The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is collaborating with Nvidia and Lockheed Martin to build the Earth Observation Digital Twin, or EODT. This niche Digital Twin application will bring forth a prototype of Earth modeled on real-time geophysical data sourced from satellites and ground stations.
EODT to aid climate change research
The EODT is being designed as a two-dimensional computer program. This platform is envisioned to be able to provide a great source of reference for climate researchers and future oriented research systems which may utilize current as well as recent past environmental data.
This digital initiative is poised to provide NOAA with a timely, global visualization of their massive earth based data sets. Some potential climate impacts the EDOT can display include global glacier melting, drought impacts, wildfire prediction and other climate change events.
So, the EODT has the potential to offer effective display of current global climate change concerns. The digital twin system will process multiple types of geophysics data ranging from sea temperature measurements to solar wind information.
Industry collaboration
EODT will run on Amazon Web Services Inc. cloud instances equipped with graphics processing units. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence play a key role in EODT’s data processing and modeling. It will also perform some computing tasks using systems from Nvidia’s DGX and OVX data center appliance lineups. Lockheed Martin’s open-source OpenRosetta3D application will be used to collect the geophysics data that EOTD will process. Once the data is collected, it will be moved to Nvidia’s Omniverse Nucleus database for processing.
Another component of the system is a software tool called Agatha, which was developed by Lockheed Martin and makes it easier for researchers to interact with geophysics data collected from multiple sources. The first demonstration of EODT’s capabilities is set to take place next September 2023. According to Nvidia, the initial prototype of the system will be designed to visualize sea surface temperature data.
The Digital twin strategy
A digital twin is a virtual representation of an object or system that spans its lifecycle, is updated from real-time data, and uses simulation, machine learning and reasoning to help decision-making.
Primarily we have witnessed industrial applications for the digital twin technology. However in recent times scientists are looking to deploy them in relation to climate change research. The goal is to introduce digital replicas capable of providing more specific, localized and interactive information on climate change. Thus it would foster discussions on how to deal with overall extreme weather impacts.
The digital twin can create the best possible rendition of the real world which can be used to design effective physical assets. These design elements may address given climate issues and thus hasten both the discovery and implementation of solutions. In fact scientists envision these digital models will help a variety of stakeholders understand climate impacts both in the present and in the future. In practical terms, this means turning things like weather data into flooding information or wind predictions into energy potential.
Also Read: Climate Change Prompts Caribbean Island to Create its Digital Twin
Growing need for ‘Climate Change’ research
Climate change leading to extreme weather events and harsh impacts on human societies and infrastructure are steadily on the rise. No more a problem for the distant future, its effects are now being seen and felt every day. Extremely hot days, hurricanes of all intensity categories and the continued rise of planet-warming emissions are ushering in harsh environmental, social and economic impacts. Understanding the damages due to climate change help in assessing the benefits that will accrue from any policy that mitigates climate change impacts.
Overall, climate change will have harmful effects on the US economy. An estimate reports that the US economy would stand to lose between about 1 percent to 4 percent of GDP annually by the end of the century through effects to mortality, labor and the energy sector alone under a high emissions scenario.
The scientific consensus is that human-caused climate change increases the frequency and severity of climate-related events overall. In this context a better understanding of the extent to which damages are attributable to climate change provide a stronger evidence base for decision-makers to implement policies and actions to avert, minimize and address loss and damage.
The Earth Observation Digital Twin will be an effective tool in actualizing the goal of aligning digital solutions with climate change resolution actions. The data from the EODT will generate useful climate and weather visualizations to support research initiatives in this domain.
The scientific research community will be eagerly watching the progress of this digital twin solution!
