On June 13, the third edition of the Digital Ocean Forum (DOF2024) high-level event, held under the auspices of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU, took place in Brussels. It was co-organised by the European Commission’s Directorates-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE), and Defence, Industry and Space (DG DEFIS). The Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) and Mercator Ocean International supported the event as the developers of the core infrastructure of the European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO).
The first EU DTO pre-operational platform was unveiled at the Digital Ocean Forum 2024, in the presence of (from left to right): Johan Hannssens, Secretary general of the department of Economy, Science and Innovation (Flanders, Belgium); Pascal Lamy, President of the Mission Ocean Board; European commissioner Iliana Ivanova; and Olivier Poivre d'Arvor, Special Envoy of the President for the UN Ocean Decade Conference 2025. © Bernal Revert/BR&U
At the Forum, a live demonstration of the EU DTO pre-operational platform was given to diverse stakeholders including European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova (RTD). This milestone will fulfil a key commitment made by European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen, who first announced the EU DTO at the One Ocean Summit in Brest in February 2022.
Aligning with the EU Green Deal and the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the EU DTO exemplifies Europe's commitment to developing innovative scientific tools to revolutionise the approach to addressing the multi-faceted challenges facing the Ocean.
• The European Digital Twin Ocean (EU DTO) is a multi-dimensional and near real-time virtual representation of the Ocean, combining marine observations, artificial intelligence, advanced Ocean modelling operating on high-performance computers and accessible to all. A flagship initiative of the European Commission’s Mission Restore Our Ocean and Waters, it is co-developed by Mercator Ocean International with the Flanders Marine Institute and other European partners, harnessing key EU assets and cutting-edge technology.
• The first EU DTO pre-operational platform was unveiled at the Digital Ocean Forum 2024 and broadcasted online. The EU DTO offers unprecedented capabilities for marine data exploration, next generation Ocean modelling, and science-driven decision making.
The DOF2024 brought together experts from across Europe and the globe, including policymakers, European projects, and interested stakeholders from different disciplines, facilitating co-design and co-creation. The EU DTO includes new capacities, such as on-demand modelling capability to run simulations and to allow “what-if scenarios” to be deployed on the platform to answer an array of questions such as on plastic pollution, sea level rise, and use of marine renewable energy. Applications on the platform will be presented, including marine litter (plastic pollution), marine biodiversity, nature-based solutions (seagrass restoration), marine renewable energy (the potential of multi-use offshore wind energy), adaptation and mitigation, early warning for extreme events, and coastal monitoring (extreme sea levels and hazards).
Pierre Bahurel, directeur-generaal van Mercator Ocean International: “The Digital Twin Ocean is not only useful to bring together knowledge and make it accessible to all—it will help to make better decisions for the planet and the environment. People will have a better idea of what is happening in our ocean. That is why the presentation of the platform to the European Commission, which allowed for a massive investment in service infrastructure, is important.”
The DOF2024 was attended by senior representatives from five EC Directorates-General (DGs), including: Commissioner Ivanova (DG RTD), Florika Fink-Hooijer, Director-General for Environment (DG ENV), Thomas Skordas, Deputy Director-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CNECT), Kestutis Sadauskas, Deputy Director-General for DG MARE, John Bell, Director Heathy Planet (DG RTD), and Mauro Facchini, Head of Unit (DG DEFIS).
The European Commission relies on Mercator Ocean International and the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), to develop the core infrastructure of the EU DTO. The core infrastructure combines and integrates data and services from the European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) and the Copernicus Marine Service into a single digital framework. It will be fully compatible with the Climate Digital Twin / Destination Earth (DestinE)) led by EC DG Connect (Communications Networks, Content and Technology).
More info at https://events.edito.eu/2024-digital-ocean-forum
