Episode 3 - Digital Twin of the Ocean: The New Frontiers of Coastal Science

00:00:05: On a densely populated coastline with seaside homes, hotels, beach resorts of a look in the water and a harbor filled with boats.

00:00:18: A powerful storm is approaching.

00:00:24: Waves are rising.

00:00:25: sea level is already higher than usual.

00:00:29: local authorities must decide whether to reinforce coastal defenses evacuate neighbor or closed key infrastructures.

00:00:39: After a few hours, here's the decision.

00:00:42: Evacuate the population.

00:00:50: Unfortunately it's too late.

00:00:52: Streets are flooded and so our houses.

00:00:55: Cars barely move through traffic and their tires as low is sinking.

00:01:00: Half of community is stuck at home And other half in street potentially exposed.

00:01:12: Stop it!

00:01:13: Someone says The storm suddenly freezes And cars and streets disappear.

00:01:20: What I just told you never happened, that was a simulation run in the Digital Twin of The Ocean platform!

00:01:28: The digital twin is neither a video game nor magic tool but real technology whose role will be discussed today's episode.

00:01:38: So get ready to join both real & virtual worlds and ponder the question what if?

00:01:49: My name is Federica Orsi and this is Green Tides, a podcast by the Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience about people science ideas that are shaping in future of our coasts.

00:02:08: What if we could test scenarios before storms hit?

00:02:12: What If coastal managers could explore different choices And see their consequences Before making them real.

00:02:21: The what-ifs are just the first step in understanding the importance of the digital twin of the ocean.

00:02:29: For decades, ocean science focused on observations measuring temperature tracking currents and recording sea level.

00:02:38: these observation remain fundamental but today they're no longer enough.

00:02:44: climate change is accelerating costar risks increasing.

00:02:49: decision must be taken faster and with big uncertainty.

00:02:55: To face this challenge, science must evolve from describing what is happening to helping societies anticipate what may happen.

00:03:07: So here comes the digital twin of the ocean.

00:03:11: A Digital Twin Of The Ocean is a virtual replica of the real ocean continuously updated with data from satellite coastal sensors numerical models and artificial intelligence.

00:03:25: In other words, it is not a static map.

00:03:28: It's a dynamic system that evolves as the ocean evolves.

00:03:34: It allows scientists to simulate scenarios test responses and explore future pathways.

00:03:41: in simple terms helps us ask what if?

00:03:45: And see possible answers To understand how this work can practice and how close we already are.

00:03:54: We spoke with one of the scientists leading this frontier.

00:03:58: My name is Giovanni Copini, I'm Principal Scientist at CMCC and I am Director of the Strategic Program Global Coast as a New Frontier.

00:04:07: As Giovanni said he works at CMSC, Euro-Mediterranean Center for Climate Change an international research foundation dedicated to studying climate change and its impact with a strong focus on coastal marine ecosystems.

00:04:25: CMCC is one of the strategic partners for DCCR within the UN Ocean Decade, working side-by-side to transform climate and ocean science into tools that support real world decisions.

00:04:42: The digital twin of the ocean are relevant for coastal risk management because the cost is where climate risks become more real to people.

00:04:51: It's where sea level, storm surge erosion marine waste pollution flooding from rivers and impacts on poor tourism ecosystems so far really meet in that same place And it's a context with traditional observation models alone no longer enough.

00:05:11: We need a new system that helps to understand not only what is happening now, but what could be happen in the next future and how to manage it.

00:05:19: So thats why the digital twin of ocean are so relevant.

00:05:23: The Digital Twin of the Ocean are connecting observation models computing an increasingly artificial intelligence into one operational system.

00:05:33: In practice the Digital Twin Alps to move from a coastal management in an reactive manner with the reactive approach, to an anticipatory one.

00:05:44: In his daily work Giovanni has to analyze different kinds of data and models... ...and understand which are needed for truly operational digital twin.

00:05:55: Let's see what model and data he uses.

00:05:58: Well, A Digital Twin comes to be truly operational.

00:06:04: You combine three elements and you make them working together continuously.

00:06:09: The first one is observation, the second are models.

00:06:13: And then you need a computing cloud or an HPC so high-performance computing infrastructure behind to make it functioning.

00:06:22: So firstly observations...so we have available satellite tight gate with measure C level in the constellation wave boos coastal raiders measuring currents and wave, the weather information.

00:06:36: And all the in situ measurements related to currents temperature salinity sea level of water quality.

00:06:42: so without real data you risk that digital twin get disconnected from reality.

00:06:47: The second are models.

00:06:50: In addition to classical model especially today we use a model suitable for the coastal environment.

00:06:57: Third is operational layer.

00:07:00: So we need to integrate this data.

00:07:02: Now, We are doing it more and more on the cloud.

00:07:04: make everything accessible fast but also use a lot of high-performance computing.

00:07:10: so when you have all these pieces together as you see is quite complex then your digital twin that becomes efficient become accessible.

00:07:19: not only scientific exercise but practical support system for decision of the constant law.

00:07:26: But building a Digital Twin is not only about scientific models.

00:07:32: Behind every simulation there's a complex digital infrastructure, data pipelines high-performance computing systems secure platform and costal monitoring.

00:07:44: To understand this invisible layer we spoke with Maggie Ojai.

00:07:51: My name is Maggie Ojay.

00:07:53: I'm a telecommunication engineer And I am the leader of the research unit operational forecasting system and decision support systems in CMCC.

00:08:06: Maggie can also tell us something crucial about Digital Twin, what needs to happen behind-the-scenes to make this simulation reliable?

00:08:16: When people think about a digital twin they often focus on the simulation itself But what really makes it reliable is everything happening behind the scenes.

00:08:28: First, you need a constant flow of data – satellites, sensors and models And make sure this data is up to date and reliable.

00:08:39: At same time cloud platforms make results accessible through dashboards applications so users can easily interact with information.

00:08:50: Finally, everything needs to be connected and monitored so all components work together smoothly and continuously.

00:08:58: So in the end a digital twin is not just a model.

00:09:02: it's system that is constantly running updating and staying aligned with reality.

00:09:08: When we talk about Digital Twins supporting real decisions security stability & trust are really key.

00:09:17: A digital twin is constantly updated with data coming from different sources, satellites, sensors models.

00:09:26: So first of all you need to make sure that this data is reliable, check it and then always know where it comes from.

00:09:35: Then All these different systems needs work well together.

00:09:40: They need talk each other smoothly.

00:09:42: Otherwise the whole system becomes inconsistent.

00:09:46: That's why we rely on strong infrastructure and continuous monitoring to make sure everything keeps running properly.

00:09:59: Anyway, if Magis works ensures that digital twin functions as a system.

00:10:05: the scientific heart of this system lies in models themselves.

00:10:11: To dive deep into all different areas.

00:10:14: We spoke with another guest Salvatore Causio.

00:10:18: My name is Salvador Ecaucio, I'm a coastal ocean modeler.

00:10:23: As the Coastal Ocean Modeler at CMCC, Salvatore works on wave dynamics extreme events and high-resolution coastal simulations.

00:10:34: A digital twin allows us to simulate what if scenario exploring potential impact of extreme event before they occur.

00:10:42: For example, in case of an approaching storm we can test different conditions for instant changing storm intensity trajectory duration and we could immediately evaluate how those changes affect coastal area.

00:10:57: This means that we can identify the main hazards associated with extreme events such as flooding where you're over topping erosion etc.

00:11:05: but also understanding which areas are most exposed under a different scenario.

00:11:11: Once we understood the risk, We can test protection and adaptation strategies.

00:11:16: These are simple but powerful example of what digital twin means for coastal management.

00:11:22: not only predicting What will happen?

00:11:24: But extending why?

00:11:25: exploring alternatives as supporting better decision to reduce risks And improve resilience

00:11:31: is research also explores the integration of artificial intelligence with numerical models.

00:11:38: How does combining AI with traditional models improve our ability to anticipate costal hazards?

00:11:45: The use of artificial intelligence in ocean and coastal modeling is quite recent, but it's already showing very promising results.

00:11:53: In simple terms, AI learns patterns from large amounts of data which this why we call simply these approaches data-driven.

00:12:02: Instead of solving every physical process to a question, AI recognizes pattern and makes prediction much faster.

00:12:09: And this speed is very important if you think about early warning system for instance.

00:12:14: In the end we need Giovanni Copini's knowledge once again.

00:12:19: It's time understand how tools like the digital twin-of-the ocean can actually support real world decisions For example in coastal planning risk management or emergency response?

00:12:33: So first of all, the digital twin allows us to support coastal planning.

00:12:38: To test future scenario before choice has made it that if you can trust the Digital Twin then you can simplify your decision make more accurate and Then you can understand how much these infrastructure are exposed to flooding.

00:12:52: Or best option is How to set up a nature-based solution or coastal area and infrastructure.

00:13:01: So basically we can provide real-time forecast, but also in the same context scenario simulation so you can anticipate cost of flooding or support of a question decision as well.

00:13:14: you can estimate the transport of oil at sea.

00:13:18: then you can support the coast guard port authorities civil protection to prepare in advance.

00:13:26: Resilience is so relevant that technology alone cannot create it.

00:13:32: Its value depends on who can access its and how is used.

00:13:38: One of the central challenges for digital innovation, ensuring advanced tools do not remain closed in reserve centres but become usable by communities institutions and decision makers.

00:13:53: We ask Giovanni how digital twin can be accessible for global South countries.

00:13:59: The Digital Twin is a scientific and technological component, which I like very much but the part that I liked best to make them really accessible.

00:14:20: This

00:14:37: is where partnerships become essential.

00:14:41: connecting scientific excellence with real societal needs.

00:14:46: Within the UN Ocean Decade, centers like the DCC-CR exist precisely to create these connections.

00:14:55: By working with strategic partners such as CMCC The DCC CR helps translate complex scientific tools into shared resources for coastal resilience.

00:15:08: Digital twins are not just technological achievements.

00:15:12: They are platform for dialogue between science, policy and

00:15:16: society.".

00:15:17: If this episode caught your curiosity about how digital twins work there's a simple way to explore the science behind!

00:15:27: In the episode description you'll find a link to the CMCC forecasting systems.

00:15:33: through these tools and many other ocean variables.

00:15:43: You can move across time, compare forecasts ,and see how conditions evolve day by day.

00:15:49: Visit the CNCC Forecasting System through the link in description And see dynamic our ocean really is Until next time.

00:15:58: Protect & respect our coastal Ocean.

00:16:06: Green Tides is a podcast by DCCCR Decade Collaborative Centre for Coastal Resilience Produced by POTSAR.

00:16:14: Narrator Federica Orsi.

00:16:17: Writing Lorenzo Molino Sound Design Antonio Mezzadra Graphics Laura Fracasso.

00:16:24: Producer Esther Memeo.

00:16:27: Special thanks to CMCC, Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change, Herion and Deltares.