio, L., Baradello, L., Affatato, A., Morelli, G., and Fischanger, F.: Deep geophysical investigation in urban area: Ferrara city example, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-9294, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9294, 2020.

Civil infrastructures (i.e bridges, galleries ...) are crucial parts of the road asset and their possible degradation, with related consequences, may have great social, economical and safety impacts. On these grounds, the periodic monitoring of such infrastructures, from a static and dynamic point of view, is required for identifying possible changes in the structure properties, in order to prevent serious damages and disasters.

In this study we propose an integrated geophysical approach by using non-invasive and non-destructive seismic and electromagnetic techniques with standard and low-cost sensors. It has been implemented to understand the static and dynamic properties of the Gravina bridge and its interaction with foundation soils. Gravina Bridge is a bow-string bridge located few km far from Matera (Southern Italy) and developing for 144 m along a steel-concrete deck. First, the properties of the foundation soils were studied by carrying out three high-resolution geo-electrical tomographies, one bi-dimensional seismic array and two single-station seismic noise measurements. Then, the structural characteristics of the bridge were inferred through seismic and electromagnetic sensing. The former was performed by means of recordings by accelerometers and velocimeters. The accelerometers were installed in a continuous acquisition mode, along the deck and on the top of the arch. In that way, several local and regional earthquakes were recorded and detected. The velocimeters were deployed along different seismic array configurations for on-demand ambient noise recordings, in normal traffic conditions and during vibration tests. The latter were executed by using vehicles as dynamic sources.

The electromagnetic sensing was performed by using the Microwave Radar Interferometer: it was placed below the deck to measure the displacements of all the scenario illuminated by the antenna beam providing a continuous mapping of the static and dynamic displacements of the entire target.

The acquired dataset was analyzed both in frequency and time-frequency domain in order to characterize the stationary and non-stationary response of the monitored bridge in terms of fundamental frequencies of vibration, equivalent viscous damping factors and modal shapes. The consistency between the results retrieved by different geophysical techniques provides therefore an importan hint about the reliability of the described approach.

How to cite: Serlenga, V., Gallipoli, M. R., Tragni, N., Ditommaso, R., Stabile, T. A., Perrone, A., Pietrapertosa, D., and Carso, R. F.: An integrated geophysical approach for structural behavior characterization of the Gravina bridge (Matera, Southern Italy), EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-10663, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-10663, 2020.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) has become a viable platform for magnetic surveys, but the interference generated during flight and lack of the interpretation method for survey data limits its application. In this paper, we present a structure of a half-fixed boom for the UAV-magnetometer system. Compared to suspend the magnetometer on a long rope or cable, our new structure reduces interference and positional error meanwhile increases flight stability. The interference field was removed through compensation based on leveling, with root mean square error significantly reduced from 2.7889 nT to 0.2809 nT. The Faster R-CNN network was adapted for the detection of subsurface buried objects (i.e. Unexploded Ordnance) in UAV magnetic surveys, our Faster R-CNN object detection network is composed of a feature extraction network followed by two subnetworks, the feature extraction network we use is a pre-trained CNN called ResNet-50, the first subnetwork is a region proposal network (RPN) and the second subnetwork is trained to predict the actual class of each object proposal. A labeled dataset that contains 740 images was used for training and each image contains one or more labeled instances of mag anomaly, data augmentation is used by randomly flipping the image and associated box labels horizontally to improve network accuracy, the trained object detector was evaluated on both simulated and field test images. All implementations in this work were accomplished through MATLAB Deep Learning Toolbox using a PC with a GPU compute capability 7.5. Preliminary results reveal that the proposed technique can automatically confirm the number of subsurface targets, in the meantime results from different field tests show its robustness. Significant improvements have made compared to traditional computer vision methods and hence become quite promising to be applied in the field of UAV magnetic survey.

How to cite: Zheng, Y., Zhang, X., Mu, Y., and Xie, W.: Subsurface targets detection using Faster R-CNN for Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Magnetic Survey, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-12095, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12095, 2020.

In the last years, existing structures and transport infrastructures, especially those made using reinforced concrete, have experienced significant safety criticalities implying also a relevant social and economic impacts. Structural Health Monitoring techniques represent a reliable response to the problem available to scientists and engineers. A multidisciplinary approach combing knowledge from several research fields and using different kind of technologies would be preferable for this type of application. Most of developed methods for structural damage detection on civil structures and infrastructures is generally based on the evaluation of displacements, eigenfrequencies, damping factors, mode shapes, etc., and their variation over time, by means of on-site installed sensors. In recent years, thanks to the rapid evolution of interferometric SAR processing techniques, a large amount of “satellite measurements” are available for both geophysical phenomena and building monitoring in terms of displacement rate over time. This paper presents an overview on the 2019-2021 WP6 Reluis Project aiming to contribute to the discussion about the opportunity and the modalities to merge information retrieved both by on-site and remote sensing measurements and to define a shared strategy to detect damage on existing structures and infrastructures in operational conditions.

How to cite: Ponzo, F. C. and Ditommaso, R.: Structural Health Monitoring of existing structures and infrastructures combining on-site and satellite data, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-13600, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-13600, 2020.

The global urbanization process, along with the environmental impacts it carries with it, requires the adoption of innovative programming strategies for the sustainable and efficient management of natural resources and to improve the resilience of cities to natural disasters. In this scenario where the acquisition of a deeper and as thorough as possible knowledge of the territory on the problems connected with the phenomena of hydrogeological instability and natural risk in general that can affect the inhabited centers pose new challenges both at the level of government and for the scientific community. Further, it is also important to organize and make these complex information easily accessible to stakeholders, i.e. administrators, planners and civil protection.

In the framework of two national projects, CLARA (CLoud plAtform and smart underground imaging for natural Risk Assessment) and SPOT (Development of a Platform for the provision of innovative services based on Earth Observation data), a systemic approach based on the integration of the latest enabling technologies (remote sensing and ground-based, active and passive, direct and indirect, multi-sources and multi-resolution) for the geo-physical characterization (seismic and electromagnetic) of the surface and near-surface and for the dynamic characterization of soil structure/infrastructure interactions was applied in the urban area of the city of Matera (southern Italy). By adopting the open-government and open-data paradigms, all the information collected have been eventually organized and shared in a web-gis along with geospatial data already available on different and independent web-services of local government authorities (region and municipality).

How to cite: Calamita, G., Gallipoli, M. R., Perrone, A., Serlenga, V., Stabile, T. A., Tragni, N., Panebianco, S., Bellanova, J., Piscitelli, S., Izzi, F., Amato, L., Lascaleia, G., Maio, D., and Salvia, V.: The role of geophysics for urban environment characterization: the case study of Matera (southern Italy), EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-17858, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-17858, 2020.

In the last decade, the Italian territory has been severely damaged by the occurrence of hydrogeological instability phenomena with a growing impact on human activities and the economy. More and more often the phenomena have involved urban areas with considerable effects on the population that was forced to leave home for safety reasons. Furthermore, damage to the infrastructures have worsened the living conditions isolating the population for many days. In the latest ISPRA technical report of 2018 (http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it/pubblicazioni/rapporti/dissesto-idrogeologico-in-italia-pericolosita-e-indicatori-di-rischio-edizione-2018), which analyses the spatial distribution of landslides throughout Italian regions, great attention was paid to the impact of landslides on the urban fabric. According to this report, there are 83 towns out of 131 (63%) in Basilicata region where the landslides involve the continuous and discontinuous urban fabric as well as industrial or commercial areas. This high percentage is especially due to the geological settings, the type of human settlements characterizing the region and, especially during the last years, to the occurrence of intense rainfall events. Indeed, starting from December 2013 when as a consequence of intense rainfall events a fast landslide affected the southwest area of Montescaglioso town in the Matera hill, other important and dangerous phenomena have affected the Basilicata territory. Among these the Stigliano (MT) and the Pomarico (MT) phenomena, respectively occurred in February 2014 and in January 2019, are worth mentioning. All these landslides have caused significant damage to road infrastructures, civil structures and commercial activities, requiring the proclamation of a state of emergency, the evacuation of some houses and the intervention of Italian National Civil Protection. From a logistically point of view the study of landslides occurring in urban areas can be more complicated than in the rural areas. The presence of structures and infrastructures involved in the land movement, also posing risk and safety issues for personnel, can make detailed investigations difficult. The adoption of an integrated approach based on the combined application of different non-invasive in situ investigation techniques would, in most cases, help to overcome such limitations, to increase the number of information and to reduce the specific drawbacks of each technique such as, for example, the deterioration of data quality due to the high noise level. A successful geophysical application where results are well integrated and compared with direct information can help to correctly reconstruct the geological model of the subsoil. The geophysical model can indeed provide information on the geological setting of the area, helping to answer the most frequent questions of civil protection technicians such as: how deep is the sliding surface? how much material was involved in the movement? are there any areas that could be affected by instability phenomena?

How to cite: Perrone, A.: Ten years of civil protection support activities in landslide areas of Basilicata, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18656, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18656, 2020.

Climate change impact is functioning as risk-multiplier to problems which are already apparent and affect infrastructures. In cases of infrastructures within cultural heritage sites, the problem is more complicated. Sea Level Rise and increased storm events can damage structures not designed to withstand prolonged structural pressure, erosion and immersion. Risks affecting coastal cultural heritage may stem from exposure to several hazards and it is important to facilitate a holistic understanding of the factors driving them. Wave energy and overtopping of coastal structures act as potential hazards for people, property and infrastructure. When, particularly, monuments or landmarks are present within the infrastructures, mitigation measures and monitoring are essential. Depending on the level of acceptable risk and the required degree of certainty related to wave overtopping, coastal engineers rely on predictions derived from semi-empirical desktop methods and numerical models for answers. Moreover, the anticipated increase in extreme events due to climatic change makes protection and prevention actions even more necessary. Additionally, restrictions in fund availability and landscape preservation for coastal monuments, make the designing of such interventions more demanding. In this work, the combination of risk assessment analysis related to increasing sea level and storm frequency, wave numerical modelling, breakwater design and economic sustainability is presented. As case studies, the Venetian Coastal port/Fortress of the city of Heraklion (1523 A.D.) and Venetian port of Rethimnon (13^th century A.D.), both located at the North coast of the island of Crete, Greece, are considered. Both ports are tourism hotspots within the region. Numerical modelling results were generally calculated to be consistent with overtopping wave measurements. For the analysis of the wind regime in the near and far future, climatic modelling has been used indicating that, for the coastal area of central Crete, the wind regime is expected to change in the near and far future; an increase not only in wind speeds but also in the prevailing wind directions, the latest affecting the monuments the most. Based on results from on-site measurements and numerical modelling and forecasting, mitigation actions have been proposed, including an expansion of the submerged armouring of the ports infrastructures and the use of natural based solutions for low slope areas, in order to reduce wave energy, run-up and overtopping, so that the monuments can remain functional, safe and accessible for longer periods of time.

How to cite: Alexandrakis, G., Petrakis, S., Liritzakis, S., and Kampanis, N.: Current and Future Challenges in Modern Port Development and Cultural Heritage Preservation within port infrastructures. , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-19274, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19274, 2020.

Nowadays, the use of Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) based sensing technologies is widely considered in most disparate fields, including archaeology and cultural heritage inspections. The main advantages offered by UAV technology are the possibility of investigating large areas in a very short time,  the simplification of the organization and implementation of the measurement campaigns thus reducing their costs, and finally the increasing availability of autonomous systems that push more and more towards plug and fly solutions.

The widespread remote sensing technologies mounted on-board UAV systems are essentially optical, thermal and multi-spectral sensors, which are passive technologies designed to measure the signal emitted into the optical and (near and far) infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. These technologies exploit techniques like aero-photogrammetry to get high resolutions images of the surface features of the investigated scene and provide useful information to evaluate structural and material degradation, such as surface cracks, humid zones and biological patinas.

Radar systems represent a further technological solution, which exploits the penetration capability into non-metallic media of the microwaves, thus offering the key advantage to perform surface and sub-surface inspections. However, UAV based radar systems are still under development due to the numerous challenges related to the acquisition modality and data processing. Being radar an active technology, both transmitting and receiving units must be installed on-board the UAV and this introduces not trivial issues related to payload and assets constrains. Moreover, in order to obtain focused images, a high precision knowledge of the UAV position during its flight must be available.

As a contribution to this topic, an ultra-light radar system mounted on a micro drone has been developed and its imaging capabilities have been assessed in controlled conditions. The UAV radar imaging system is an enhanced version of that presented in [1]. Specifically, the main components of the assembled prototype are the UAV DJI F550- hexacopter platform and the Pulson P440 radar sensor. The radar system has been equipped with two log-periodic antennas pointed at nadir, and it operates in the frequency range of [3.1, 4.8] GHz. Moreover, to accurately reconstruct the UAV platform positioning, the Differential GPS technology has been also implemented by exploiting two GPS receivers placed one onboard the platform and the other one in a fixed ground station. Finally, the data processing is cast as the solution of an inverse scattering problem by exploiting the Born Approximation to model the wave-material interaction. The results of some flight tests will be presented at the conference.

[1] G. Ludeno, I. Catapano, A. Renga, A. Vetrella, G. Fasano, and F. Soldovieri, “Assessment of a micro-UAV system for microwave tomography radar imaging”, Remote Sensing of Environment, vol 212, 2018, pp. 90-102.

Acknowledgment: The authors would like to thank the VESTA project “Valorizzazione E Salvaguardia del paTrimonio culturAle attraverso l’utilizzo di tecnologie innovative” by which the present work has been financed.

How to cite: Noviello, C., Esposito, G., Giovanni, L., Gianluca, G., Giancarmine, F., Alfredo, R., Francesco, S., and Ilaria, C.: UAV Radar imaging for cultural heritage: a first prototype, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21464, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21464, 2020.

The quadrupole technique for geoelectrics yields the apparent resistivity in a tensorial form in contrast to the scalar apparent resistivity obtained from classical geoelectrics. The quadrupole method in geoelectrics has been applied in the past only for long offsets between transmitter and receiver. We scaled down the method to profile-style and grid-style short offset applications. Analysis of the invariants of the apparent resistivity tensor and its representation as ellipse can be used to obtain an estimate of the dimensionality of the subsurface conductivity distribution. We present the basic theory of the quadrupole ERT technique along with numerical and field examples highlighting the advantages over classic geoelectrical survey methods.

How to cite: Nawa, V. and Junge, A.: QERT - Quadrupole Electrical Resistivity Tomography, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-22198, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22198, 2020.

Natural and man-made hazards, anthropogenic effects and extreme climate change events, are persistently putting cultural heritage under pressure, with an increasing frequency over time. In addition, such disasters and catastrophes impose new and continuously changing conservation challenges and urgently needs for innovative preservation and safeguarding approach, particularly during extreme climate conditions. The present contribution aims at illustrating the working methodology and the solutions specifically dedicated to the safeguarding of cultural heritage exposed to extreme climate changes, developed within the Interreg Central Europe ProteCHt2save and in further implementation within the Interreg Central Europe STRENCH (starting date 1^st March 2020).  The outcomes (WebGIS tool, for risk mapping, hazard maps, methodology for vulnerability ranking, strategies for disaster risk reduction) of both projects are principally dedicated to assists local stakeholders in improving their know-how on the process of definition of priorities of intervention and strategies within the risk management cycle (preparedness/emergency/recovery). By the achievement of the planned objectives, ProteCHt2save and STRENCH are expected to proactively

target the needs and requirements of stakeholders and policymakers responsible for disaster mitigation and safeguarding of cultural heritage assets and to foster the active involvement of citizens and local communities in the decision-making process.

How to cite: Bonazza, A., Sardella, A., De Nuntiis, P., Palazzi, E., and von Hardenberg, J.: Strengthening resilience of Cultural Heritage at risk in an extreme changing environment, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-22398, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-22398, 2020.

The VESTA project (Valorizzazione E Salvaguardia del paTrimonio culturAle attraverso l’utilizzo di tecnologie) deals with the experimental integration of advanced technologies designed for safeguarding and prospecting sub-soil and ancient structures as well as the management of the information derived from the carried out investigations. The final goal is to support the end users with regard to their conservation, safeguard and discovery activities.

The pilot site test of the Project is the Archaeological Park of Paestum, which is located in the Southeast of the Gulf of Salerno, Italy, and was built by the Greeks and later strengthened by the Lucani and the Romans. Today, the Archaeological Park of Paestum is recognised by UNESCO as part of the World Cultural Heritage thanks to the excellent state of conservation of its structures, especially the three majestic temples: the Temple of Hera (sixth century BC), the Temple of Neptune (fifth century BC) and the Temple of Ceres (sixth century BC). These are remarkable examples of Doric style architecture.

The technological skills made available by the VESTA team are based on:

• Earth observation tools, such as satellites (optical and radar) for the large-scale identification of critical issues, both natural and anthropic, involving cultural heritage and around them;
• Mini-micro UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) equipped with multispectral, thermal and radar optical sensors and aimed at detailed soil and wall structure analysis;
• High and low frequency terrestrial radar (GPR - Ground Penetrating Radar) for inspections of masonry and subsoil structures respectively;
• Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) for the investigation of the subsoil.

These technological solutions are key tools for identifying and mapping possible degradation phenomena of ancient structures identifying dangers related to the surrounding environment that could compromise the state of conservation of the monuments inside the park. Therefore, their use as well as the cooperative exploitation of the provided results allow an improvement of knowledge about the critical aspects of the territory and the state of conservation of the artefacts, in order to facilitate the planning of maintenance interventions. Specifically, the gathered data are made available to site manager via St’ART ™ web platform, which allows a simple consultation of results collected during VESTA project campaigns thanks to reports and thematic maps.

Acknowledgment: The authors would like to thank the VESTA project “Valorizzazione E Salvaguardia del paTrimonio culturAle attraverso l’utilizzo di tecnologie innovative” by which the present work has been financed. The VESTA project is co-founded by the Campania Region within the POR-FESR 2014-2020 program.

How to cite: Soldovieri, F., Dore, N., Corini, V., Catapano, I., Lasaponara, R., Rizzo, E., Saccoccio, F., Cocco, F., and Capodanno, A.: Vesta Project - Enhancement and safeguarding of cultural heritage through innovative technologies, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-14021, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-14021, 2020.

It is widely known that, in GPR prospecting [1-2], sometime it is not possible to make use of the customary odometer for the recording of the position of the measurement points along the observation line. Consequently, in these cases the human operator is compelled to make use of point markers placed at known positions (measured with a tape) along the observation line. In particular, this can happen on the sand of a desert and on the polar ice [3], but it might happen also just due to some ill-functioning of the odometer. Notwithstanding, quite rarely the effects of the use of the point markers have been examined on the basis of some experimental test. At the conference, we will show an experiment where the same observation line has been gone through several times, first making use of the odometer included in the exploited GPR system and then making use of marker points. A third time, the same path was still travelled without odometers and taking the marker points without making use of any laptop command. These were replaced just by stopping for some seconds the GPR in any marker point (but keeping it switched on). This option can be useful in cases where e.g. the command has to be given through a touchscreen. The observation line was 15 m long, and was placed on a flat smooth and tough floor. This means that the line offered favourable conditions for the use of the odometer, and so the positions of the anomalies identified making use of the odometer are considered as the correct positions of the buried targets. This has allowed a quantification of the displacements from the correct position of the buried anomalies when making use of marker points taken with a step of one meter from each other. A  larger and deeper dealing is available in [4].

References

[1] R. Pierri, G. Leone, F. Soldovieri, R. Persico, "Electromagnetic inversion for subsurface applications under the distorted Born approximation" Nuovo Cimento, vol. 24C, N. 2, pp 245-261, March-April 2001.

[2] R. Persico, M. Ciminale, L. Matera, A new reconfigurable stepped frequency GPR system, possibilities and issues; applications to two different Cultural Heritage Resources, Near Surface Geophysics, vol. 12, n. 6, pp. 793-801 (doi: 10.3997/1873-0604.2014035), December 2014.

[3] H. Jol, Ground Penetrating Radar: Theory and applications, Elsevier, 2009.

[4] R. Persico, Ground Penetrating Radar: Physics and Practical Aspects, Springer Handbook of Cultural Heritage Analysis, edited by Sebastiano D’Amico and Valentina Venuti, Springer, 2020.

How to cite: Persico, R.: Point markers in replacement of odometer driven positioning: effects and possible problems, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1663, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1663, 2020.

This contribution presents a method of multi-length transmission lines, filled with or embedded in the material under test (MUT), based on time domain reflectometry (TDR), to measure the dispersion law of a nonmagnetic material. This approach is essential and can be exploited in both radiofrequency and microwave applications. The proposed technique expands on studies presented in [1-2], where dielectric, magnetic and conductive losses are accounted for by the complex relative permittivity and permeability of the MUT.

Many materials of interest in geophysical [3-4] and biomedical [5-6] applications are non-magnetic but preliminary measurements with the proposed technique can help to determine if the MUT indeed has magnetic properties. Moreover, it is shown that establishing the non-magnetic nature of the MUT constitutes meaningful a-priori information that allows disambiguating experimental results, even with limited data in the frequency range of interest.

Results relative to two different types of multi-length measurement data, namely data acquired by considering different lengths of a TDR probe entirely embedded in (or embedding) the MUT and data achieved from a sequential progressive embedding of the probe in the MUT (or, vice-versa, of the MUT in the probe) are presented to illustrate the method. The pros and cons of presented cases are also discussed.  

Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the European Cost Action “Mywave” CA17115.

References

[1] R. Persico, M. Pieraccini, Measurement of dielectric and magnetic properties of Materials by means of a TDR probe, Near Surface Geophysics, vol. 16, n.2, pp.1-9, DOI:10.3997/1873-0604.2017046, 2018.

[2] R. Persico, I. Farhat, L. Farrugia, S. d’Amico, C. Sammut, An innovative use of TDR probes: First numerical validations with a coaxial cable, Journal of Environmental & Engineering Geophysics, doi.org/10.2113/JEEG23.4.437, 23 (4): 437-442, 2018.

[3] R. Pierri, G. Leone, F. Soldovieri, R. Persico, "Electromagnetic inversion for subsurface applications under the distorted Born approximation" Nuovo Cimento, vol. 24C, N. 2, pp 245-261, March-April 2001.

[4] R. Persico, M. Ciminale, L. Matera, A new reconfigurable stepped frequency GPR system, possibilities and issues; applications to two different Cultural Heritage Resources, Near Surface Geophysics, vol. 12, n. 6, pp. 793-801 (doi: 10.3997/1873-0604.2014035), December 2014.

[5] R. Pethig, "Dielectric Properties of Biological Materials: Biophysical and Medical Applications," in IEEE Transactions on Electrical Insulation, vol. EI-19, no. 5, pp. 453-474, Oct. 1984.
doi: 10.1109/TEI.1984.298769

 [6] C. Gabriel, S. Gabriel and E Corthout, “The dielectric properties of biological tissues: I. Literature survey,” Physics in Medicine and Biology, vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 2231-2249, Nov. 1996.

How to cite: Farhat, I., Persico, R., Farrugia, L., and Sammut, C.: Use of multi-length TDR data aimed to infer the dispersion law of nonmagnetic materials, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1664, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1664, 2020.

“Non-invasive investigations for enhancing the knowledge and the valorisation of the cultural heritage” is a biennial project financed by the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and by the University of Malta, started in 2018 until to April 2020. It has been  aimed to perform geophysical investigation both in Italy and in Malta in order to enhance the knowledge, and therefore also the preservation and the valorisation of some relevant monuments and archaeological sites in both countries. In particular, we have performed ground penetrating radar [1-2], resistive [3] and passive seismic investigations [4] within or close to archaeological sites, churches, roman monuments and watchtowers and have identified [5], depending on the case, anomalies due to buried rooms, tombs, roads or just geological differences in the subsoil.

Geophysical investigations were also integrated by regional and local geomorphological survey applied to the natural heritage of Gozo Island, such as in the case of the natural arch of Wied il-Mielah and the  terraced high paleosurfaces, on which ancient watchtowers are often present..

In some cases, excavations were possible too, in other cases we hope they will be done in a future. Not all the times the excavations enlightened the hypothesized anomalies, but all the times the anomalies corresponded to some physical target or some physical buried discontinuity of the soil. At the conference, we will provide some insight on the achieved results, with special emphasis on the results achieved during the second year of the project.

References

[1] R. Pierri, G. Leone, F. Soldovieri, R. Persico, "Electromagnetic inversion for subsurface applications under the distorted Born approximation" Nuovo Cimento, vol. 24C, N. 2, pp 245-261, March-April 2001.

[2] R. Persico, M. Ciminale, L. Matera, A new reconfigurable stepped frequency GPR system, possibilities and issues; applications to two different Cultural Heritage Resources, Near Surface Geophysics, vol. 12, n. 6, pp. 793-801 (doi: 10.3997/1873-0604.2014035), December 2014.

[3] G. Leucci, Nondestructive Testing for Archaeological and Cultural Heritage. A Practical Guide and New Perspectives, Springer, 2019.

[4] Villani F., D'Amico S., Panzera F., Vassallo M., Bozionelos G., Farrugia D., Galea P., 2018. Shallow high-resolution geophysical investigation along the western segment of the Victoria Lines Fault (island of Malta). Tectonophysics, 724–725, 220-233 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2018.01.010

[5] Persico R., Leucci G., D’Amico S., De Giorgi L., Colica E., Lazzari M., The watch towers in Malta: a patrimony to preserve for the future. Proceedings of 2019 IMEKO TC-4 International Conference on Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage Florence, Italy, December 4-6, 2019,pp. 100-102.

How to cite: Persico, R., Leucci, G., De Giorgi, L., Lazzari, M., D'Amico, S., and Colica, E.: Non-invasive investigations for enhancing the knowledge and the valorisation of the cultural heritage: first results of the Malta-Italy bilateral project, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-2886, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-2886, 2020.

Geophysical survey methods are widely applied into not only underground water exploration and environmental pollution & civil engineering fields of the ground, but also in the archeological field such as exploration of the historic remains. The electrical resistivity tomography(ERT) and seismic surveys were conducted to determine the distribution of underground around the terrace of the elephants. ERT survey was conducted to investigate the natural geological distribution and artificial ground around the terrace of the elephants and seismic survey was conducted to find out the velocity distribution of the terrace of the elephants. ERT resulted in a difference in the traces of artificial ground composition around natural ground and terrace of the elephants. Geophysical survey could be used to infer the range and purpose of the underground composition of historic remains (KOICA Project Number: 2019-00065).

How to cite: Lee, K., Kim, K., Park, B., Kim, W., and Jeoung, J.: Subsurface investigation of the Terrace of the Elephants in the Angkor world heritage site using geophysical survey, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-4917, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-4917, 2020.

Conventional all granular trackbed has been in use around the world for many years, presenting good results although requiring a certain level of ongoing maintenance. Increasing traffic loads and volumes and particularly the introduction of high-speed trains in the last few decades, have resulted in the need for new approaches. To reduce train load-induced stresses in the track subgrade, one approach that has been introduced is the use of a Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) layer as a partial or full replacement of the granular sub-ballast.

During the past few decades the use of HMA as a sub-ballast layer within the track structure has steadily increased until it has become standard practice in many countries around the world (USA, Japan, Germany, Italy etc.). The HMA mix is designed similarly to the base layer of highway pavements. Specifically, it is designed to be a medium modulus, flexible, low voids, fatigue resistant layer that will accommodate high tensile strains without cracking .

This paper provides a review of the potential use of an asphalt layer to replace the granular sub-ballast during the railway trackbed design.  A literature review of the use of asphalt in trackbed construction and a parametric analysis have been carried out to compare traditional ‘all granular’ and more recent asphalt layer solutions for different subgrade stiffnesses. 

Results indicate various advantages of the use of asphalt in the trackbed; improving trackbed performance and decreasing the overall cost and environmental impact.

How to cite: Voulgari, C.: Asphalt in trackbed design, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-6944, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-6944, 2020.

In Europe, there are many abandoned railway tunnels. These structures are generally placed in mountainous or hardly accessible territories, where their use was no longer necessary for the improvement of the road communications and the favourite use of the private car. However, in some cases, they could be an important point of observation to monitor the mountains, where important hydrogeological resource are located. This is the case of an old tunnel sited in Marsico Nuovo village, where the rail way “Atena-Marsico Nuovo” was realized in the early 20th century and worked until the in ’60. The studied tunnel has a total length of 1229 m and, from geological point of view, it is located in the carbonate complex of the Maddalena Mountains and is characterized by the presence of stratified and fractured carbonate rocks. In proximity of this structure, there is also an important karstic cave (Castel di Lepre) already subject to geophysical measurements realized in the past [1]. The presence of a tunnel offers an advantageous perspective to monitor the aquifer improving the knowledge of the fluid circulation in a carbonate rock formation [2].

However, no engineering and geotechnical information about the realization of the construction and the geological setting of the area are available. In order to characterize, from an engineering point of view, the correlation between the hydrogeological formation and the engineering structure, several geophysical surveys, based on electric and electromagnetic acquisitions, were carried out along the gallery. The results obtained show the potentialities of the geophysical methods for monitoring and characterizing engineering structures also providing useful and detailed information for the identification of shallower geological structures in the first meters surrounding the tunnel. 

References 

[1] E. Rizzo, M. Guerriero, E. Gueguen, L. Capozzoli, G. De Martino and F. Perciante, Cave-surface Electrical Resistivity Tomography in “Castello di Lepre” Karst System (Marsico Nuovo, Southern Italy),  Monitoring and Characterization of the Shallow Subsurface I, EAGE 2017, DOI: 10.3997/2214-4609.201702078; 

[2] M. Guerriero, L. Capozzoli, G. De Martino, V. Giampaolo, E. Rizzo, F. Canora and F. Sdao, Geophysical techniques for monitoring carbonate karstic rocks (2019), Italian Journal of Engineering Geology and Environment, DOI: 10.4408/IJEGE.2019-01.S-10; Project: Landslide Risk Assessment along roads (LaRIS), Special Issue 1 (2019) Sapienza Università Editrice. 

How to cite: De Martino, G., Capozzoli, L., Giampaolo, V., and Rizzo, E.: GEOPHYSICAL MEASUREMENTS IN AN ABANDONED OLD RAILWAY TUNNEL (MARSICO NUOVO, Italy) , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7448, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7448, 2020.

    The fixed-wing time-domain airborne electromagnetic system transmits low-frequency electromagnetic pulse waves with large magnetic moments, receives weak secondary response electromagnetic field signals generated by the underground medium. It can realize deep depth airborne electromagnetic exploration. After 10 years of research and development, the Institute of Geophysical and Geochemical Exploration of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences successfully developed the first-generation fixed-wing time-domain airborne electromagnetic system of China in 2016——iFTEM. The peak transmit current is 600A, and the peak magnetic moment is 5.0 × 10⁵Am². The exploration depth is 350m. Test flights measurement were taken in 2016. Based on the first-generation iFTEM system, we upgraded the system. The new transmitter has a peak transmit current of more than 1000A and a peak magnetic moment of more than 1,000,000Am². It has multi-wave transmit capability. The static noise of the three-component induction coil receiving sensor is better than 0.1nT/√Hz@1kHz. We are developing a time-domain airborne electromagnetic data processing software platform, which includes the data organization, denoising and correction software modules. This paper mainly introduces the development of China's first fixed-wing time-domain airborne electromagnetic instrument. This paper is financially supported by National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0601900) and CGS Research Fund (JYYWF20180103).

How to cite: Ben, F., Li, J., Huang, W., Liu, J., Wu, S., Liu, L., Cao, Z., and Wang, H.: Development of iFTEM fixed-wing time-domain airborne electromagnetic instrument, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-7582, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-7582, 2020.

The Archaeological Urban Park of Naples (PAUN) project aims at addressing the need of analytical information relating to cultural heritage with modalities that encourage innovation systems of protection and enhancement. In this frame, one of the specific goals is the testing of multiple non-invasive or only minimally invasive investigation techniques, aimed at identifying a permanent diagnostic system calibrated to the specific context of the Urban Archaeological Park of Piazza Municipio, Napoli, Italy.

Among the electromagnetic sensing technologies, those exploiting Terahertz waves (1THz = 10¹² Hz) are the newest among the imaging techniques, which offers the attractive chance of characterizing the inner features of manmade objects with a sub-millimeter spatial resolution in a non-invasive way while assuring negligible long-term risks to the molecular stability of the exposed objects.

This possibility together with the recent development of compact, transportable and easily reconfigurable devices make THz imaging a more and more widespread considered investigation tool in the frame of cultural heritage. THz imaging allows, indeed, the gaining of information useful to improve knowledge about the design technique adopted by the artist and to detect possible damages affecting the conservation state of precious artworks [1].

In the frame of PAUN project, THz imaging is considered as part of the sensor network, which is dedicated to the material characterization and supports the conservation and use of the assets of the Urban Archaeological Park of Piazza Municipio. Specifically, THz imaging is adopted to analyze ancient decorated mortar specimens and gather information on their stratigraphy. At this regard, it is worth pointing out that the effectiveness of THz imaging, i.e. the capability of obtaining high resolution images of the object under test, is dependent not only on the performances of the hardware technology but also on the data processing approaches. Herein, we consider the time domain Z-Omega Fiber-Coupled Terahertz Time Domain (FICO) system, which is available at IREA-CNR, and a data processing chain specifically designed to improve the discrimination of different material layers and to reconstruct the inner features characterizing the investigated artworks [2].

[1] Fukunaga, THz Technology Applied to Cultural Heritage in Practice, Cultural Heritage Science, Springer.

[2] Catapano, I., Soldovieri, F. A Data Processing Chain for Terahertz Imaging and Its Use in Artwork Diagnostics. J Infrared Milli Terahz Waves 38, 518–530 (2017).

Acknowledge: Authors would like to thank the PAUN project “Archaeological Urban Park of Naples” by which the present work has been financed.

How to cite: Catapano, I., Noviello, C., and Ludeno, G.: THz imaging in the frame of the Archaeological Urban Park of Naples project , EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-18736, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-18736, 2020.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the cooperative use of non-destructive contactless diagnostic technologies as a tool to enhance the amount of information useful to assess historical assets’ structural and material degradation. The case study regards the Ponte Lucano structure in Tivoli (Italy) a Roman bridge located along the Aniene River, the largest tributary of the Tiber. It can be considered as an emblematic iconic structure in synthetizing the needs of structural consolidation and monument conservation. The bridge is, indeed, affected by hydraulic risk due to the floods of Aniene river.

Unmanned aerial (UAV) 3D photogrammetric surveys were carried out to perform visual inspections accounting for those bridge portions that are difficult to be reached directly. Hence, infrared thermography (IRT) and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were considered as complementary technologies useful to obtain information about surface and subsurface structural features [1], [2]. The IRT analysis w characterized the thermal profile of the bridge and detected its most humid parts. The GPR investigations were performed to improve knowledge of the bridge subsurface structure.

The results of the analysis demonstrate that, the integration of mentioned diagnostic tools, provide information about the degradation state of the stones and its causes, as well as regarding the evolution of the structure from its construction up to the present configurations. In particular, UAV 3D photogrammetry allowed a very detailed digital map of the bridge, covering almost every part of the structure and revealing precious informations, among which chromatic properties and size characteristics of the bridge areas which are not directly accessible by a human operator. IRT results corroborated the hypothesis that the present degradation condition of the Ponte Lucano is mainly a result of the water retention within its materials. GPR images, provided information about the internal stratification of the materials of the bridge and allowed the localization of two buried arch structures, allegedly located in the northern bank and at the Plautii Mausoleum, whose presence confirms the historical-bibliographical hypothesis about the bridge building processes.

[1] Meola, C. Infrared thermography of masonry structures. Infrared Physics and Technology 2007; 49(3 SPEC. ISS.), 228-233.

[2] Daniels D.J. Ground Penetrating Radar. In IEE Radar, Sonar and Navigation Series 15; IEE: London, UK, 2004.

How to cite: Ludeno, G., Biscarini, C., Catapano, I., Cavalagli, N., Pepe, F. A., and Ubertini, F.: Drone based visual inspections, Infrared Thermography investigations and GPR surveys of the Roman masonry bridge Ponte Lucano, Tivoli, Italy, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-19538, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-19538, 2020.

How to cite: Veiga, J. P., Carvalho, F., Aguas, H., Montesperelli, G., Kavoulaki, E., Politaki, E., Psaroudaki, A., Philippidis, A., Melessanaki, K., Siozos, P., Pouli, P., Curulli, A., and Padeletti, G.: Environmental influences on historical monuments: a multi-analytical characterization of degradation materials, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21804, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21804, 2020.

The Monte Abatone Necorpolis is one of the main important necropolis of Cerveteri, located 60 km north of Rome (Latium, Italy). In this area, several tombs have been discovered and excavated from the 1800, though still many remain hidden underneath the subsurface.

In the last two years, geophysical surveys have been carried out to investigate the unexplored portions of the ancient Etruscan Necropolis, to provide a complete mapping of the position of the tombs. Ground Penetrating Radar and the Magnetometric methods have been used during 2018 to investigate few parts of the Necropolis. During 2019 (July and September) GPR system SIR 3000 (GSSI), equipped with a 400 MHz antenna with constant offset, SIR4000 (GSSI) equipped with a dual frequency antenna with 300/800 MHz and the 3D Radar Geoscope multichannel stepped frequency system were employed to survey 5 hectares where the presence of tombs was hypothesized from previous archaeological studies.

All the GPR profiles were processed with GPR-SLICE v7.0 Ground Penetrating Radar Imaging Software (Goodman 2017). The basic radargram signal processing steps included: post processing pulse regaining; DC drift removal; data resampling; band pass filtering; background filter and migration. With the aim of obtaining a planimetric vision of all possible anomalous bodies, the time-slice representation technique was applied using all processed profiles showing anomalous sources up to a depth of about 2.5 m.

The preliminary obtained results clearly show the presence of a network of strong circular features, linked with the buried structural elements of the searched tombs.

Together with archaeologists, these anomalies, have been interpreted to have a better understanding of the archaeological definition of these features and to enhance the knowledge of the necropolis layout and mapping; after the geophysical surveys, excavations have been conducted, which brought to light few of the investigated structures.

References

Campana S., Piro S., 2009. Seeing the Unseen. Geophysics and Landscape Archaeology. Campana & Piro Editors. CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. Oxon UK, ISBN 978-0-415-44721-8.

Goodman, D., Piro, S., 2013. GPR Remote sensing in Archaeology, Springer: Berlin.

Piro S., Papale E., Zamuner D., Kuculdemirci M., 2018. Multimethodological approach to investigate urban and suburban archaeological sites. In “Innovation in Near Surface Geophysics. Instrumentation, application and data processing methods.”, Persico R., Piro S., Linford N., Ed.s. pp. 461 – 504, ISBN: 978-0-12-812429-1, pp.1-505, Elsevier.

How to cite: Piro, S. and Malandruccolo, B.: High resolution GPR investigations employing single and multichannel systems in the Necropolis of Monte Abatone, Cerveteri (Roma, Italy)., EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-1883, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-1883, 2020.

In this contribution, we propose a novel technique for the measurement of electromagnetic characteristics of soil by means of a transmission line probe. This approach involves placing a sample of material under test (MUT) inside a transmission line terminated by the short circuit from one end and excited by a VNA at the input end. Unlike the well-known transmission line technique, which requires a two-port connection to a Vector Network Analyser (VNA)  to acquire the scattering parameters (S11 and S21), this method relies only on the measured S11 parameter which is then converted into the complex permittivity (dielectric properties) of the soil. Validation of the proposed transmission line model calculations was compared with numerical simulation data obtained with the CST Studio^® software and measurement setup of the coax-line. The comparison shows that the dielectric and magnetic properties of a material may be precisely determined with the proposed technique. However, further studies need to be carried to extend this technique, such that a sample can be placed in contact with the probe rather than embedded in it.

How to cite: Farrugia, L., Farhat, I., Persico, R., and Sammut, C.: Investigation of the characteristics of the Soil by means of TDR probes: preliminary work and future perspectives, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-21569, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-21569, 2020.