Urban Seismic Observatory (OSU)

Responsible: Domenico Patanè (INGV-OE)

The idea of setting up an Urban Seismic Observatory (OSU Osservatorio Sismico Urbano) in the historical center of the City of Catania came about in 2017, thanks to a protocol agreement with the Municipality of Catania.  In 2019, thanks to the eWAS project, funded by PON R&I 2014-2020 (PNR 2015-2020 specialization field, "Cultural Heritage"), coordinated by INGV (Catania Section-Osservatorio Etneo) and involving the Municipality of Catania itself, the development of OSU-CT began after a careful phase of the study, research, analysis and technical design.

The main objective of eWAS is to develop new technological solutions for the protection, conservation and preservation of cultural heritage through an innovative Smart monitoring platform at low costs. The research, development and technological innovation activities are part of those aimed at the realization of a "Smart city" model in the field of natural and man-made hazards and their impact on an urban scale.

OSU-CT network (updated 12 July 2021) in green the 20 operational stations, in yellow those scheduled for installation

OSU-CT and the implementation of the Smart seismic-accelerometer urban network in the historical centre of Catania has the following objectives:

- rapid assessment of seismic damage, through automatic creation of shakemaps;

- the implementation/experimentation of an automatic on-site Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system;

- Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of some historical and monumental buildings chosen as test-sites