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UAV magnetic surveys to enhance observational capabilities at Mt. Etna and Vulcano Island

Rosalba Napoli , Massimo Cantarero, Emanuela De Beni, Antonino Sicali, Gilda Currenti

Abstract

Magnetic field measurements are a powerful tool in volcanic contexts to characterize the main structural features and image thermal anomalies and intrusive systems. However, in rugged, inaccessible and/or risky areas, magnetic surveys have always been challenging, since they traditionally involved walking with a ground-based magnetometer or flying a de-magnetized helicopter. The first option is slow, time-consuming and may pose a high safety risk to operators, while the other, although faster, is particularly expensive. Recently, unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) and airborne magnetometers have emerged as new technology to gather, productively and economically, high-resolution magnetic data. Magnetometer-equipped drones are able to fly at low altitudes covering efficiently wide areas and providing in great detail a map of magnetic anomalies and underlying geological features. Here, we report aeromagnetic surveys recently conducted by UAV at Vulcano Island and Mount Etna. The airborne surveys were conducted using a DJI Matrice 300 with a MagArrow sensor, a laser pumped cesium total field scalar magnetometer, collecting magnetic data at a 1000 Hz synchronized on-board GPS (1 Hz sample rate). The comparison between the magnetic maps obtained by the UAV surveys and those achieved by ground surveys previously carried out in the same area by an Overhauser GSM magnetometer (0.01nT resolution) demonstrate the cost-effectiveness and accuracy of using magnetometer-equipped drones for mapping the inaccessible and rugged terrain and consequently the chance to improve the magnetic surveying capabilities.