A B S T R A C TNear-surface cavities can pose serious hazards to human safety, especially in highly urbanized town centres. The location of subsurface voids, the estimation of their size and the evaluation of the overburden thickness are necessary to assess the risk of collapse.In this study, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and seismic refraction tomography data are integrated in a joint interpretation process for cavity location in the city of Rome.ERT is a well established and widely employed method for cavity detection. However, additional information provided by seismic refraction tomography is capable of eliminating some potential pitfalls in resistivity data interpretation. We propose that the structure of the cavities defined by ERT can be used as a base to optimize seismic refraction tomography investigations within the framework of a joint interpretation process.Data integration and the insertion of a priori information are key issues for reducing the uncertainties associated with the inversion process and for optimizing both acquisition procedures and computation time.Herein, the two geophysical methods are tested on both synthetic and real data and the integration of the results is found to be successful in detecting isolated cavities and in assessing their geometrical characteristics. The cavity location inferred by geophysical non-invasive methods has been subsequently confirmed by direct inspection.

A B S T R A C TA new tool for two-dimensional apparent-resistivity data modelling and inversion is presented. The study is developed according to the idea that the best way to deal with ill-posedness of geoelectrical inverse problems lies in constructing algorithms which allow a flexible control of the physical and mathematical elements involved in the resolution.The forward problem is solved through a finite-difference algorithm, whose main features are a versatile user-defined discretization of the domain and a new approach to the solution of the inverse Fourier transform.The inversion procedure is based on an iterative smoothness-constrained leastsquares algorithm. As mentioned, the code is constructed to ensure flexibility in resolution. This is first achieved by starting the inversion from an arbitrarily defined model. In our approach, a Jacobian matrix is calculated at each iteration, using a generalization of Cohn's network sensitivity theorem. Another versatile feature is the issue of introducing a priori information about the solution. Regions of the domain can be constrained to vary between two limits (the lower and upper bounds) by using inequality constraints. A second possibility is to include the starting model in the objective function used to determine an improved estimate of the unknown parameters and to constrain the solution to the above model. Furthermore, the possibility either of defining a discretization of the domain that exactly fits the underground structures or of refining the mesh of the grid certainly leads to more accurate solutions. Control on the mathematical elements in the inversion algorithm is also allowed. The smoothness matrix can be modified in order to penalize roughness in any one direction. An empirical way of assigning the regularization parameter (damping) is defined, but the user can also decide to assign it manually at each iteration.An appropriate tool was constructed with the purpose of handling the inversion results, for example to correct reconstructed models and to check the effects of such changes on the calculated apparent resistivity.Tests on synthetic and real data, in particular in handling indeterminate cases, show that the flexible approach is a good way to build a detailed picture of the prospected area. *

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This paper describes the results of using geophysical techniques to investigate three columns of the Pronaos of the Antonino and Faustina temple (AD 141) in Rome, Italy; the columns are of cipollino marble which shows alternate sequences of mica and calcite beds. We applied seismic refraction using traditional interpretation, and seismic transmission tomography. The comparison between the results of the refraction study and the 2D and 3D isotropic tomographic analyses suggested anisotropic characteristics for the marble, and this prompted us to perform a further tomographic experiment, taking into account these characteristics of the material. Assuming an elliptical model, the main directions of anisotropy were detected. Two velocity fields corresponding to the main directions of the anisotropy were measured and anomalies such as cracks and fractures were noted. The conjugate‐gradient algorithm was used to invert the data. The results of the isotropic and anisotropic models were compared. The correlation between the methods highlighted the characteristics of the marble, i.e. anisotropy, depth of the weathering, fractures and small cracks. The results show that the material of the columns is in reasonable condition, with the exception of a surface area 6 cm to 15 cm deep that we estimate has been weathered for 2000 years, and that has been particularly affected by pollution in the last century.

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