Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope
Strapdown gravity systems are increasingly employed in airborne geophysical exploration and geodetic studies due to advantages such as ease of installation, wide dynamic range, and adaptability to various platforms, including airplanes, helicopters, and large drones. This study presents results from...
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MDPI AG
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2309 |
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| author | Filippo Muccini Filippo Greco Luca Cocchi Maria Marsella Antonio Zanutta Alessandra Borghi Matteo Cagnizi Daniele Carbone Mauro Coltelli Danilo Contrafatto Peppe Junior Valentino D’Aranno Luca Frasca Alfio Alex Messina Luca Timoteo Mirabella Monia Negusini Eleonora Rivalta |
| author_facet | Filippo Muccini Filippo Greco Luca Cocchi Maria Marsella Antonio Zanutta Alessandra Borghi Matteo Cagnizi Daniele Carbone Mauro Coltelli Danilo Contrafatto Peppe Junior Valentino D’Aranno Luca Frasca Alfio Alex Messina Luca Timoteo Mirabella Monia Negusini Eleonora Rivalta |
| author_sort | Filippo Muccini |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Strapdown gravity systems are increasingly employed in airborne geophysical exploration and geodetic studies due to advantages such as ease of installation, wide dynamic range, and adaptability to various platforms, including airplanes, helicopters, and large drones. This study presents results from an airborne gravity survey conducted over the northeastern sector of Sardinia (Italy), using a high-resolution strapdown gravity ensuring an accuracy of approximately 1 mGal. Data were collected at an average altitude of 1800 m with a spatial resolution of 3.0 km. The survey focused on the Sos Enattos area near Lula (Nuoro province), a candidate site for the Einstein Telescope (ET), a third-generation gravitational wave observatory. The ideal site is required to be geologically and seismically stable with a well-characterized subsurface. To support this, we performed a new gravity survey to complement existing geological and seismic data aimed at characterizing the mid-to-shallow crustal structure of Sos Enattos. Results show that the strapdown system effectively detects gravity anomalies linked to crustal sources down to ~3.5 km, with particular emphasis within the 1–2 km depth range. Airborne gravity data reveal higher frequency anomalies than those resolved by the EGM2008 global gravity model and show good agreement with local terrestrial gravity data. Forward modeling of the gravity field suggests a crust dominated by alternating high-density metamorphic rocks and granitoid intrusions of the Variscan basement. These findings enhance the geophysical understanding of Sos Enattos and support its candidacy for the ET site. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-22121f05f3894c3babdfcc28820fd2da |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-22121f05f3894c3babdfcc28820fd2da2025-08-20T02:36:27ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922025-07-011713230910.3390/rs17132309Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein TelescopeFilippo Muccini0Filippo Greco1Luca Cocchi2Maria Marsella3Antonio Zanutta4Alessandra Borghi5Matteo Cagnizi6Daniele Carbone7Mauro Coltelli8Danilo Contrafatto9Peppe Junior Valentino D’Aranno10Luca Frasca11Alfio Alex Messina12Luca Timoteo Mirabella13Monia Negusini14Eleonora Rivalta15Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Building Engineering (DICEA), Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, 00184 Roma, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Chemical, Environmental and Materials Engineering (DICAM), Alma Mater Studiorum, Università di Bologna, Viale Risorgimento 2, 40136 Bologna, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Building Engineering (DICEA), Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, 00184 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyDepartment of Civil, Environmental and Building Engineering (DICEA), Università degli Studi di Roma ‘La Sapienza’, 00184 Roma, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma, 2, 95125 Catania, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Astrofisica, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Via P. Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, ItalyDepartment of Physics and Astronomy (DIFA), Alma Mater Studiorum, Universita di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat, 8, 40126 Bologna, ItalyStrapdown gravity systems are increasingly employed in airborne geophysical exploration and geodetic studies due to advantages such as ease of installation, wide dynamic range, and adaptability to various platforms, including airplanes, helicopters, and large drones. This study presents results from an airborne gravity survey conducted over the northeastern sector of Sardinia (Italy), using a high-resolution strapdown gravity ensuring an accuracy of approximately 1 mGal. Data were collected at an average altitude of 1800 m with a spatial resolution of 3.0 km. The survey focused on the Sos Enattos area near Lula (Nuoro province), a candidate site for the Einstein Telescope (ET), a third-generation gravitational wave observatory. The ideal site is required to be geologically and seismically stable with a well-characterized subsurface. To support this, we performed a new gravity survey to complement existing geological and seismic data aimed at characterizing the mid-to-shallow crustal structure of Sos Enattos. Results show that the strapdown system effectively detects gravity anomalies linked to crustal sources down to ~3.5 km, with particular emphasis within the 1–2 km depth range. Airborne gravity data reveal higher frequency anomalies than those resolved by the EGM2008 global gravity model and show good agreement with local terrestrial gravity data. Forward modeling of the gravity field suggests a crust dominated by alternating high-density metamorphic rocks and granitoid intrusions of the Variscan basement. These findings enhance the geophysical understanding of Sos Enattos and support its candidacy for the ET site.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2309strapdown inertial measurementsSardinia islandgravitational wave observatoryEGM2008 modelforward modeling |
| spellingShingle | Filippo Muccini Filippo Greco Luca Cocchi Maria Marsella Antonio Zanutta Alessandra Borghi Matteo Cagnizi Daniele Carbone Mauro Coltelli Danilo Contrafatto Peppe Junior Valentino D’Aranno Luca Frasca Alfio Alex Messina Luca Timoteo Mirabella Monia Negusini Eleonora Rivalta Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope Remote Sensing strapdown inertial measurements Sardinia island gravitational wave observatory EGM2008 model forward modeling |
| title | Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope |
| title_full | Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope |
| title_fullStr | Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope |
| title_full_unstemmed | Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope |
| title_short | Airborne Strapdown Gravity Survey of Sos Enattos Area (NE Sardinia, Italy): Insights into Geological and Geophysical Characterization of the Italian Candidate Site for the Einstein Telescope |
| title_sort | airborne strapdown gravity survey of sos enattos area ne sardinia italy insights into geological and geophysical characterization of the italian candidate site for the einstein telescope |
| topic | strapdown inertial measurements Sardinia island gravitational wave observatory EGM2008 model forward modeling |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/17/13/2309 |
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