A team of researchers from INGV and INFN has created and positioned on the seabed of the Ionian Sea sophisticated and innovative instruments for the acquisition of sounds coming from the depths of the sea
An High sensitivity seismic-acoustic station created by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) has just been deposited in 3.500 meters deep in the abyssal plain of the Ionian Sea, 80 kilometers south-east of Portopalo di Capo Passero (Syracuse).
The station, built within the framework of the PON Marine Hazard - “Fund for Development and Cohesion” relating to the 2014-2020 programming, which included the creation of a functioning prototype, thanks to the work of the research group involved, has exceeded the initial objectives and has already been successfully connected to the large underwater infrastructure KM3NeT/ARCA, the largest deep neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea.
The station is already acquiring the sounds and noises that propagate in the depths of the sea, providing valuable information on the environmental impact that these acoustic waves produce. The acquired data are sent in real time to the INGV processing servers hosted at the Data Processing Center of the INFN operational headquarters in Portopalo di Capo Passero, via a submarine electro-optical cable approximately 100 kilometers long.
“The deployment of an infrastructure of this magnitude represents a great success, laying the foundation for thecontinuous exploration of environments considered inaccessible until a few years ago, with unique characteristics of their kind”Comments Sergio Scire' Scappuzzo, scientific director of the “Marine Hazard” project for INGV.
Gianluca Lazarus, a technologist at INGV involved in the development and integration of scientific instrumentation, adds: “This undertaking is the result of a multidisciplinary synergy and its success gives further value to the scientific and technological collaboration between INGV and INFN and emphasizes the importance of cooperation between European research infrastructures, also considering the support we have received from the EMSO ERIC”.
The locations involved in the project are, for INFN, the Southern National Laboratories (INFN-LNS), the Bari Section (INFN-BA) and the Rome Section (INFN-RM1), while, for INGV, the Palermo Section.
To create this sophisticated scientific observatory, researchers from the INGV in Palermo installed a sensor on the station capable of detecting both the conductivity and temperature of water masses and the pressure of the overlying water column, as well as a hydrophone oriented to the study of low frequencies of acoustic waves and a highly sensitive marine seismometer.
INFN-LNS researchers, on the other hand, designed and built the station structure, together with the control and data transmission electronics, as well as the watertight containers to house the electronics, resistant to high pressures.
“The installation of this station strengthens the already solid ties between INFN and INGV and underlines the relationship of full interaction between the two research institutes, as well as providing further multidisciplinary value to the scientific excellence represented by the KM3NeT/IDMAR infrastructure”, they declare Simone Biagi, Site Manager of KM3NeT/ARCA, e Angelo Orlando, technical coordinator of the station project.
Thanks to the use of advanced technologies and skills, this instrumentation projects research towards the long-term study of the deepest areas of seas and oceans, otherwise poorly observed. This is in favor of the cohesion of a European scientific community, which pools its resources and skills, also acting as a driving force for the transfer of knowledge and technologies to Italian companies.
Useful links:
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN)
INGV - Palermo Section
Southern National Laboratories (INFN-LNS)
Bari Section - INFN
Rome Section 1 - INFN
An High sensitivity seismic-acoustic station created by a multidisciplinary group of researchers from theNational Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) and National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) has just been deposited in 3.500 meters deep in the abyssal plain of the Ionian Sea, 80 kilometers south-east of Portopalo di Capo Passero (Syracuse).
The station, built within the framework of the PON Marine Hazard - “Fund for Development and Cohesion” relating to the 2014-2020 programming, which included the creation of a functioning prototype, thanks to the work of the research group involved, has exceeded the initial objectives and has already been successfully connected to the large underwater infrastructure KM3NeT/ARCA, the largest deep neutrino telescope in the Mediterranean Sea.
The station is already acquiring the sounds and noises that propagate in the depths of the sea, providing valuable information on the environmental impact that these acoustic waves produce. The acquired data are sent in real time to the INGV processing servers hosted at the Data Processing Center of the INFN operational headquarters in Portopalo di Capo Passero, via a submarine electro-optical cable approximately 100 kilometers long.
“The deployment of an infrastructure of this magnitude represents a great success, laying the foundation for thecontinuous exploration of environments considered inaccessible until a few years ago, with unique characteristics of their kind”Comments Sergio Scire' Scappuzzo, scientific director of the “Marine Hazard” project for INGV.
Gianluca Lazarus, a technologist at INGV involved in the development and integration of scientific instrumentation, adds: “This undertaking is the result of a multidisciplinary synergy and its success gives further value to the scientific and technological collaboration between INGV and INFN and emphasizes the importance of cooperation between European research infrastructures, also considering the support we have received from the EMSO ERIC”.
The locations involved in the project are, for INFN, the Southern National Laboratories (INFN-LNS), the Bari Section (INFN-BA) and the Rome Section (INFN-RM1), while, for INGV, the Palermo Section.
To create this sophisticated scientific observatory, researchers from the INGV in Palermo installed a sensor on the station capable of detecting both the conductivity and temperature of water masses and the pressure of the overlying water column, as well as a hydrophone oriented to the study of low frequencies of acoustic waves and a highly sensitive marine seismometer.
INFN-LNS researchers, on the other hand, designed and built the station structure, together with the control and data transmission electronics, as well as the watertight containers to house the electronics, resistant to high pressures.
“The installation of this station strengthens the already solid ties between INFN and INGV and underlines the relationship of full interaction between the two research institutes, as well as providing further multidisciplinary value to the scientific excellence represented by the KM3NeT/IDMAR infrastructure”, they declare Simone Biagi, Site Manager of KM3NeT/ARCA, e Angelo Orlando, technical coordinator of the station project.
Thanks to the use of advanced technologies and skills, this instrumentation projects research towards the long-term study of the deepest areas of seas and oceans, otherwise poorly observed. This is in favor of the cohesion of a European scientific community, which pools its resources and skills, also acting as a driving force for the transfer of knowledge and technologies to Italian companies.
Useful links:
National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV)
National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN)
INGV - Palermo Section
Southern National Laboratories (INFN-LNS)
Bari Section - INFN
Rome Section 1 - INFN
Figure 1: Front view of the mechanical structure housing the scientific instrumentation 
Figure 2: Geographical location of the Marine Hazard station installation site, with artistic rendering of the station within the KM3NeT/ARCA infrastructure