Predicting and Preventing Climate Change with Digital Twin Earth: A New Approach to Environmental Forecasting
The European Union, through the European Space Agency (ESA), ECMWF, and EUMETSAT, has launched Destination Earth (DestinE), an ambitious initiative aimed at creating a high-precision digital model of the Earth. This project, funded by the European Commission, is set to enhance climate resilience, support decision-making in areas like climate adaptation and risk management, and contribute to sustainable development.
At its core, DestinE is a federated infrastructure of Digital Twins (DTs) that operates on a robust Core Service Platform. This platform provides the necessary infrastructure for data handling and application development, while the Data Lake (DEDL) serves as a repository for storing and accessing vast amounts of Earth Observation data. Currently, DestinE includes at least two functional Digital Twins, with plans to expand to cover climate, urban, and weather applications.
DestinE offers a range of functionalities, including data exploration and analysis, simulation and modeling, custom application development, and data sharing. These features allow users to access, analyze, visualize, and predict environmental models, build and operate custom applications, and collaborate by sharing results, data, applications, and libraries.
In the fight against climate change, DestinE leverages advanced technologies, including supercomputing capabilities like those provided by Lumi. This powerful tool integrates innovative applications to support policy, science, industry, and civil society. For instance, HydroMet provides accurate statistics on extreme rainfall and hydrological extremes to predict future climate-related events, while the Global Fish Tracking System (GFTS) helps predict fish behavior, enabling decision-making for sustainable marine management.
Moreover, DestinE’s Digital Twins help manage climate-related risks by simulating complex Earth systems, enabling better forecasting and decision-making. Ongoing projects like TerraDT, UrbanAIR, and WeatherGenerator focus on enhancing climate modeling, urban heat management, and probabilistic weather forecasting, further expanding DestinE’s impact.
The European Commission plans to further improve DestinE by 2027, providing additional services and AI capabilities, and interacting with new digital twins. By 2030, the Commission aims to complete a full and comprehensive digital twin of our planet with Destination Earth (DestinE).
Destination Earth (DestinE) is a significant step up from previous efforts like Google Earth and Terravision, providing a robust and sophisticated scientific platform. With its sophisticated capabilities, DestinE is expected to lead the technological charge against the effects of climate change, allowing for better response to natural disasters, testing of adapting to climate change pathways, and prediction of the global socioeconomic impact of the changing planet.
- The Core Service Platform of Destination Earth (DestinE) serves as the necessary infrastructure for data handling and application development in data-and-cloud-computing, facilitating data analytics and artificial intelligence.
- The Data Lake (DEDL) within DestinE is a repository for storing and accessing vast amounts of Earth Observation data, making it a crucial component in climate-change research and environmental-science.
- To combat climate change, DestinE utilizes advanced technologies, such as supercomputing capabilities like Lumi, for integrated applications in policy, science, industry, and civil society, bolstering cybersecurity and infrastructure in cloud computing.
- HydroMet, a tool provided by DestinE, offers accurate statistics on extreme rainfall and hydrological extremes to predict future climate-related events, applying data analytics to climate-change mitigation and risk management.
- By 2030, Destination Earth (DestinE) aims to complete a full digital twin of our planet, using data analytics, simulation, and modeling, positioning itself as a leader in scientific exploration and technology innovation, aiding in informed decisions around climate adaptation, risk management, and sustainable development.
