The Iliad digital twins of the ocean: opportunities for citizen science

Abstract

In recent years, there has been growing interest in digital twins (or virtual representations) of the environment. Programs in the European Union and the UN are investing in digital twins, particularly those of the ocean (DTOs). While citizen science has been mentioned as a potential data source for digital twins, the full potential of citizen science in this context has yet to be fully realised. The Iliad project (https://ocean-twin.eu), funded by the European Commission, is developing a comprehensive set of digital twins of the oceans which are interoperable, data-intensive, and cost-effective. The project (2022–2025) brings together over 50 partners to demonstrate the technologies and methodologies required to develop DTOs. Citizen science and engagement play a pivotal role in the project, with the following goals: (a) exploring the potential for citizen science to contribute to digital twins of the oceans; (b) demonstrating how citizen scientists (and society more broadly) can benefit from digital twins. The Iliad team is currently working on over 20 separate digital twins of the oceans that fall into two primary categories: (i) environmental and ecological digital twins; (ii) engineering and industrial digital twins. Using the Iliad DTOs as case studies, lessons learned for citizen science are presented from the development of each digital twin.

Keywords

• digital twin
• citizen science
• ocean
• onteroperabi