FloaTEM surveys of the SecuCoast project were continued in Barcelona from 18 to 22 May 2026. Nikolas and Lauri from GTK teamed up with the Groundwater Hydrology Group at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya to record 60 km of shore parallel survey lines. In addition, the team made the first ever survey by towing the instrument in the water by hand. FloaTEM is a floating transient electromagnetic profiler, used for detecting poorly conductive water layers (groundwater) beneath the seafloor.

The SecuCoast project was well-presented at the EGU General Assembly conference, taking place on 3–8 May 2026 in Vienna, Austria. The annual EGU General Assembly is the largest and most prominent European geosciences event, attracting over 20,000 scientists from all over the world in the year 2026.

Results of the SecuCoast project were presented in three presentations:

• Virtasalo et al.: Variable impact of submarine groundwater discharge on the patchiness of seafloor biogeochemical conditions, meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-9290.html
• Folch et al.: Beyond the coastline: the role of offshore data in understanding coastal aquifers, meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-13458.html
• Hong et al.: Fluid sources and water–rock interactions of cryosphere-associated offshore fossil groundwater in high-latitude regions, meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU26/EGU26-14724.html

In addition, SecuCoast co-convened the session OS2.3 Coastal dynamics and processes under changing climate and changing human activities, www.egu26.eu/session/56243

Nikolas and Lauri from GTK and Wei-Li Hong from Stockholm University successfully conducted a FloaTEM survey in Fifång, Stockholm archipelago, as a part of the SecuCoast project. During 27-30 April 2026, 66 line kilometers were recorded, targeting sub-marine terraces. FloaTEM is a floating transient electromagnetic profiler, used for detecting poorly conductive water layers (groundwater) beneath the seafloor.

The first newsletter of the SecuCoast consortium is published! Read it here.

The SecuCoast scientists completed the first field campaign in Hanko, Finland, in 16-19 June 2025. The purpose of the campaign was to gain new understanding of the mixing of groundwater and seawater in the Lappohja coastal aquifer.

Altogether 15 scientists from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Geological Survey of Israel, Åbo Akademi University and the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) worked in two groups. The land group collected samples from groundwater test wells while the offshore group collected samples from pockmarks (submarine springs) from the research vessel Geomari of GTK. We all enjoyed the long daylight hours of the Finnish summer.

Several members of the SecuCoast consortium have attended and presented at the 28th edition of the Salt Water Intrusion Meeting (SWIM), which took place in Barcelona, Spain, on 2-6 June 2025. The SWIM 2025 was organized by Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, chaired by Albert Folch and co-chaired by Marc Diego-Feliu, who are also participants in SecuCoast.

The SWIM is a prestigious biennial scientific conference series that has been held across different countries since its inception in 1968. The conference brings together international experts in chemistry, engineering, geology, geophysics, mathematics, physics, hydrology, and water resources management to exchange ideas and present methodological advancements in the field. The theme of SWIM 2025 was integrating land and ocean approaches in the study of coastal groundwater, which fits perfectly with the objectives of SecuCoast. 

SecuCoast members were conveners in 3 scientific sessions and participated in a round table discussion that concluded the conference. Several SecuCoast-related presentations were given during the conference.

The SecuCoast project kick-off meeting was held on 24-25 April 2025 at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) in Espoo. The meeting was attended by scientists from Poland, Norway, Sweden, Estonia and Finland, as well as a few other countries online. We had a great time and are looking forward to the start of the first field campaigns in June.