Mapping Subsurface Conductivity: Challenges and Progress in Italy's MARGE Project

In Italy, the MARGE initiative, an abbreviation for Geoelectromagnetic Risk Map for Central Italy, strives to create an extensive map of subsurface electrical conductivity by analyzing natural electric and magnetic fields.

Led by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in collaboration with the University of Bari and the Institute of Environmental Analysis Methodologies at CNR, his project involves establishing measurement points distributed on a grid spaced approximately 50 km apart.

However, this endeavor faces significant challenges in the central region of the Italian peninsula due to extensive urbanization, numerous electromagnetic disturbances from railways and high-voltage power lines, and challenging topography, making finding suitable land parcels a complex task.

The MARGE project aims to gather broad-band and long-term magnetotelluric data, focusing on two primary objectives: utilizing magnetotelluric data to outline large-scale lithospheric structures in the Central Apennines and developing maps of the geoelectric field in Central Italy to support Space Weather modeling and critical infrastructure vulnerability analysis.

Presenting our initial findings, we discuss encountered challenges and potential solutions identified in this ongoing project.