Abstract. The Po Plain (Italy) is one of the most densely populated
and productive regions of Europe, characterized by a flourishing economy
(also linked to strategic subsurface resources) and several world cultural
and natural heritage sites. The coupling of socio-economic interests with
geological hazards (i.e. seismic, subsidence, and flooding hazards) in this
area requires accurate knowledge of the subsurface geology, the active
geological processes, and the impact of human activities on natural environments
to mitigate the potential natural and anthropic risks. Most data unveiling the subsurface geology of this region were produced by
the hydrocarbon exploration industry. Indeed, the Po Plain hosts many hydrocarbon
fields that have been discovered since the early 1950s, giving rise to the
subsurface exploration through extensive seismic reflection surveys and
drilling of numerous deep wells. In this work, geological and geophysical data
from 160 deep wells drilled for hydrocarbon exploration and/or exploitation
purposes in the Po Plain and in the facing northern Adriatic Sea have been
collected and digitized along with several published geological
cross-sections and maps. These data have been used to reconstruct the
overall subsurface 3D architecture and to extract the physical properties of
the subsurface geological units. The digitized data are suitable to be imported into geo-software
environments so as to derive the geophysical and mechanical properties of the
geological units for a wealth of applied and scientific studies such as
geomechanical, geophysical, and seismological studies. The integrated dataset may represent a useful tool in defining regional
first-order strategies to ensure the safety of the urbanized areas and human
activities and to reduce natural and anthropic risks that may affect this
crucial region of Europe. In particular, the data collected would be useful
to highlight sensible areas where data collection and more detailed studies
are needed. Nowadays, such issues are particularly relevant for the
underground industry development related to the increasing interest in
possible CO2 and hydrogen underground storage, which can play a
fundamental role in the energy transition process towards
decarbonization goals. The full dataset is available at the following link: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8126519 (Livani et al., 2023).