A multi‐methodological geophysical prospecting was performed in a survey area of the archaeological Phaistos site on the Greek island of Crete, as part of an international research project aimed at investigating the less excavated hills of Phaistos and the underlying plateau. The article provides an assessment of the resolution of the chosen techniques for non‐destructive testing of buried ancient structures in the geological landscape of Phaistos. The magnetic and electromagnetic surveys clearly detected anomalies related to human activity, some of which were subsequently defined in detail by resistivity tomography imaging. In particular, variations of the observed electrical and magnetic parameters perfectly correlate to a wall structure made of calcareous material, which has been brought to light by subsequent excavations that unearthed large sectors of a fortification in a double curtain wall, chronologically consistent with the historical sources about the destruction of Phaistos in 150 bc. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

In past decades, magnetic surveying had become popular as one of the\ud most effective techniques supporting archaeological prospecting. This is possible\ud because the existence of susceptibility contrasts between the cover soil and several\ud buried finds often causes detectable anomalies. More recently, great advances were\ud made in signal enhancement and boundary analysis of potential field anomalies,\ud thanks to methods allowing a suitable differentiation of the field without making\ud the process unstable. New three-dimensional (3D) imaging techniques provided an\ud estimate of the magnetization distribution within the subsoil by means of highresolution\ud images of the source distribution. Most of these methods are fast and\ud reliable in the presence of shallow and compact sources, just as in the case of\ud the sources usually occurring in archaeological prospecting. Nevertheless, great\ud effort was spent by the scientific community to overcome serious problems causing\ud low signal-to-noise ratio in the measurements. This chapter provides a step-bystep\ud description of technical solutions adopted to improve the quality of data and\ud to perform a better interpretation of the magnetic anomalies usually associated to\ud the presence of archaeological finds. To this end, a summary of case histories is\ud illustrated giving a general framework of the latest progress in archaeo-magnetism

An integrated review of existing geological and geophysical data -partly acquired during oil and gas exploration -combined with new data provided by deep geothermal studies of selected key areas, was used for the 3D modeling and mapping of the top of the geothermal reservoir developed at a regional scale in Sicily (Central Mediterranean). The resulting 1:500,000 scale map covers the area of the whole Sicily (about 25,700 km 2 ) and is devoted to represent the main input for both the thermal modeling and the evaluation of geothermal potential at a regional scale. As the map indicates the distribution at depth of a likely target for geothermal drilling, it can be also used as a rough indicator of expected drilling cost for geothermal projects. Such a map can be seen as a useful planning tool for any geothermal project, and related exploration to be carried out in the Sicily region in the future.

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Anintegratedgeophysicalstudy wascarriedoutina Romanhouseinthearchaeologicalareaof Pompeii (Italy).Thehouse, once ownedby Marcus Fabius Rufus, isanimportant architecturalbuildingoverlookingalarge gardenthatislikely to contain buried archaeological structures.The geophysical survey was planned to support an archaeological reconstruction oftheresidentialcomplex, whichwasbased onthe assumptionthat thehouse wassurroundedbyan arcade.Electromagnetic data allowed us to assess the most promising areas for investigating the subsoil within the garden.The resistivity methodyieldedmore detailedresultsandafurthernon-invasivegeophysicaltechnique, self-potential, confirmedthepresence of very shallow structures.We performed an integrated interpretation of the data and detected structures buried under different volcanic eruptions succeeding the Plinian event of Mount Somma-Vesuvius in AD 79. Specifically, several structures were found at a very shallow depth; their shapes are regular and the physical parameters are interpreted as anthropogenic remnants, whose geometry does not appear to be linked to architectural elements of a classical arcade. Atestexcavationrevealedthepresence of wallswhose configuration correspondedwithbasinsfor watercollection.Apart from the detected remains, the characterization of the pyroclastic deposits in terms of conductivity and of susceptibility allowed a synthesis of the stratigraphic context.

We aim at modeling the main crustal and thermal interfaces of Sicily (Italy), a key area for understanding the geological complexity at the collisional boundary between the African and European plates. To this end, we analyze the gravity and magnetic fields, integrated with information from well logs, geology, heat flow, and seismic data. In order to make the most accurate description of the crustal structure of the area, we modeled with different methodologies the carbonate and crystalline top surfaces, as well as the Moho and the Curie isotherm surface. The reconstruction of the carbonate platform is achieved using a nonlinear 3D method constrained by the available seismic and borehole data. The crystalline top, the Curie, and the Moho are instead estimated by spectral analysis of both gravity and magnetic data. The results show a complex carbonate basement and a deep crystalline crust in central Sicily, with a prominent uplift beneath the Hyblean Plateau. Maps of the Moho and the Curie isotherm surface define a variable thermal and structural setting of Sicily, with very thin crust in the southern and eastern sectors, where high heat flow is found, and deep and cold crust below the Caltanissetta Basin.

Volcanomagnetic and/or seismomagnetic effects are geomagnetic variations generated before eruptions and/or seismic events. Our aim is to analyze geomagnetic time series to detect the volcanomagnetic and/or seismomagnetic effects among a number of other variations. Two advanced signal‐processing techniques are proposed to analyze the geomagnetic time series. The first technique, called Continuous Wavelet Transform Singularity Analysis (CWTSA), is based on the Continuous Wavelet Transform; the second, called Time‐Variant Statistical Analysis of Nonstationary Signals (TVANS), is based on a time‐varying adaptive algorithm (Recursive Least Squares). Both techniques are very effective in detecting the geomagnetic variations at the time instants likely linked to volcanic and/or seismic activity. The application of these methodologies to geomagnetic time sequences, respectively, recorded on Mount Etna during the volcanic activity of 1981 and in North Palm Springs during the seismic events of 8 July 1986 yields a good correspondence between events detected by both techniques and volcanic end seismic events. The statistical significance of geomagnetic time series was also assessed to verify the obtained results from CWTSA and TVANS. It was defined at significance level of 95% in the wavelet power spectrum for the difference of the geomagnetic time series aiming at distinguishing the most “significant” events when they are upon this one.