Project facts
Presentation
Fact: new space technology based on radar interferometry is now capable of monitoring, since 1992 and with mm precision, surface deformation for reflective targets named persistent scatters (PS), which consistently return stable signals to the radar satellites.
The present proposal will apply this new technique to monuments and sites that are potentially unstable due to landslides, skin holes, settlement, subsidence, active tectonics as well as structural deformation, all of which could be affected by climate change and human interaction.
The approach will be implemented in more than 450 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List in geographical Europe.
After the remote sensing investigation, detailed geological interpretation, hazard analysis, local-scale monitoring, advanced modelling and field surveying for the most critical sites will be carried out to discover the cause and extent of the observed motions.
Active engagement of stakeholders from both academic and heritage conservation sectors will be undertaken via the establishment of the Steering Committee and Demonstration Site Stakeholders.
PROTHEGO will enhance Cultural Heritage management at the national level, reinforcing institutional support and governance through knowledge and innovation, identifying, assessing and monitoring risks, strengthening disaster preparedness at heritage properties in the future.
Impacts & Results
The PROTHEGO project will provide a new remote sensing tool and a new methodological approach for the safety management of Cultural Heritages, at low cost and covering monuments and sites located in Europe.
The project will promote interdisciplinary and collaborative R&D activities, transferring the highest level of knowledge, quality and standards from space and earth sciences to Cultural Heritage conservation Sciences;
To bring together the different actors in the field of protection of cultural heritage in risky areas by defining a new paradigm of sustainable management and conservation that acts as a catalyst for the economic growth of European countries.
PROTHEGO methodology will focus on long term monitoring systems, indirect analysis of environmental contexts, investigating changes and decay of structure, material, and the landscape of Cultural Heritage.
All the tools developed during this project will be useful to policymakers in the field of Cultural Heritage for correct decision making based on the integrated risk assessment.
The innovative use of technologies such as TLS (terrestrial laser scanning) will allow a real three-dimensional reconstruction of the site useful for modelling and at the same time, the creation of virtual models remotely accessible.
To promote correct planning and the related design issues to rebalance the contrast between endogenous and surrounding exogenous forces that affect the European Cultural Heritage.