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MEDUSA: a Multidisciplinary Marine Infrastructure for the Permanent Monitoring of the Campi Flegrei Volcanic Area (Italy)

Sergio Guardato , Rosario Riccio, Giovanni Iannaccone

Abstract

In the marine portion of the Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy), a permanent and multidisciplinary marine monitoring infrastructure (MEDUSA) has been operational since 2016 providing the extension of the on-land monitoring networks. With the continuous production of multi-parametric data, MEDUSA contributing to a more precise definition and comprehension of the deformation pattern exhibited by the submerged portion of the Campi Flegrei volcanic area, in a shallow water environment. MEDUSA is comprised of four systems, each of which is composed of a geodetic buoy (MPP, Multi-Parametric Platform) and an SSO (Seafloor Scientific Observatory) connected to its buoy by an electromechanical subsea cable, which provides power, data communication and GPS timing. The systems are located at about 2.5 km from the coastline and at a depth ranging from 40 to 100 m. Each MPP is powered by an autonomous photovoltaic system and is equipped with geodetic and environmental sensors, as well as a GSM-based communication system. Each SSO is equipped with a variety of geophysical, geodetic, and oceanographic sensors. A number of these sensors are fixed on the SSO frame, while others are installed in a titanium subsea housing--mounted within the frame--and connected to a multi-channel data acquisition system. More than 200 data channels, spanning a frequency range from 1 to 200 Hz, are collected, time-tagged with GPS-UTC time sync, and transmitted in real-time to the on-land center for visualisation and analysis in the monitoring room. Data is stored locally in databases for post-processing analysis and accessible on a website.