Advances in Magnetic UAV Sensing: A Comparative Study of the MagNimbus and MagArrow Magnetometers

The integration of miniaturized magnetometers with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has revolutionized magnetic surveying, offering flexible, high-resolution, and cost-effective solutions for geophysical applications also in remote areas. This study presents a comparative analysis of two configurations using UAV-borne scalar magnetometers through several surveys conducted in the Altopiano di Verteglia (Southern Italy), chosen as a test-site since buried pipes are present. The two systems differ significantly in sensor–platform arrangement, noise sensitivity, and flight configuration. Specifically, the first employs the MagNimbus magnetometer with two sensors rigidly attached on two masts at fixed distances, respectively, above and below the UAV, enabling the vertical gradient estimation while increasing noise due to proximity to the platform. The second involves the use of the MagArrow magnetometer suspended at 3 m below the UAV through non-rigid ropes, which benefits from minimal electromagnetic interference but suffers from oscillation-related instability. The retrieved magnetic anomaly maps effectively indicate the location and orientation of buried pipes within the studied area. Our comparative analysis emphasizes the trade-offs between the two systems: the MagNimbus-based configuration offers greater stability and operational efficiency, whereas the MagArrow-based one provides cleaner signals, which deteriorate with the vertical gradient computation. This work underscores the need to optimize UAV-magnetometer configurations based on environmental, operational, and survey-specific constraints to maximize data quality in drone-borne magnetic investigations.