Digital Twins

Digital Twins have the potential to revolutionise the way we interact with the environment and help us make the right decisions for a more sustainable and healthy future for all. At NCEO we are developing Digital Twins for a range of applications.

Digital Twins (DTs) of the environment are an emerging field of research that has grown rapidly in recent years, although the concept has been used in engineering for decades. A Digital Twin is a digital replica of a physical system that is data-driven and has some predictive capabilities. The key element of a Digital Twin is the interaction with its physical counterpart, which goes both ways: the DT obtains live information from the physical system through observations, including those from satellites or other data sources, and can effect change on it through interventions, such as policy changes.  

Digital Twins are an excellent tool to test ‘what-if’ scenarios and thus can provide decision support to a range of end users. Such tools are becoming critical in the context of climate change, as they can be used to plan the best mitigation and adaptation strategies that help us achieve our net zero targets and build resilience in a changing climate. 

NCEO scientists at the University of Leicester are developing digital twins. Dr Robert Parker is working on a Digital Twin to study wetland extent and methane emissions as part of his prestigious Future Leaders Fellowship. Dr Cristina Ruiz Villena, is developing machine-learning emulators or surrogate models for Digital Twin applications focused on soil moisture over Africa (as part of the UK Earth Observation (EO) Climate Information Service, EOCIS) and methane emissions from wetlands (as part of the Climate User Modelling Group from the European Space Agency’s Climate Change Initiative). Prof Heiko Baltzer, is leading the UKRI-funded AI4NetZero project, which aims to create a self-learning Digital Twin to help the UK agricultural sector reduce emissions and achieve the Net Zero targets. 

Digital Twins have the potential to revolutionise the way we interact with the environment and help us make the right decisions for a more sustainable and healthy future for all. Integrating models and observations with cutting-edge artificial intelligence and smart user interfaces will help break some of the barriers to convert data into actionable information with real-world impact. 

Satellite observation is critical to understand the rapid changes in atmospheric methane. Identifying its sources, trends, and interactions helps develop effective mitigation strategies, contributing to climate resilience and sustainable environmental management.

At NCEO, our Digital Twins programme includes:

Anthropogenic methane

Studying anthropogenic sources of methane is vital for mitigating climate change. Human activities, such as agriculture and fossil fuel extraction, significantly contribute to methane emissions. Identifying and understanding these sources is crucial for developing targeted strategies to reduce methane levels and curb its potent impact on global warming, fostering a more sustainable future. Read more….

Natural sources of methane

Natural sources of methane include wetlands, where microbial activity produces methane in waterlogged conditions. Additionally, methane arises from geological processes such as the decay of organic matter in anaerobic environments and the release of methane hydrates from the ocean floor. These natural emissions play a role in Earth’s carbon cycle. Read more…