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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.
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