Digital Twins provide new tools for research and decision-making
Climate change and the biodiversity crisis are among the most pressing global challenges of our time leading to cascading impacts on food-security, infrastructure, health and economy. Digital twins represent a promising solution to address the needs of research-based decision-making. A digital twin is defined as a virtual, interactive replica of a real-world entity or process, combining observations and models.
Digital twin projects at CSC push the limits of climate and biodiversity science by developing digital twins that mimic and predict different aspects of biodiversity dynamics, climatic conditions and extreme events. As detailed and realistic simulations require large amounts of data and computing power, these digital twins utilize the EuroHPC LUMI supercomputer hosted by CSC in Kajaani.
Insights into future evolution of climate
Climate Change Adaptation Digital Twin (Climate DT ) is part of the European Commission’s Destination Earth (DestinE) initiative, which develops digital twins of Earth to support decision-making. Climate DT utilizes Earth system models at high resolution, producing simulations that provide insights into the future evolution of our climate.
In addition, Climate DT integrates impact-sector applications with climate models to produce information on the climate change impacts on hydrology, renewable energy production and wildfires. Climate simulations produce hundreds of terabytes of data and require heavy calculation, for which the EuroHPC platforms are vital, together with the Destination Earth Data Lake for storing the data. Climate DT data can be accessed from Destination Earth platform.
In addition to coordinating the Climate DT project, CSC is also participating in the On-Demand Weather Extremes Digital Twin (Extremes DT) project, which aims at predicting extreme weather events earlier and at higher resolution.
Digital Twin of Earth System for Cryosphere, Land Surface and Related Interactions (TerraDT) is an EU project coordinated by CSC, which intends to augment the existing DestinE framework by advancing the representation of land and sea ice, land surface and atmospheric aerosols in DestinE climate models. Some of these components are already represented in the models but they lack in the level of detail and computational efficiency, while other components are currently not physically represented.
In TerraDT the new and enhanced components will be implemented in DestinE climate models with the eventual goal being their integration in the operational Climate DT. TerraDT also develops new impact models providing information relevant for forestry, shipping and urban planning.
The Nordic Cryosphere Digital Twin (NOCOS DT) develops models and applications linked to sea ice. With Nordic meteorological institutes and the Tallinn University of Technology as partners, CSC coordinates this smaller-scale project funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
NOCOS DT uses data from Climate DT for piloting impact models to provide information on navigability, engineering and vessel design, fishing and shipping, and renewable energy. The tools developed by NOCOS DT will improve climate-smart practices and the assessment of climate-related risks, making shipping in the Arctic and Baltic Sea safer and more efficient.
Studying global biodiversity dynamics
Even though the field of digital twins is advancing rapidly, digital twin approaches are less often applied in the field of biodiversity. To fill this gap, BioDT project, coordinated by CSC, brings together experts in high-performance computing and ecology to develop biodiversity prototype digital twins.
The project is in its third year and has successfully developed prototypes of a wide range of topics, from grassland and forest management and biodiversity dynamics to species interactions with each other and with humans. These prototypes push the boundaries of predictive biodiversity modelling, offering insights into species-environment interactions and biodiversity dynamics. BioDT leverages EuroHPC LUMI and integrates data from various research infrastructures. Additionally, CSC is contributing to DTO-BioFlow, which also addresses a large range of biodiversity topics, but it focuses on the oceans.
The different digital twin projects developed at CSC are complementary to each other and cover a large range of topics in Earth Sciences, each one accompanied by different technical challenges. The different digital twins deal with heterogeneous data formats and modelling approaches, fostering technical solutions that aim to create a cohesive ecosystem for digital twin development.
Moreover, each of the digital twins target different yet interconnected stakeholders. In addition to CSC, other Finnish organizations have a key role in developing and implementing these digital twins. The overall goal is that these digital twins can provide new tools for research as well as for science-based decision-making.
The authors are developing digital twins at CSC: Outi Sievi-Korte, Gabriela Zuquim, Juha Tonttila, Tero Aalto, Jenni Kontkanen
Jenni Kontkanen
PhD, Docent Jenni Kontkanen leads the Digital Twins group at CSC.