# Advances in Magnetic UAV Sensing: A Comparative Study of the MagNimbus and MagArrow Magnetometers

## TL;DR

This paper compares two UAV-based magnetometer systems for detecting buried pipes, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in magnetic surveying.

## Contribution

The study provides a detailed comparative analysis of MagNimbus and MagArrow UAV magnetometer configurations for magnetic surveying.

## Key findings

- MagNimbus offers greater stability and operational efficiency but increases noise due to proximity to the UAV.
- MagArrow provides cleaner signals but suffers from instability due to oscillation.
- Both systems successfully detected buried pipes, but with different performance trade-offs.

## Abstract

The integration of miniaturized magnetometers with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has revolutionized magnetic surveying, offering flexible, high-resolution, and cost-effective solutions for geophysical applications also in remote areas. This study presents a comparative analysis of two configurations using UAV-borne scalar magnetometers through several surveys conducted in the Altopiano di Verteglia (Southern Italy), chosen as a test-site since buried pipes are present. The two systems differ significantly in sensor–platform arrangement, noise sensitivity, and flight configuration. Specifically, the first employs the MagNimbus magnetometer with two sensors rigidly attached on two masts at fixed distances, respectively, above and below the UAV, enabling the vertical gradient estimation while increasing noise due to proximity to the platform. The second involves the use of the MagArrow magnetometer suspended at 3 m below the UAV through non-rigid ropes, which benefits from minimal electromagnetic interference but suffers from oscillation-related instability. The retrieved magnetic anomaly maps effectively indicate the location and orientation of buried pipes within the studied area. Our comparative analysis emphasizes the trade-offs between the two systems: the MagNimbus-based configuration offers greater stability and operational efficiency, whereas the MagArrow-based one provides cleaner signals, which deteriorate with the vertical gradient computation. This work underscores the need to optimize UAV-magnetometer configurations based on environmental, operational, and survey-specific constraints to maximize data quality in drone-borne magnetic investigations.