The European Digital Twin Ocean prototype reveals many possibilities

The European Digital Ocean Twin is a multidimensional virtual representation of the ocean in near real time. It combines marine observations, artificial intelligence and advanced ocean modelling, and is accessible to all. The initiative is the flagship of the mission’Restoring our ocean and water“The European Commission has relied on the Flemish Maritime Institute (VLIZ) and Mercator Ocean International to develop the core infrastructure for EDITO, which provides data and services. European Maritime Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and Copernicus Marine Service It combines and integrates into a single digital framework.

This is a technical achievement. Francisco Hernandez, VLIZ’s technical director, puts it this way: Deep Dive The Oceancast podcast“Compared to the decades it took humanity to develop a reliable weather model that could accurately predict the weather within a few days, EDITO has achieved lightning speed. Massive automation means we can now measure parameters with sensors much faster and in much larger quantities, based on images or acoustics, among other things. Given the accessibility of new technologies—image processing, artificial intelligence, deep learning, and the like—data processing is now much faster. But the will of lawmakers and policymakers to apply these new technologies for better environmental management is giving everything a huge boost.

“Users can now use near real-time data to build models, make better predictions, and simulate and validate situations. For example, think about determining the best time to remove biofouling—unwanted growth by living organisms—from fixed structures and installations. To calculate this, we need a lot of data on biological, chemical and physical parameters that fast computers can quickly access, and that’s exactly what the Twin Ocean digital infrastructure provides to different users,” Hernandez adds.