See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/256706448

Aeromagnetic and radiometric data filtering at the Vesuvian Volcanic

Area

Article in Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata · January 2005

CITATIONS READS

5 583

2 authors, including:

Valeria Paoletti
University of Naples Federico II
85 PUBLICATIONS 1,086 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Valeria Paoletti on 04 June 2014.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Bollettino di Geofisica Teorica ed Applicata Vol. 46, n. 1, pp. x-xx; March 2005

Aeromagnetic and radiometric data localized filtering

at the Vesuvian volcanic area
V. PAOLETTI and A. PINTO
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Napoli Federico II, Naples, Italy

(Received March 29, 2004; accepted November 23, 2004)

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present an application of denoising techniques to the high-resolution

aeromagnetic and radiometric data measured in 1999 in the Vesuvian volcanic area,
southern Italy. The helicopter-borne survey aimed at giving new detailed insights into
the distribution of the magnetization and of the main radionuclides of the area and,
therefore, into the volcanological characteristics of the region. The surveyed area is
characterized by the presence of towns and buildings and an extensive network of
railway lines which affected the measurements and were responsible for some of the
anomalies measured. In order to warrant a reliable interpretation of the data, it was
therefore necessary to filter out this cultural noise. The denoising was performed by a
powerful method based on the discrete wavelet transform, whose excellent space-scale
localization properties lead to a very sharp and space-localized filtering. The
comparison between the filtered maps and known geological sources located in the
area by other geophysical and geological constraints led to the identification of some
of the main magnetic and radiometric features of the Vesuvian Volcanic Area.

1. Introduction
High-resolution aeromagnetic and radiometric surveys are used increasingly for studying
active volcanic areas. Both methods are in fact very effective in environmental monitoring and
geological mapping. Aeromagnetic surveys have proven very useful in several applications
regarding regional and near-surface investigations. These applications include mapping the
basement under sedimentary basins for oil exploration, investigating water resources and
studying areas characterized by environmental and land-use problems (e.g., Cordell and Grauch,
1985; Glenn and Badgery, 1998; U.S.G.S., 1999). The study of the aeromagnetic field of an active
volcanic region can provide useful information about the subsurface magnetization distribution
allowing significant insights into the geo-structural and volcanological characteristics of the area.
Meaningful studies of the structure of volcanoes by aeromagnetic surveys have been carried out,
e.g., on the Island of Hawaii (Hildenbrand et al., 1993), Mt. St. Helens (Finn and Williams, 1987),
Unzendake Volcano (Nakatsuka, 1994), the Campanian Volcanic Area (Florio et al., 1999), the
Canary Islands (Arana et al., 2000), Mt. Rainier (Rystrom et al., 2000; Finn et al., 2001),
Yellowstone National Park (Finn and Morgan, 2001) and the West Antarctic Rift System
(Ferraccioli et al., 2002).
Airborne gamma-ray measurements are usually presented as total activity and equivalent
ground concentration of Uranium, Thorium, Potassium and other radionuclides. This kind of
survey represents a quick and effective tool for mapping large areas, with many applications in

© 2005 – OGS 1
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

environmental monitoring (Akerblom, 1995; Barnet, 1995; Damkjaer, 1998) and in geological
characterizations (Grasty and Shives, 1997; Billings, 1998; Gunn et al., 1999). More specifically,
it can be used to: i) contribute to a better understanding of the surface and the shallow subsurface
geology; ii) define the distribution of natural and anthropogenic radionuclides; iii) identify
regions prone to high indoor radon levels; iv) identify pollution of ground and wastewater from
industrial and waste sites; v) check map radioactive fallout from nuclear accidents and
contaminant plumes from power plants (Lee et al., 2001).
Many active volcanic areas are located in densely populated regions and this has made the
study of their structural and volcanological features by air-borne methods increasingly frequent
and important in recent years. This is because of the advantages of this kind of survey with
respect to ground ones; i.e. the higher speed for collecting data and the better spatial coverage,
allowing the surveying of areas inaccessible to ground work. As is well known, the Vesuvian
Volcanic Area is one of the most dangerous in the world because of its mainly explosive eruptions
and of its location in a very densely populated area. For these reasons several studies on its
structural and volcanological characteristics by both potential fields and radiometric methods
were carried out recently (Berrino et al., 1998; Fedi et al., 1998; Cella et al., 2003; Capaldi et al.,
1982). Somma-Vesuvius is a strato-volcano characterized by products of both explosive and
effusive eruptions highly enriched in radioactive elements and potassium (Oversby and Gast,
1968; Capaldi et al., 1980; Capaldi et al., 1982). The 226Ra/238U ratios in the Vesuvius lavas are
2-4 times higher than in any other measured volcano. The Ra, U and Th enrichment trends show
that these elements came largely from a region wider and geochemically different from the
magmatic source of the major elements (Capaldi et al., 1982). The authors therefore proposed
that the Ra, U and Th could be introduced from fluids of a deep origin, rich in these elements.
This complex, formed by an older volcanic center (Mt. Somma) and a more recent one (Mt.
Vesuvius), is located in an area where a sedimentary, carbonate basement sinks to depths of a few
thousand meters b.s.l., as shown by gravity methods (Carrara et al., 1974) and seismic reflection
data (Bruno et al., 1998). The Trecase1 well, drilled inside the Vesuvius volcanic area, detected
the sedimentary basement at about 1700 meters below sea level (Bernasconi et al., 1981). The
last eruption was in 1944 and closed a period of considerable activity begun with the violent 1631
eruption. After the 1944 eruption, which caused the conduit to remain closed, a quiescent period
started. Rock magnetism measurements from Mount Somma, Vesuvius and Trecase1 well
(Cassano and La Torre, 1987) showed intense magnetization ranging from 6.8 A/m (lavas from
Vesuvius) to 0.5 A/m (tuffs), with an average Koenigsberger ratio of about 8.6 and a total
magnetization vector aligned in the direction of the present field.
In regions characterized by a high density of urbanization like the Vesuvian area, the data
quality is subject to an intense level of noise that in some cases may be of relevant amplitude,
enough to mask features of geological origin. Magnetic cultural noise can be characterized by
singular anomalies caused by drill platforms (Muszala et al., 2001), farms (Cuss, 2003), water
tanks, industrial buildings and landfills (U.S.G.S., 1999), or by linear magnetic features
connected to pipelines (Gay, 1986; Cuss, 2003), railway lines (Linington, 1974; Fedi et al., 2003),
power-lines (U.S.G.S., 1999; Gharibi and Pedersen, 2000), roads (Cuss, 2003). In radiometric
surveys, cultural noise coming from urbanization interferes with, and often masks, natural
signals. For example, the use of mining wastes in construction causes manmade radiation in

2
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

urbanized areas such as towns, villages and roads (Lahti et al., 2001). In volcanic areas, where
tuffs and other rocks highly enriched in radioactive elements are used for construction of
buildings and roads, these manmade structures generate radioactivity and are clearly outlined,
masking the natural signal (Pinto et al., 2004).
In this paper, we apply localized filtering techniques based on a discrete wavelet transform
algorithm (Fedi and Quarta, 1998) to the high-resolution aeromagnetic and radiometric data
measured in the densely populated Vesuvian volcanic area in 1999.

2. The aeromagnetic and radiometric data of the Vesuvian Volcanic Area

2.1. Technical and Logistical Characteristics of the Survey
The helicopter-borne survey, carried out by the Geological Survey of Austria (Supper et al.,
2001), covered an area of about 15 by 21 Km (Fig. 1). The profile lines, with a N-S azimuth, were
spaced about 600 m apart, while the cross-track tie lines were about 2 km apart. The sample
spacing along each line was about 4 m. Regarding the flight altitude, data acquisition was along
a surface roughly parallel to the topography of the area (draped acquisition), with a clearance
varying between 150 and 200 m. This survey layout is usually adopted in high resolution surveys
and according to Bhattacharrya and Chan (1977) allows to minimize the effect of a magnetized
terrain on the data. It is worthwhile mentioning that Grauch and Campbell (1984) note that the
effect of a magnetized terrain is still present in the case of draped acquisition.

Fig. 1 - Flight lines of the draped helicopter-borne survey performed in October 1999 in the Vesuvian area. The profile
lines (with azimuth N-S) are 600 m apart, the tie lines (with azimuth W-E) are about 2 km apart and the sample spacing
along the flight lines is about 4 m. Due to the cultural noise of the area, the satellite signal used by the Global
Positioning System (GPS) was not detectable in the area placed West of 14°, 43 of East longitude. Coastline in black.

3
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

The equipment used for the survey was supplied by the Geological Survey of Austria and
consisted of ground and flight instruments. Among the ground devices two magnetometers were
used to monitor the external field activity during the flights and a GPS reference station was used
for the differential correction of satellite data. The flight section consisted of: (i) a cesium
magnetometer having a precision of 0.01 nT, contained in a “bird” towed 30 meters below the
helicopter, (ii) a GPS sensor for the horizontal positioning, having a precision of ± 1 m after the
differential correction, (iii) a laser-altimeter for the vertical positioning (with an accuracy of 10
cm), (iv) a NaI crystal detector to measure natural radioactivity, (v) an infrared camera to evaluate
the area’s thermal characteristics (temperature range: -20°C – 450°C) and (vi) a computer for data
acquisition.

2.2. Data Processing

The magnetic data processing allowed several data corrections and included the following
steps: (i) removal of spikes and gaps in the data; (ii) flight path check and re-positioning, which
consisted in the removal of wrong coordinates and double records, differential correction of the
GPS data and check of the flight altitude; (iii) earth’s magnetic field diurnal variation corrections.
These were also performed using the magnetic data of the Observatory of L’Aquila, Italy, as the
magnetic data of the local base stations were often disturbed by the cultural noise of the area; (iv)
removal of the IGRF (International Geomagnetic Reference Field); (v) statistical leveling,
consisting in a minimization of the differences between values measured at the crossing points
between flight lines and tie lines; (vi) decorrugation, a directional filtering to remove the
directional anomalies still present along the flight lines.
The gamma-ray data processing included the same first two steps of the magnetic data
processing and furthermore: (i) stripping ratios applied to correct Compton scattering; (ii)
removal of the cosmic background; (iii) altitude correction, applied to reduce data to an average
survey height.

2.3. The aeromagnetic map of the Vesuvian volcanic area

The map of the magnetic data measured in the Vesuvius area (Fig. 2), gridding the data to 300
m intervals, is dominated by a large dipolar anomaly (amplitude of about 2500 nT) clearly related
to the Somma-Vesuvius complex and characterized by a roughly elliptical shape elongated
towards South. Remarkable features of the area at the base of the edifice are a narrow anomaly
on the western slope of the edifice (A in Fig. 2) and an irregular shape of the anomaly on the
South-Eastern slope of the volcano in the area of Boscotrecase and Boscoreale. Here, we observe
some small anomalies (B, C and D in Fig. 2). Finally, in the area North-East of the edifice, we
notice an elliptical anomaly (E) and a general radial trend of the field. The presence of a double
minimum in the summit area of the volcano, a bigger one placed North of Mount Somma and a
smaller one placed above Valle Dell’Inferno, seems due rather to altitude variations of the
helicopter, as observed in a synthetic model reproducing the geometry of the data acquisition and
the topography of the volcano.
The areas surrounding the edifice are characterized by many high-frequency anomalies, which
may be partly connected to the high cultural noise in the densely inhabited Vesuvian area. This
area is in fact characterized by the presence of towns and buildings and an extensive network of

4
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

railway lines, which affect the magnetic field and are responsible, at least in part, for some of the
measured anomalies. Previous studies (Linington, 1974) showed that the presence of electrified
railway lines creates a magnetic dipole effect caused by currents flowing through the overhead
voltage line and returning through the running rails. These train-induced signals, whose intensity
and frequency varies with the position and number of the trains and the amount of current used
by the trains (Larsen et al., 1996; Buccella and Feliziani, 2003), may therefore cause intense
dipolar magnetic anomalies aligned along the railway line (Iliceto and Santarato, 1999). A further
magnetic disturbance is connected to the currents dispersed through the ground as a direct result
of the rail-earth connections along the railway line (Senanayake, 1990). This secondary magnetic
effect is controlled by local subsoil geological features .
The surveyed area has a main and secondary railway lines (see Fig. 2), which basically differ
by the number of trains running along the electrified line and for the amount of current used by
the trains. These differences are responsible for a different degree of disturbances in the magnetic

Fig. 2 - The new magnetic map of the Vesuvian area obtained from the aeromagnetic survey performed in October
1999. The solid white lines show the main railway lines and the dashed white lines show the secondary railway lines.
Coastline in black. For location of the anomalies see Fig. 1.

5
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

field measured in correspondence to the railway lines, as can be observed in Fig. 2. The noise
along the main line is characterized by a larger amplitude than one in correspondence to the
secondary line.
Among the anomalies measured in the Vesuvian area in correspondence to railway lines, we
notice two reversed anomalies of amplitude of about 250 nT in the Torre Annunziata and Pompei-
Scafati regions (F and G in Fig. 2), which seem to be aligned along a W-E trend and are placed
along the main railway line. Other anomalies in correspondence to the main railway line and
characterized by an amplitude of about 100 nT (see Fig. 2) are those in the areas between S.
Giuseppe Vesuviano and Palma Campania (L and M) and South of Nola (N). As regards the
anomalies in correspondence to the secondary railway lines, besides a number of high frequency
ones, we notice the anomalies in the areas of Poggiomarino (I) and West of Nola (O).
Since these train-induced signals may mask magnetic features of geological origin, a reliable
interpretation of the local magnetic features can be warranted only by a localized denoising of the
data aimed at reducing the influence of the railway lines.

2.4. The radiometric maps of the Vesuvian volcanic area

The maps of total count, Uranium and Potassium (Figs. 3, 4, 5), are characterized by both the
presence of cultural noise due to the urbanization of the densely populated Vesuvian area and by
a high frequency signal due to the different lava flows of the area. Nevertheless, all the maps show
a circular anomaly corresponding to the caldera rim and a sharp positive anomaly located on the
top of the 1944 lava flow.
The presence of the lava flows of the area masks the signals related to the regional trends
which could provide insights into the structural characteristics of the whole volcanic area.
Therefore, in order to allow a better identification of the main geological features and
environment implications of area we filtered this high frequency signal.

3. Wavelet analysis for the local separation of potential field anomalies

and filtering of gamma-ray data
The filtering was performed by a powerful method based on discrete wavelet transform (Fedi
and Quarta, 1998). Its main performance among other methods is that the analysis can be carried
out with mathematical models characterized by both a frequency and a space resolution. This is
important, especially when compared with Fourier methods which have good frequency
resolution but no space resolution. A specific space-scale wavelet analysis, called multi-
resolution analysis, allowed the decomposing of the signal with respect to a vast range of scales.
The most appropriate basis was chosen by requiring the maximum compactness for the
multiresolution analysis. Since such analysis is not shift-invariant, the same criterion was applied
to choose the best signal shift too. In the case of potential fields, good bases are the interpolating
and the triangular, which are both biorthogonal (Fedi and Quarta, 1998). In fact, their shape is
rather consistent with the shape of simple anomalies. The algorithm used automatically identifies
the wavelet coefficients by simply specifying the sub-area coordinates, this one having any
desired shape. The excellent space–scale localization properties of the wavelet bases allowed a
very sharp and space-localized filtering, leaving the field in adjacent areas unchanged.

6
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

Fig. 3 - Map of distribution of

total gamma emissions from
Vesuvian rocks and soils. The
white dots show the caldera rim
and the 1944 lava flow.
Coastline in black.

Fig. 4 - Map of distribution of

equivalent Uranium from
Vesuvian rocks and soils. The
white dots show the caldera rim
and the 1944 lava flow.
Coastline in black.

7
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

Fig. 5 - Map of distribution of

Potassium from Vesuvian rocks
and soils. The white dots show
the caldera rim and the 1944 lava
flow. Coastline in black.

3.1. Local separation of potential field anomalies

The overlapping of both antropic and geology-related magnetic effects in the surveyed area
and the high variability of the train-induced signals present in the surveyed area, along both kinds
of electrified lines, makes it difficult to distinguish between anomalies certainly due to noise and
anomalies related to geology. In particular, while in some areas we cannot see any direct
correlation between the anomalies and the presence of railway lines, in other cases some
anomalies of interest are just in correspondence to the railway lines. The variable characteristics
of the train-induced signals and the complex geological features of the area, causing a variable
dispersion of the currents through the ground, may explain why the data measured in the Vesuvian
area do not show a clear and constant presence of magnetic anomalies aligned along the railway
lines. However, as it will be shown further on, the evidence of other related geophysical and
geochemical anomalies in the same zone can help to furnish some indication about the presence
of geology-related magnetic sources in the area. Nevertheless, working on the hypothesis that
some of the anomalies along the railway lines are mainly connected to train-induced noise, we
aim to show the effectiveness of the discrete wavelet transform in localized noise removal.
The filtering, performed by using a triangular base wavelet, was carried out specifying a
closed region straddling the railway lines and considering the two smallest scales in the case of
the main railway lines and only the smallest scale in the case of the secondary railway lines. The
parameters used in this filtering were chosen on the basis of some studies on the anomalies
induced by the railway lines (see Palangio et al., 1991; Santarato et al., 1994; Senanayake, 1990;
Iliceto and Santarato, 1999). According to these studies the train-induced magnetic field

8
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

decreases as the square of the distance from the line, and can vary from 5 to 35 nT at a distance
of 1-2 km from the line. The thickness of the region straddling the railway line (about 5 km), as
well as the choice of the scales to be filtered, were also chosen on the basis of a previous
denoising successfully applied to the nearby northern Phlegrean area (see Fedi et al., 2003;
Paoletti et al., 2004a). The survey carried out in the Phlegrean area was, in fact, logistically
similar to the survey in the Vesuvian region and highlighted some anomalies that are
unequivocally train-induced.
Fig. 6a shows the magnetic map of the Vesuvian area obtained after a localized filtering along
both the main and the secondary railway lines, while in Fig. 6b we see the anomalies removed by
this localized filtering process. The use of this tool allowed a very space-localized filtering
leaving the remaining parts of the measured signal unchanged. As we can notice, the application
of this filtering procedure to our case did not completely remove the most important anomalies
in correspondence to the railway lines (see, e.g., F and G in Fig. 6a). This fact, together with the
evidence of other geophysical and geochemical anomalies of geological origin in the same zones,
described below, suggests a superimposition in the measured data of geological and antropic
effects, at least in some of the investigated areas. More specifically, a remarkable feature of the
map obtained after the localized filtering process (Fig. 6a) is a group of anomalies trending NW-
SE running parallel to the coastline from the Vesuvius edifice to the Pompei-Scafati area (marked
with G), through Boscotrecase and Boscoreale (marked with C). This trend is, possibly, consistent
with a lineament shown by gravity (Fedi et al., 2004) and reflection seismic (Bruno et al., 1998)

Fig. 6 - A) Aeromagnetic map of the Vesuvian area obtained after the localized filtering along the railway lines (dashed
white lines). The solid white lines show the magnetic trends highlighted by the filtering process; for location of the
anomalies see Fig. 1. Coastline in black; B) Anomalies removed by the localized filtering process along the main (solid
black) and secondary (dashed black) railway lines. Coastline in white.

9
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

studies. Another feature that can be observed is the presence of two anomalies in the Torre
Annunziata and Pompei-Scafati regions (F and G in Fig. 6a), which seems to be aligned along a
W-E trend. This W-E trend, which appears to be cut by the NW-SE lineament, is likely consistent
with a structure highlighted by gravity studies (Florio et al., 1999; Fedi et al., 2004) and with
geochemical studies which measured a CO2 emission in the same areas (Caliro et al., 1998). This
evidence allowed us to take into consideration the possibility that the sources of some the
anomalies South of the Somma-Vesuvius edifice (C, F and G in Fig. 6a) are connected mainly to
geology. Further details about the sources of these anomalies are discussed in Paoletti et al.
(2004b).

3.2. High frequency filtering of gamma-ray data

Regarding the radiometric measurements, a part of the measured signal is the residual of local
contribution from rocks and soils and a part of it is generated by the urbanization itself. There is
a close overlapping of the energy windows of both the signals and it is virtually impossible to
distinguish between each contribution.
The filtering of the high frequency signal, due mainly to the overlapping of different lava
flows and other volcanic products in the area, was performed by the method quoted based on the
discrete wavelet transform, considering only the smallest scale. Part of the high frequency content
was also due to the altitude correction performed during the processing phases (see Fig. 3). In
this case, a directional filtering was applied to the data.
The application of the filtering to the three data sets leads to the suppression of the high
frequency and directional noise which shield the main contribution due to geological-regional
structures and to the most recent lava flows. These products overlay the volcanic field and are
more enriched in radioactivity because they are ‘young’ (Capaldi et al., 1980; 1982). The removal
of the disturbance (see Figs. 7a, 8a and 9a) allowed us to highlight the shape of some features in
the area which are comparable with geological structures detected by other studies (see, e.g.,
Principe et al., 1987; Bianco et al., 1998). In particular, some NW–SE trends, not visible in the
original maps (see Figs. 3, 4, 5) and also highlighted in the aeromagnetic filtered map (see Fig.
6a) are shown in the filtered maps (Figs. 7a, 8a and 9a). These lineaments were already detected
by studies of seismic reflection (Bruno et al., 1998). Furthermore, the filtered maps show NE-
SW trends, also highlighted by Principe et al. (1987).
Regarding the area of the Somma caldera, the filtered maps relative to the potassium and total
count (Figs. 7a and 9a) show good radiometric signatures of some of the most recent volcanic
products of the area. In particular, the geometry of the 1944 lava flow is now well outlined in both
maps. In Fig. 7a, we can notice parts of the 1944 lava flow which were not clearly detectable in
the original map and some trends comparable with known tectonic structures (Principe et at.,
1987). In Fig. 9a, some other portions of this lava flow can be observed together with the South-
Western part of the caldera rim (Principe et at., 1987). The Uranium map obtained after the
processing (Fig. 8a) shows positive anomalies in the towns of Ottaviano, S. Gennaro Vesuviano,
S. Giuseppe Vesuviano, Terzigno and Boscotrecase (A, B, C, D and E respectively in Fig. 8a),
indicating a tendency towards high levels of indoor radon and consequently a possible risk for
public health for these areas (Lahti et al., 2001; Lee et al., 2001). The gamma-ray anomalies
removed by the high frequency filtering process are shown in Figs. 7b, 8b and 9b.

10
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

Fig. 7 - A) Map of total gamma emissions obtained after the high frequency wavelet filtering. The structures
highlighted by the filtering process are shown: a NW-SE trend (dashed black line), the caldera rim (white dots) and
some portions of the 1944 lava flow (solid white lines); B) Anomalies removed by the filtering process. Coastline in
black.

Fig. 8 - A) Map of equivalent Uranium obtained after the high frequency wavelet filtering. The black dashed line shows
the trend highlighted by the filtering process, while the white dots show the caldera rim. Coastline in black; B)
Anomalies removed by the filtering process.

11
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

Fig. 9 - A) Map of distribution of Potassium obtained after the wavelet filtering. The structures highlighted after the
filtering process are shown: the NW-SE and NE-SW trends (dashed black lines), the caldera rim (white dots), some
portions of the 1944 lava flow (dashed white lines) and the South-Western portion of the caldera rim (solid white line).
Coastline in black; B) Anomalies removed by the filtering process.

4. Conclusions
We presented and discussed an application of denoising techniques to high-resolution
aeromagnetic and radiometric data. The data were recently measured in helicopter-borne surveys
in the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic area, southern Italy, with the aim of giving new detailed insights
into the distribution of the magnetization and of the main radionuclides of the area and, therefore,
into the volcanological characteristics of the region. The measured data were affected by cultural
noise connected to the presence of towns, buildings and railway lines, which were responsible for
some of the anomalies. In this paper, we showed the effectiveness of the discrete wavelet
transform in localized noise removal.
The filtering tool based on the discrete wavelet transform used in this paper has excellent
space-scale localization properties allowing a very sharp filtering. The application of this method
to the magnetic data affected by noise connected to the presence of electrified railway lines led
to a very space-localized filtering of the railway effect leaving the remaining parts of the
measured signal practically unchanged. However, the application of this filtering procedure to our
case did not completely remove the most important anomalies in correspondence to the railway
lines. This evidence, together with the presence of known geological sources detected in the same
zones by other geophysical and by geochemical methods (see Bruno et al., 1998; Florio et al.,
1999; Fedi et al., 2004; Caliro et al., 1998), suggests a superimposition of geological and antropic
effects in some of the investigated areas. In particular, the map obtained after the filtering shows

12
Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

a NW-SE magnetic lineament, possibly consistent with a lineament shown by gravity and
reflection seismic studies, and a W-E magnetic trend, whose presence is also confirmed by
gravity and geochemical studies.
The high frequency and directional wavelet filtering of the gamma-ray data allowed the
identification of some features in the area which are comparable with geological structures
detected by other geological and geophysical studies (see Principe et al., 1987; Bianco et al.,
1998; Bruno et al., 1998). In particular, some NW-SE and NE-SW lineaments, possibly related
to recent lava flows, were shown. In the region of the Somma caldera, the filtered maps show
good radiometric signatures of some of the most recent volcanic products of the area. The
filtering then led to the individuation of regions prone to high levels of indoor radon with
important environmental and public health implications.
The results obtained demonstrated the utility of the wavelet filtering for localized, directional
and high-frequency filtering. The use of such filtering is in fact usually necessary when applying
enhancing techniques, like high-order derivatives, to the data to warrant a reliable interpretation
of the data.

Acknowledgments. The authors thank M. Fedi for providing the algorithm used in this paper for the wavelet
filtering and for his valuable suggestions in the revision of our manuscript. The authors are also grateful to
E. Bozzo for his constructive comments that were a great help in improving our paper and to B. McGann
for language revision.

REFERENCES
Akerblom G.; 1995: The use of airborne radiometric and exploration survey data and technique in radon risk
mapping in Sweden. Meeting ‘Application of Uranium Exploration Data and Techniques in Environmental
Studies’, IAEA-TECDOC-827, IAEA, Vienna, 159–180.
Arana V., Camacho A.G., Garcia A., Montesinos F.G., Blanco I., Vieira R. and Felpato A.; 2000: Internal structure of
Tenerife (Canary Islands) based on gravity, aeromagnetic and volcanological data. Journal of Volcanology and
Geothermal Research, 103, 43–64.
Barnet I.; 1995: The role of airborne gamma spectrometric data in the radon programme of the Czech Republic.
Meeting ‘Application of Uranium Exploration Data and Techniques in Environmental Studies’, IAEA-TECDOC-
827, IAEA, Vienna, 151–158.
Bernasconi A., Bruni P., Gorla L., Principe C. and Sbrana A.; 1981: Risultati preliminari dell’esplorazione geotermica
profonda nell’area vulcanica del Somma-Vesuvio. Rend. Soc. Geol. Ital., 4, 237-240.
Berrino G, Corrado G. and Ricciardi U.; 1998: Sea gravity data in the Gulf of Naples: a contribution to delineating
the structural pattern of the Vesuvian area. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 82, 139-150.
Bhattacharrya B.K. and Chan K.C.; 1977: Reduction of magnetic and gravity data on an arbitrary surface acquired in
a region of high topographic relief. Geophysics, 42, 1411–1430.
Bianco F., Castellano M., Milano G., Ventura G. and Vilardo G.; 1998: The Somma-Vesuvius stressfield induced by
regional tectonics: evidences from seismilogical and mesostructural data. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal
Research, 82, 199-218.
Billings S.; 1998: Geophysical aspects of soil mapping using airborne gamma-ray spectrometry. PhD Thesis,
University of Sydney.
Bruno P.P.G., Cippitelli G. and Rapolla A.; 1998: Seismic study of Mesozoic carbonate basement around Mt. Somma-
Vesuvius, Italy. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 84, 311-322.
Buccella C. and Feliziani M.; 2003: Calcolo e misura del campo magnetico all’interno di un treno ad alta velocità con
elettrificazione in corrente alternata. Meeting ‘Strumenti e tecniche di misura per la protezione dell’uomo e
dell’ambiente dai campi elettromagnetici’, Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Area di Ricerca CNR di Firenze, May, 28–29
2003.

13
Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000 PAOLETTI AND PINTO

Caliro S., Panichi C. and Stanzione D.; 1998: Vaseline study of the isotopic and chemical composition of waters
associated with the Somma-Vesuvio volcanic system. Acta Vulcanologica, 10, 19-25.
Capaldi G., Civetta L., Orsi G. and Pece R.; 1980: U and Th distribution in sedimentary rocks from the Campanian
Appennines. An evidence against external source for the Ra excesses of Vesuvius lavas. Periodico di Mineralogia,
49, 45-55.
Capaldi G., Cortini M. and Pece R.; 1982: Th isotopes at Vesuvius: evidence for open-system behaviour of magma-
forming processes. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 14, 247-260.
Carrara E., Iacobucci F., Pinna E. and Rapolla A.; 1974: Interpretation of gravity and magnetic anomalies near Naples,
Italy, using computer techniques. Bull. Volcanol., XXXVIII (2), 1-10.
Cassano E. and La Torre P.; 1987: Geophysics. In: Somma-Vesuvius, (ed. Santacroce R.), CNR Quad. Ric. Sci., 114,
175-183.
Cella F., Fedi M., Florio G., Grimaldi M., Paoletti V. and Rapolla A.; 2003: Deep and shallow structure of Somma-
Vesuvius volcano from potential field data interpretation. Workshop ‘Vesuvius: Inside the Volcano’, Ercolano
(Italy), May 8-10, 2003, Abstract Volume, p.11.
Cordell L. and Grauch V.J.S.; 1985: Mapping basement magnetization zones from aeromagnetic data in the San Juan
basin, New Mexico. In: The utility of regional gravity and magnetic anomaly maps, (ed. Hinze W.J.), Society of
Exploration Geophysics, pp. 181-197.
Cuss R.J.; 2003: Manual approaches to the removal of cultural noise from high-resolution aeromagnetic data acquired
over highly developed areas. First Break, 21, 43-49.
Damkjaer A. and Korbech U.; 1988: A search for correlation between local geology and indoor radon concentration.
Radiation Protection Dosimetry, 1/4, pp. 51-54.
Fedi M. and Quarta T.; 1998: Wavelet analysis for the regional-residual and local separation of potential field
anomalies. Geophysical Prospecting, 46, 507-525.
Fedi M., Florio G. and Rapolla A.; 1998: 2.5D modeling of Somma-Vesuvius structure by aeromagnetic data. Journal
of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 82, 239-247.
Fedi M., Florio G., Paoletti V., Rapolla A. and Supper R.; 2003: Analysis and interpretation of aeromagnetic data
affected by intense cultural noise. 65th EAGE Conference, Stavanger, Norway, Extended Abstracts, E-33.
Fedi M., Florio G., Italiano F. and Milia A.; 2004: Campanian Plain, Southern Italy: correlation between geological
structures and Gravity Gradient Tensor (GGT) components. Submitted for a SEG Special Volume about ‘Gravity
Gradient Tensor’.
Ferraccioli F., Bozzo E. and Damaske D.; 2002: Aeromagnetic signatures over western Marie Byrd Land provide
insight into magmatic arc basement, mafic magmatism and structure of the Eastern Ross Sea Rift flank.
Tectonophysics, 347, 139-165.
Finn C.A. and Williams D.L.; 1987: An aeromagnetic study of Mount St. Helens. Journal of Volcanology and
Geothermal Research, 92, 10194-10206.
Finn C.A., Sisson T.W. and Deszcz-pan M.; 2001: Aerogeophysical measurements of collapse-prone hydrothermally
altered zones at Mount Rainier volcano. Nature, 409, 600-603.
Finn C.A. and Morgan L.A.; 2002: High-resolution aeromagnetic mapping of volcanic terrain, Yellowstone National
Park. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 115, 207-231.
Florio G., Fedi M., Cella F. and Rapolla A.; 1999: The Campanian Plain and Phlegrean Fields: structural setting from
potential field data. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 91, 361-379.
Gay S.P.Jr.; 1986: The effects of cathodically protected pipelines on aeromagnetic surveys. Geophysics, 51, 1671-1684.
Gharibi M. and Pedersen L.B.; 2000: Removal of DC power-line magnetic-field effects from airborne total magnetic-
field measurements. Geophysical Prospecting, 48, 617-627.
Glenn W.E. and Badgery R.A.; 1998: High resolution aeromagnetic surveys for hydrocarbon exploration: prospect
scale interpretation. In: High Resolution Aeromagnetic for Hydrocarbon Exploration, (eds. Pierce J.W., Glenn W.E.
and Brown K.C.), Canadian Journal of Exploration Geophysics 34, 97-102.
Grasty R.L. and Shives R.B.K.; 1997: Applications of gamma ray spectrometry to mineral exploration and geological
mapping. Workshop presented at Exploration 97: Fourth Decennial Conference on Mineral Exploration.
Grauch V.J.S. and Campbell D.L.; 1984: Does draping aeromagnetic data reduce terrain-induced effects? Geophysics,
49, 75-80.
Gunn P.J., Mackey T. and Meixner A.; 1999: Airborne geophysical signatures of localities of epithermal gold deposit
in Fiji. AGSO.

14
 Aeromagnetic and radiometric data at the Vesuvian volcanic area Boll. Geof. Teor. Appl., 00, 000-000

Hildenbrand T.G., Rosenbaum J.G. and Kauahikaua J.P.; 1993: Aeromagnetic study of the island of Hawaii. Journal of
Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 98s, 4099-4119.
Iliceto V. and Santarato G.; 1999: On the interference of man-made EM fields in the magnetotelluric ‘dead band’.
Geophysical Prospecting, 47, 707-719.
Lahti M., Jones D.G., Multala J. and Rainey M.P.; 2001: Environmental applications of airborne radiometric surveys.
EAGE extended abstract, Amsterdam.
Larsen J.C., Mackie R.L., Manzella A., Fiordelisi A. and Rieven S.; 1996: Robust smooth magnetotelluric tranfer
functions. Geophys. J. Int., 124, 801-819.
Lee M.K., Peart R.J., Cuss R.J., Jones D.G., Beamish D. and Vironmaki J.; 2001: Application and challenges for high
resolution airborne surveys in populated areas. EAGE extended abstract, Amsterdam.
Linington R.E.; 1974: The magnetic disturbances caused by DC electric railways. Prospezioni Archeologiche, 9, 9-20.
Muszala S., Stoffaz P.L. and Lawverz L.A.; 2001: An application for removing cultural noise from aeromagnetic data.
Geophysics, 66, 213-219.
Nakatsuka T.; 1994: Aeromagnetic anomalies over the area of Unzendake volcano. J. Geomag. Geoelectr., 46, 529-540.
Oversby V.M. and Gast P.W.; 1968: Lead isotope composition and Uranium decay series disequilibrium in recent
volcanic rocks. Earth Plan. Sci. Lett., 5, 199-206.
Palangio P., Marchetti M. and Di Diego L.; 1991: Rumore elettromagnetico prodotto dalle ferrovie elettrificate. Effetti
sulle misure magnetotelluriche e geomagnetiche. Atti del X Convegno Annuale del Gruppo Nazionale di Geofisica
della Terra Solida, Rome, Italy, Proceedings, pp. 745-762 (in Italian).
Paoletti V., Fedi M., Florio G., Supper R. and Rapolla A.; 2004a: The new integrated aeromagnetic map of the
Phlegrean Fields Volcano and surrounding areas. Annals of Geophysics, in press.
Paoletti V., Supper R., Chiappini M., Fedi M., Florio G. and Rapolla A.; 2004b: Aeromagnetic Survey of the Somma-
Vesuvius Volcanic Area. Annals of Geophysics, submitted.
Pinto A., Capaldi G., Fedi M. and Pece R.; 2004: Radioactivity of Campanian volcanic rocks and soils by airborne
gamma-ray spectrometry (southern Italy). IAEA, Vienna, TECDOC, in press.
Principe C., Rosi M., Santacroce R. and Sbrana A.; 1987: Explanatory notes to the Geological map. In: Somma-
Vesuvius, (ed. Santacroce R.), CNR Quad. Ric. Sci. 114, 11-46.
Rystrom V.L., Finn C. and Descsz-Pan M.; 2000: High Resolution, Low Altitude Aeromagnetic and Electromagnetic
Survey of Mt Rainier. U.S.G.S. Open-File-Report 00-027.
Santarato G., Spagnolini U. and Iliceto V.; 1994: Caratterizzazione del rumore elettromagnetico prodotto dalle ferrovie
elettrificate. Atti del XIII Convegno Annuale del Gruppo Nazionale di Geofisica della Terra Solida, Rome, Italy,
Proceedings, pp. 635-638 (in Italian).
Senanayake W.E.; 1990: An investigation of magnetic effects associated with DC electrified trains. Bollettino di
Geofisica Teorica e Applicata, 32, 275-283.
Supper R., Motschka K., Seiberl W. and Fedi M.; 2001: Geophysical investigations in Southern Italian active volcanic
regions. Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Japan, 52 (2/3), 89-99.
U.S.G.S.; 1999: New Mexico, Middle Rio Grande Basin Study. U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior.
USGS Fact Sheet 032-99.

Corresponding author: Valeria Paoletti

Università di Napoli Federico II, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra
Largo S. Marcellino 10, 80138 Napoli, Italy.
Fax: +39 081 5525611; e-mail: paoletti@unina.it

15

View publication stats