The coastal and seabed environments surrounding Sicily are layered with geological complexity and millennia of human history. In a recent high-resolution sub-bottom profiling survey conducted in Porto Empedocle harbor, high-resolution acoustic data were acquired that reflect this dual legacy. The work was part of a project encompassing underwater archaeological surveys for archaeological risk assessment in preparation for the creation of a route for a submarine pipeline near Porto Empedocle.
Using a GeoAcoustics GeoPulse Compact sub-bottom profiler paired with a Trimble Applanix POS MV WaveMaster inertial navigation system, the team mapped the stratigraphy of the harbor seabed with high resolution. The data set revealed soft silt deposits draped over Pliocene-aged gray clay from the Monte Narbonne Formation. A strong acoustic return at approximately 22-m depth—anomalous in character and potentially anthropogenic—was of particular interest.
This article outlines the tools and methodology employed, the workflows developed for data acquisition and processing, and a representative example from the data set. The Porto Empedocle survey demonstrates how modern remote sensing technologies, when applied with geological and historical awareness, can support both environmental monitoring and the safeguarding of submerged cultural heritage.
Underwater Archaeology and Maritime History jobs 