JPI Oceans, an institutionalized and transgovernmental platform, has opened the Joint Call on Offshore Freshened Groundwater (OFG) with the aim of deepening knowledge of groundwater resources and ensuring more informed national and international governance frameworks on the topic.
The topics that have been identified as priorities for the call are:
- Characterization, validation and evaluation of offshore refreshed groundwater bodies, through a drilling campaign, whose gaps to be filled are:
- OFG system operation and onshore-offshore connectivity
- Age of employment of the OFG
- Hydraulic and hydrogeological properties
- Potential environmental impacts from the use of OFG
- Environmental assessment of offshore refreshed groundwater seepage (development of environmental bases), whose target gaps are:
- Seep characterization (filter operation)
- Characterization of seep-related ecosystems (biogeochemical aspects)
- Monitoring
The call has a value of proof of concept thanks to the launch of a Pioneering scientific drilling campaign integrating hydrogeological and geochemical characterizations, with pumping tests, to validate OFG systems and generate critical data on their distribution, properties, recharge mechanisms, and long-term viability as a resource.
The geographical spread of the proposed research should include the Northern Adriatic Sea (preferably off the coast of the Friuli Venezia Giulia region), but is not limited to it and can also cover other European sea basins, such as the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.
The financing partners of Malta, Italy, Germany and Greece make available a total of EUR 2.000.000 for the joint call. Each participant in a consortium will be funded by its national partner organization. For Italy, there is the Ministry of Universities and Research with EUR 300.000 e Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia with EUR 500. 000.
The deadline for submitting proposals is March 6 2026.
For more information: info@iniziativa.cc
