Introduction

DATASET deals with “Topic 2 - Tools for water management in the context of hydroclimatic extreme events” and specifically with the “Subtopic 2.2 - Generating new methodologies, tools, and models for water resources assessment/modelling for water bodies in scarcely monitored/data scarce areas”.

Coastal areas are invaluable ecosystems with pivotal resources for economic and societal development. The most alarming and widespread issues in coastal areas, in Europe and worldwide, are Salinization Processes (SP) of freshwater resources from both natural and anthropogenic sources and Agricultural Leaching (AGL) due to intensive practices need to guarantee the increasing demand of food supply. Salinization Processes and Agricultural Leaching are expected to be further exacerbated due to the ongoing Climate Changes (CC) and more frequent Hydroclimatic Extreme Events (HEE), leading to relevant water resources stress and eventually to groundwater pollution.

In this framework, assessing aquifer vulnerability to Salinization Processes and Agricultural Leaching represents an essential tool to soundly manage groundwater resources. The novelty of DATASET relies in the implementation of a holistic approach for the quantification of the vulnerability of coastal areas to both Salinization Processes and Agricultural Leaching. The DATASET index will be built on Open Data thanks to the possibility of using a growing number of available global and regional datasets, removing the dependency on local sampling and making the assessment completely cost-free. The realization of a web-platform and of a completely new GIS-based plug-in will allow a wide audience to apply the DATASET index around the world, providing effective solutions not only for actual water resources management but even for future scenarios.