# Temporary Seismic Array Installation in the Contursi Terme Hydrothermal System: A Step Toward Geothermal Assessment

## TL;DR

A temporary seismic array was installed in a hydrothermal area in Southern Italy to assess geothermal energy potential and community collaboration.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates community involvement in seismic monitoring to support geothermal energy assessment and risk management.

## Key findings

- A 29-station seismic array was successfully deployed with community support for one month.
- Probabilistic Power Spectral Densities and spectrograms showed acceptable noise levels and data quality.
- Local seismic response and small earthquakes were detected, aiding geothermal resource mapping and risk assessment.

## Abstract

How can the interaction between the seismological community and society contribute to the exploitation and usage of renewable energy resources? We try to provide an answer by describing the seismic experiment realized in March–April 2025 in the hydrothermal area close to Contursi Terme municipality (Southern Italy). We deployed a 29-station seismic array thanks to the availability of local citizens, civic administrations, schools, and accommodation facilities, which provided hosting and power for six-component seismological instruments over a one-month period. By computing the Probabilistic Power Spectral Densities (PPSD) and spectrograms, we assessed the noise level and the quality of the dataset. The seismic recordings were also used for studying the local seismic response of the area by the HVSR method and detecting small magnitude (1.4–4.2) local and regional earthquakes. We thus described some solutions to tackle the challenges of a possible geothermal exploitation project in the area: (a) to map the energy resource through a tomography on good-quality ambient-noise data; (b) to manage the seismic risk related to the resource exploitation by installing a proper local seismic network; (c) to increase the acceptance by the population through a citizen-science action for instituting a fruitful alliance between different actors of civil society.