Prevent the danger of chasms, landslides and mudslides that endanger the safety of citizens and the territory, thanks to a set of advanced technologies - radar, innovative sensors, geophysical prospecting - capable of analyzing the subsoil of road infrastructures and public parks and to discover any cavities up to 3-4 meters below road level. It is the goal of the MUSE project (Multi-sensor Services), conducted by ENEA in collaboration with INGV, Consorzio Hypatia, the companies Superlectric, Ylichron, G-Matics, which specifically pursues the creation of an analysis protocol of urban areas and its geomorphological anomalies, through surveys with satellites, drones or aircraft and the use of the most modern geophysical techniques for the investigation of the first subsoil such as, for example, multi-frequency ground penetrating radar and capacitive geoelectricity.
"Thanks to these technologies we are able to carry out a sort of "ultrasound" of the subsoil which allows us to study it with different levels of detail to detect the possible presence of voids of various origins and subsidence of the ground due to emergence of underground cavities, the so-called "collapsing chimneys", precursors of the formation of real chasms on the surface. The technologies used, also supported by the analysis of satellite data, range from in situ instrumental investigations to integrated indirect investigations”, explain Vittorio Rosato and Stefano Urbini, coordinators for ENEA and INGV of the project activities.
"The formation of chasms, often connected to electrical and electromagnetic anomalies in the subsoil, is one of the new risks for our cities, also due to the intense urban developments that characterized many urban centers in the last century", underlines Vittorio Rosato, head of ENEA's critical infrastructure analysis and protection laboratory. "Rome, for example, is an emblematic case of a complex subsoil structure that requires investigations and monitoring of the territory to verify the possible presence of geophysical anomalies attributable to the emergence of anthropogenic cavities".
At the request of the Civil Protection of Rome Capital, with which a multi-year collaboration is underway, the project activities are focusing on the analysis of the urban subsoil to prevent the formation of new anthropogenic sinkholes caused by the emergence of ancient cavities present in the subsoil (quarries of pozzolana, tuff, sand, catacombs and hypogea, etc.) or as a result of failures and breakages of the subservices (sewerage and water systems).
"The Civil Protection of Rome Capital is constantly engaged in monitoring the subsoil of the city through direct exploratory investigations in the underground cavities and, in particular, in the areas where the propensity for the soil to sink is already known due to geological and archaeological characteristics, such as of the Fifth Municipality. The technical support of public and private research is extremely useful since it allows the Capitoline Administration to acquire quality technological standards with which to carry out forecasting and prevention activities of these phenomena which arouse strong concern among citizens and whose identification can be complex because is often not accompanied by evident precursory phenomena”, underlines Gianluca Ferri, geologist and head of the Geological and Geomorphological Risk Office of the Security and Civil Protection Department of Rome Capital.
The MUSE project is one of the 7 projects of the LAreospaZIO tender which aims to increase the opportunities for technological development of companies in the aerospace sector through new connections with universities and public and private research centres, with relevant scientific and technological skills also at an international level. LAreospaZIO is conducted by ENEA in the role of Mandatory Key Research Organism, brings together 15 partners and is funded by the Lazio Region in the context of the "Strategic Projects" call of 2019.
"Thanks to these technologies we are able to carry out a sort of "ultrasound" of the subsoil which allows us to study it with different levels of detail to detect the possible presence of voids of various origins and subsidence of the ground due to emergence of underground cavities, the so-called "collapsing chimneys", precursors of the formation of real chasms on the surface. The technologies used, also supported by the analysis of satellite data, range from in situ instrumental investigations to integrated indirect investigations”, explain Vittorio Rosato and Stefano Urbini, coordinators for ENEA and INGV of the project activities.
"The formation of chasms, often connected to electrical and electromagnetic anomalies in the subsoil, is one of the new risks for our cities, also due to the intense urban developments that characterized many urban centers in the last century", underlines Vittorio Rosato, head of ENEA's critical infrastructure analysis and protection laboratory. "Rome, for example, is an emblematic case of a complex subsoil structure that requires investigations and monitoring of the territory to verify the possible presence of geophysical anomalies attributable to the emergence of anthropogenic cavities".
At the request of the Civil Protection of Rome Capital, with which a multi-year collaboration is underway, the project activities are focusing on the analysis of the urban subsoil to prevent the formation of new anthropogenic sinkholes caused by the emergence of ancient cavities present in the subsoil (quarries of pozzolana, tuff, sand, catacombs and hypogea, etc.) or as a result of failures and breakages of the subservices (sewerage and water systems).
"The Civil Protection of Rome Capital is constantly engaged in monitoring the subsoil of the city through direct exploratory investigations in the underground cavities and, in particular, in the areas where the propensity for the soil to sink is already known due to geological and archaeological characteristics, such as of the Fifth Municipality. The technical support of public and private research is extremely useful since it allows the Capitoline Administration to acquire quality technological standards with which to carry out forecasting and prevention activities of these phenomena which arouse strong concern among citizens and whose identification can be complex because is often not accompanied by evident precursory phenomena”, underlines Gianluca Ferri, geologist and head of the Geological and Geomorphological Risk Office of the Security and Civil Protection Department of Rome Capital.
The MUSE project is one of the 7 projects of the LAreospaZIO tender which aims to increase the opportunities for technological development of companies in the aerospace sector through new connections with universities and public and private research centres, with relevant scientific and technological skills also at an international level. LAreospaZIO is conducted by ENEA in the role of Mandatory Key Research Organism, brings together 15 partners and is funded by the Lazio Region in the context of the "Strategic Projects" call of 2019.
