Building the backbone of a more interconnected and accessible oceanic landscape Integrating marine big data from real-world observations and advanced simulations, the European digital twin of the ocean will revolutionise marine knowledge creating a high-resolution virtual representation of the ocean. Climate Change and Environment © Mercator Ocean International The European Commission unveiled plans for developing a European digital twin of the ocean European DTO at the One Ocean Summit held in France in February 2022. This initiative should help transform our understanding of the ocean, turning raw data into usable knowledge that can be utilised by citizens, entrepreneurs, scientists, policymakers and decision-makers alike. At the heart of this endeavour are two EU-funded projects: EDITO-Infra and EDITO-Model Lab. Both projects are crucial in further developing the European DTO as they will provide the fundamental infrastructure to host multiple DTO applications from ongoing and future twinning projects. EDITO-Infra is co-led by Mercator Ocean International, the trusted entity of the Copernicus Marine Service, and the Flanders Marine Institute, the operator of the Central Portal of the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet). Marina Tonani, EDITO project manager at Mercator Ocean International, explains: “EDITO-Infra is building the core infrastructure of the European DTO by upgrading, combining and integrating key service components of existing EU ocean observing, monitoring, forecasting and data programmes.” These programmes include the Copernicus Marine Service and EMODnet, aiming to create a single digital framework that complements existing services. Single infrastructure for a safe, healthy and productive ocean Among the key components of EDITO-Infra will be a data lake, a processing engine and a virtual simulation environment. The data lake will integrate openly accessible marine data sets and make them available for European DTO usage. Once ready, it will offer public access to an extensive range of in situ and remote marine observation data sets as well as model-derived products, and host new data sources. EDITO-Infra promises an unprecedented combination of marine data, computing power and cloud-native tools, forming the backbone of the European DTO as a public, open and inclusive infrastructure. It will enable unprecedented collaboration among data scientists, ocean modellers and software developers, accelerating the creation of new knowledge and innovation in marine data analyses and ocean modelling. Currently, there is no single European infrastructure offering these capabilities. EDITO-Infra is a game changer in the field, poised to become the central hub connecting multiple DTO applications from local, national and European efforts that will shape and evolve the European DTO. Overcoming challenges in marine data management Conor Delaney, technical coordinator of the EMODnet Secretariat at Seascape Belgium, states: “EDITO-Infra will empower those people with ideas, knowledge and ambition to develop solutions to ocean challenges, free from the restrictions of poor data or high computing costs. This could trigger innovation in ways we cannot yet foresee.” The immediate goal of the European DTO is to develop decision-making tools that bring us closer to achieving the policy objectives of EU mission ‘Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030’. But the vision for the European DTO also extends beyond these goals. It aims to evolve into an open and inclusive ecosystem that caters to the needs and expectations of all types of stakeholders. These include not only policymakers but also multidisciplinary researchers, blue-economy industries and SMEs, non-governmental organisations and even citizens from Europe and beyond. Keywords EDITO-Infra, infrastructure, European DTO, marine data, digital twin, Mercator Ocean International, Flanders Marine Institute
