A Norwegian submarine arrives at Campi Flegrei to map the caldera: how it is done and what it will study

To monitor and obtain more and more data on the caldera dei Campi Flegrei From the sea it was decided to use a special submarine Norwegian in Gulf of Naples: it is a driver -free vehicle called Hugincapable of collecting high resolution data for commercial, scientific and defense purposes. Its main advantage is therefore the versatility, given by the possibility of installing a huge range of different sensors according to the needs, from high quality rooms to Sonar and environmental sensors. In the case of the Flegrei Campi, this means capable of reaching the 3000 meters deep He can photograph faults and flues and monitor gas emissions, including carbon dioxide. The vehicle was made available by the zoological station Anton Dohrn who purchased the vehicle for 5 million euros through the PNRR.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-h5uzwv22ws

THE’Hugin is a UAV, that is, an autonomous submarine vehicle, and measures about 5 meters long. It is a technologically very advanced means on which various tools can be installed. In the current model among the main ones we have:

• Sonar Multibeam EM 2040 which covers up to 140 degrees with very high resolution, ideal for mapping the seabed;
• Hisas 1032 synthetic open -opening Sonar with double receiverwith a sensitivity 10 times higher than that of a conventional sonar;
• UCEAN CATHX UC with resolution of 4096 x 2304 pixels and ability to process the images to correct distortions and colors;
• The systems of Collision prevention To avoid unexpected obstacles, the sea background, objects in half water and even objects on the surface.

In addition to these, ad hoc tools will also be inserted for the Gas monitoring. Also inside both the batteries that the memoirs To store the data are removable and interchangeable: this allows you to use the vehicle continuously without the need for long breaks. Among other things, each battery pack is guaranteed to last up to 18 hours at a navigation speed of 3 knots (equivalent to about 5.5 km/h).

From an operational point of view, the vehicle will have Two main objectives:

• Make visible the submerged volcanic part of the Flegrei Campiwhich has only been studied only through theoretical models;
• monitor the gases issued in the areaas co₂ And methane.

If everything goes as expected, the first images captured by Hugin should arrive in May, after the installation of the various sensors necessary and after the arrival of the support ship.