Monitoring volcanic phenomena is a key question, for both volcanological research and\nfor civil protection purposes. This is particularly true in densely populated volcanic areas, like the\nCampi Flegrei caldera, which includes part of the large city of Naples (Italy). Borehole monitoring of\nvolcanoes is the most promising way to improve classical methods of surface monitoring, although\nnot commonly applied yet. Fiber optics technology is the most practical and suitable way to operate\nin such high temperature and aggressive environmental conditions. In this paper, we describe a\nfiber optics Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) sensor, which has been designed to continuously\nmeasure temperature all along a 500 m. deep well drilled in the west side of Naples (Bagnoli area),\nlying in the Campi Flegrei volcanic area. It has then been installed as part of the international â??Campi\nFlegrei Deep Drilling Projectâ??, and is continuously operating, giving insight on the time variation\nof temperature along the whole borehole depth. Such continuous monitoring of temperature can in\nturn indicate volcanic processes linked to magma dynamics and/or to changes in the hydrothermal\nsystem. The developed monitoring system, working at bottom temperatures higher than 100 Degree Celsius,\ndemonstrates the feasibility and effectiveness of using DTS for borehole volcanic monitoring.
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