Workflow of Digital Field Mapping and Drone-Aided Survey for the identification and Characterization of Capable Faults: The Case of a Normal Fault System in the Monte Nerone Area (Northern Apennines, Italy)

Field work on the search and characterization of ground effects of a historical earthquake (i.e., the Cagli earthquake in 1781) was carried out using terrestrial and aerial digital tools. The method of capturing, organizing, storing, and elaborating digital data is described herein, proposing a possible workflow starting from pre-field project organization, through reiteration of field and intermediate laboratory work, to final interpretation and synthesis. The case of one of the most important seismic events in the area of the northern Umbria–Marche Apennines provided the opportunity to test the method with both postgraduate students and researchers. The main result of this work was the mapping of a capable normal fault system with a great number of observations, as well as a large amount of data, from difficult outcrop areas. A GIS map and a three-dimensional (3D) model, with the integration of subsurface data (i.e., seismic profiles and recent earthquake distribution information), allowed for a new interpretation of an extensional tectonic regime of this Apennines sector, similar to one of the southernmost areas of central Italy where recent earthquakes occurred on 2016

Geo-archaeology of the Roman palaeosurface of Sena Gallica (Senigallia, Italy)

ABSTRACTSena Gallica (Senigallia), in the northern Marche region, was the first Roman colony on the Adriatic coast founded at the beginning of the third century BC. This research adopted an integrated approach to different information sources that combines old and new data, archaeological excavations, topographic and geophysical surveys, and geological and geomorphological analyses. The data are managed within a GIS and supported by 3D modelling. One of the results of this work is a map which represents the geomorphological setting of the Roman colony, close to the mouth of the Misa river. The settlement exploited the top-surface of the uppermost Pleistocene–early Holocene coastal fan of the Misa river, now only preserved at the apex sector truncated seaward by wave erosion. The top-surface of the fan apex, in turn, was partly re-incised by stream erosion producing a series of slight topographic mounds, which were selected for the earliest human settlement (V-IV c. BC). Some of the mounds resulted in a pr..

Spatial Information Science and Technology for Geological Field Mapping

This Special Issue aims to collect scientific and technological contributions that indicate the state of the art on methods and procedures, techniques, and tools (hardware and software) used for the geological survey in the digital age. In fact, digital tools have been available for some years to collect data and information in the field for geological maps drawing and data capturing, with accuracy improvement and information management. Authors coming from research institutes, agencies, institutions, and universities with different experiences and scopes are welcome. Contributions that include the following topics will be particularly appreciated: Preparation digital procedures (laboratory pre fieldwork), survey (fieldwork), and interpretation (laboratory after fieldwork); Hardware–operator interaction in the field (tablet PCs, smartphones, etc.); Open source and commercial software and apps; Management of cartography and online and offline data; Multidimensional mapping detection and return; GPS and mobile GIS; Drones, remote sensing, and geophysics technologies that can be used directly on the ground; Advantages and limitations of digital survey methods; Teaching digital methods in academic geological field mapping courses. Authors are invited to send short abstracts for the purposes of their research and the main results obtained, to verify that their contribution is aligned with the objectives of the Special Issue

Outdoor GPS and Indoor Magnetic Field Positioning: combining survey technology and app development

This work tested a solution for outdoor and indoor positioning. In order to find a suitable solution for “geo-applications” like in caves and mines, we tested the GPS and Open Street Map cartography for outdoor and Magnetic Field positioning and Indoor Atlas technology for indoor in the Urbino University residences. The results of this work can be already used for university students and hosts in Urbino; moreover, these could be also easily applied to geotouristic sites by means of the development of an app for Android smartphones