The MARGE project was funded with the goal of collecting long-period magnetotelluric (MT) data in central Italy. It will be carried out over three years in order to create a new national MT dataset. This dataset will be used to create a deep-crustal electrical resistivity model 10-200 km beneath the investigated surface. This data collection will advance: 

• Knowledge of deep-crustal structures under Italy;
• Knowledge of Italy’s tectonic evolution; 
• The ability to monitor the ground consequences of Space Weather events that can have an impact on our country.

MARGE was launched in April 2022. The field work for data acquisition will start in the summer of 2023 after all the instrumentation is available. It is led by Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in conjunction with the University of Bari and Istituto di Metodologie per l’Analisi Ambientale (IMAA) of National Research Council of Italy (CNR).

The number of sites needed to completely cover central Italy will be around 16, spaced about 55 kilometers apart. MT readings will be measured by installing a set of electric and magnetic sensors (both fluxgate and search coil magnetometers) connected to a data recorder. Instruments will be placed at each site for several (6-8) weeks in order to detect very long period electromagnetic signals generated by natural sources interacting with the Earth’s crust. Between 2 and 3 instruments will be deployed at a time. 

The MARGE project will gradually produce time-series data, processed data, inversion products, and reports. The general public, scientific research organizations, and industry will all have free access to the data and related products, through the “Data & Products” Section of this web site.