
Today, ARCFISH met with DTO-track for an informal meet-and-greet between the two Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership (SBEP) digital twin projects. Of the 19 projects funded in the first SBEP call, only these two address digital twin developments.
DTOTrack aims to create a digital twin of the North Sea using animal tracking data. DTOTrack aims to map the movements and distributions of marine life in the North Sea, and use that data to create a digital twin of the area. The digital twin can then be used to make more ecologically informed decisions in the blue economy sector and marine spatial planning.

A Digital Twin of the Ocean (DTO) is a consistent, high-resolution, multi-dimensional and near real-time virtual representation of the ocean, combining ocean observations, artificial intelligence, advanced modelling operating on high-performance computers and accessible to all (Mercator Ocean International). As such, DTOs are data intensive systems that require high quality data combined with the latest technology in order to achieve their objectives.
The meeting was attended by partners from both projects:
DTOTrack: the Loughs Agency, VLIZ, DTU, GEOMAR, Ifremer, and
ARCFISH: NERSC, IOPAN, EurOcean, MatÃs, and Trackwell.
Ideas were shared and plans were laid for future collaboration.
Stay tuned for further updates on this evolving collaboration.