Data collection has started in the research project PROTECT – Groundwater Protection in a Changing Landscape (https://protect.geus.dk/), where we are developing and applying technologies and creating knowledge for the protection of Danish groundwater resources. The project runs until 2029.
Despite weather-related delays, data collection on Samsø has got a flying start. Using a TEM system suspended beneath a helicopter, @SkyTEM is currently collecting geophysical data about the subsurface across the entire island.
In addition to the helicopter surveys, groundwater samples will be collected from existing boreholes this autumn. These will be analyzed using the “non-target” method being developed in the AQUAPLEXSUS research project (https://aquaplexus.dk/).
Before the data collection began, an information meeting was held on September 2, 2025 for residents and landowners on Samsø about the project. The meeting was well attended, with participants asking many interesting questions about the project’s goals and data collection.
Among other things, participants requested open information meetings throughout the course of the project which we are looking forward to fulfilling. Future information meetings will be announced on the Samsø Municipality website and on the PROTECTs website:
https://protect.geus.dk/
Many thanks to everyone who takes part and contributes to making PROTECT a success!
@Innovation Fund Denmark has contributed DKK 26 million to the project, and the total budget is about DKK 35 million. PROTECT is a collaboration between nine project partners: @Samsø Kommune, @Region Midtjylland, @SkyTEM, @SDU, @IFRO-KU, @Miljøstyrelsen, @AU Geoscience, @AU Public Health and GEUS.
Photo 1: Example of what it looks like when SkyTEM flies. (SkyTEM)
Photo 2: The first PROTECT information meeting took place on September 2, 2025, at the Energy Academy, Samsø. (John Reshaur Enevoldsen)
Photo 3: An example of how groundwater samples are taken. (Ulla Elisabeth Bollmann taking a groundwater sample from a borehole, Nanna Louise Kjærsgaard, Eurofins)