The Catania section of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), called Osservatorio Etneo, deals with research, monitoring and surveillance in the fields of geophysics and volcanology, the latter two, in compliance with the program agreement between INGV and the Civil Protection Department (DPC).
The Etna Observatory has the most up-to-date technological systems, employing multiparametric monitoring techniques for the monitoring and surveillance of Sicilian volcanoes.
Of the more than three hundred stations (seismic, GPS, infrasonic, clinometric, strain gauge, etc.), located at the main active volcanoes and in the Sicilian areas at seismic risk, more than half are installed on Etna, one of the best monitored volcanoes in the world.
The data collected, largely transmitted in real time, allow the understanding of the phenomena in the various disciplines of geophysics, geochemistry and volcanology.
Interview with the director of the Etna Observatory, Eugenio Privitera.