|
Università degli Studi di Pavia
Centro Interdisciplinare di Bioacustica e Ricerche
Ambientali
Via Taramelli 24 - 27100 Pavia - Italy
e-mail : cibra@unipv.it
SMO - Submarine Multidisciplinary Observatory -
project funded by FIRB
CIBRA participates
to this project associated to INFN-LNS laboratories
located in Catania (Sicily, Italy). The project is
headed by INFN-LNS with FIRB funding.
Gianni Pavan is associate researcher at INFN-LNS
since 2003 for the the project NEMO (NEutrino
Mediterranean Observatory) and the related subprojects
like ONDE (Ocean Noise Detection Experiment) and now
SMO.
The kick-off meeting of the project has been held in
Catania, May 16-18, 2011.
The
aims
of SMO (Submarine Multidisciplinary
Observatory) project is the realization of
innovative submarine acoustic antennas,
equipped with acoustic and electromagnetic
sensors. The antennas will be permanently
deployed at two distant sites offshore Catania
and Capo Passero respectively (about 200 km
distance one from each other). In both the
locations the antennas will be connected to
land station via electro-optical cables, that
will be used both for power supplying and for
the real-time data acquisition. The underwater
devices that will be implemented and deployed
in these two sites, will represent a
significant development of the existing
submarine infrastructures deployed in the
area: these infrastructures are presently
composed by the cables, land laboratories,
submarine junction boxes and the SN-1 long
term multi-parameters monitoring observatory,
that will be improved with new sensors SN-1
has successfully operated in a three-years
experiment, during which, it were connected in
real-time to the north terminal of the Catania
cable.
The sensors installed on the antennas will be:
hydrophones for geophysical applications,
electromagnetic sensors for detection of
signals induced by large earthquakes,
hydrophones for natural and bio-physical
applications and oceanographic sensors for the
monitoring of marine physical parameters.
These new experimental devices, i.e. acoustic
antennas and newly equipped SN-1 abyssal
station will embrace three different
scientific area: geophysics, high energy
physics and bio-physics.
The geophysical applications are mainly
related to the study of low frequency acoustic
signals as possible tsunami precursors.
Moreover a prototype of a tsunami early
warning system will be developed, based on the
direct measurement of tsunami-genic sources,
generated tsunami waves and possible
precursors (sound waves). The system will be
able to use and automatically analysed the
real-time hydro-acoustic measurements, to
provide states of variable alert-level for
coastal areas, also using appropriate
numerical models for generation and
propagation of tsunami waves. Moreover we will
study the electromagnetic signals generated by
large seismic events as possible precursors.
The physical investigation are devoted to the
study of the acoustic detection of high energy
astrophysics neutrinos. Moreover using the two
antennas, far 200 km from each other and
perfectly synchronized, it will be possible to
study the noise levels in the Mediterranean
and its possible causes, including human ones.
The
bio-physical investigation are instead devoted
to the study of marine mammals movements and
behaviorr. Once again the two synchronised
antennas, located, respectively, at the
southern part of the Messina Strait and the
Sicily Channel entrance, will allow to
monitor, for the first time, the whales
movements in two key areas for the
understanding of their habits. The SMO
antennas, then will form a unique and
innovative tool, that will lead to relevant
improvment with an interdisciplinary and
multidisciplinary approach.
Updated information on the SMO project are on
the official
website. A workshop on related acoustic
and bioacoustic research will be held in
Erice, Sicily, next October.
|