Airborne electromagnetics for mapping groundwater resources in the Brescia province (Italy).

Starting in the spring of 2021, A2A Ciclo Idrico initiated a large-scale Airborne electromagnetics (AEM) campaign for mapping the groundwater resources in the Brescia province, Italy. More than 2000 line kilometers of AEM data have been already acquired, and another 16000 are going to be measured between late 2022 and early 2023. This mapping campaign is by far the largest AEM campaign carried out in Italy, both in terms of extension and data density. Despite of the large anthropization of Brescia province, with the related problems of galvanic and capacitive couplings that disturb AEM data in the vicinity of buildings and infrastructures, excellent resistivity models have been retrieved in the flown areas, down to 300 meters of depth, thanks to careful data processing. This has allowed to map the groundwater resources with unprecedented coverage and resolution, both discovering new aquifers and highlighting their vulnerability. We believe that AEM surveying is an indispensable tool for sustainable and resilient management of groundwater resources, which cannot prescind from an in-depth knowledge of the resources themselves.