The project
MAR2PROTECT will provide a holistic approach to prevent groundwater contamination from the impacts of climate change and global change, through different innovative technologies.
The main idea consists in a tool supported by Artificial Intelligence that will receive real-time information from sensors placed in risk locations where the technologies will be implemented, among other vitally important information (innovative technologies, preferences of social agents, risk assessment…).
The tool will allow a new generation of Managed Aquifer Recharge approach to improve groundwater quality and quantity. The core of the innovative Managed Aquifer Recharge is the M-AI-R Decision Support System which will incorporate technological and societal engagement information using an Artificial Intelligence-based evaluation to improve groundwater quality and quantity
Demosites
To ensure a high replication potential, M-AI-R Decision Support System will collect information from 7 demo sites in 4 European countries (Portugal, Italy, Spain, Netherlands) and 2 in non-European countries (Tunisia, South Africa) which were carefully chosen by their degree of maturity from previous successful projects and a wide range of settings in terms of climatic conditions, water sources, type of pollution, Managed Aquifer Recharge scheme and political/societal context.
Partners
Latest news
MAR2PROTECT at TIAC 2026: Advancing Solutions for Coastal Aquifer Protection
From 11–13 March 2026, our partners at CETAQUA participated in the Spanish-Portuguese Symposium on Marine Intrusion Technology in Coastal Aquifers (TIAC 2026), held in Alicante. The event brought together leading experts, researchers, practitioners, and water managers...
Aligning Science and Policy: The EU’s New Water Pollutants Framework
Council of the European Union has formally adopted an updated list of pollutants affecting surface water and groundwater (17 February, Brussels), marking a significant development in EU water policy. The revised list of priority substances now includes additional...
MAR2PROTECT to Lead Innovation at Transfiere: Highlighting Its Most Promising Technologies
MAR2PROTECT will take part in Transfiere, the European Meeting on Science, Technology and Innovation, to be held in Málaga from 24 to 26 February 2026. The event will bring together public institutions, research organisations, technology professionals and leading...
MAR2PROTECT Technologies
The innovative socio-technological approach for the new-generation Managed Aquifer Recharge is based on the M-AI-R Decision Support System that uses Artificial Intelligence-based techniques to increase Managed Aquifer Recharge efficiency and supports decision makers in all steps, from design to operation to yield assessment. M-AI-R-Decision Support System is closely interconnected with an innovative modelling tool (gRoundwatEr quAlity CHange) aimed at quantifying global change/climate change impacts on groundwater quality, and an innovative Ground Water Prevention Internet of Things platform for the monitoring of pollutants in real environments using the information provided by real-time integrated sensing systems and innovative analytical techniques. M-AI-R-Decision Support System will use information from 7 carefully selected demo sites, distributed between Europe and Africa, representing a wide range of Managed Aquifer Recharge schemes, climatic conditions, type of groundwater pollution and political / societal context that ensure a high replication potential of the proposed technologies and stakeholder engagement approach. MAR2PROTECT will encompass major technological and non-technological breakthroughs compared to the current service-oriented architecture. All technologies and social activities, articulated in the 6 groups described here below, will start at Technology Readiness Level 3 / Societal Readiness Level 2 and will end at Technology Readiness Level 4 (for all technologies) and Societal Readiness Level 6. In the case of the social activities and technologies selected for upscale in the demo sites, a Technology Readiness Level 5 and Societal Readiness Level 6 will be reached.