Offshore freshened groundwater (OFG) has been proposed as an alternative source of fresh water to relieve water scarcity. Whereas submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) has been tapped for centuries, OFG has not been directly exploited because of a lack of appropriate data and a poor understanding of its distribution and extent.

The main objectives of the SWAN project are to:

1. develop a surface-towed, modular, controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) system for mapping offshore groundwater resources (OFG and SGD) up to a water depth of 100 m, and
2. use this system to carry out a comprehensive assessment of freshened groundwater resources offshore the Maltese Islands.

The project strategy entails three main activities:

1. assessment of the available technology to develop a conceptual design of an appropriate CSEM method,
2. procurement of hardware components and their assemblage into a new CSEM prototype, and its testing offshore SE Malta, and
3. deployment of the prototype to map OFG bodies and SGD offshore the Maltese Islands and estimation of their volumes.