Summary
The ‘Svalbard Cryosphere Digital Twin (SvalbardDT)’ project will build a Digital Twin Component (DTC) based on satellite Earth Observation data, as part of the European Space Agency’s (ESAs) Digital Twin Earth programme, a companion programme to the European Commission initiative Destination Earth (DestinE), which aims to build a digital twin of the Earth. We will construct a new DTC of the ice and snow of Svalbard’s cryosphere in the 21st Century through an automated data management system to ingest, harmonise, and analyse data products ready for delivery to the Destination Earth Service Platform (DESP). The DTC developed here will utilise open-source satellite data and state-of-the art physics-based models to fully describe the characteristics of snow cover, glacier mass balance, and sea ice dynamics in Svalbard and associated waters in the 21st Century. Our vision is to capture observations of relevant environmental data, across the Svalbard ‘super site’, and feed them into a self-learning spatio-temporal model to build a time series of 3D change of ice and snow in Svalbard since the turn of the century. We will build the digital infrastructure and develop the Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling methods required to build the DTC, delivering a step-change in our environmental digital twinning capabilities. The DTC will be optimised using Svalbard’s extensive observational record which will enable us to undertake a thorough validation of the DTC outputs.
Use Cases
Use Case #1: Impact of Extreme Weather on Svalbard’s Cryosphere: We will demonstrate the capabilities of the DTC model by studying the impact of extreme weather events on Svalbard’s cryosphere, such as Rain on Snow and Ice (ROSI) processes and its effect on glaciers dynamics, snow coverage and sea ice extent. We will demonstrate a methodology to use the DTC as a tool for assessing the physical impact of ROSI events on the cryosphere using data-driven simulations and analysis of the statistical outputs.
Use Case #2: Decision-Making for Terrestrial and Marine Navigation: The second use case will focus on developing the DTC as a tool for optimising marine and terrestrial navigation across Svalbard and associated waters in response to changing snow and ice conditions. Key stakeholders, such as the local government, tourist companies and logistics providers utilise meteorological forecasts to infer snow and ice conditions across the archipelago which is insufficient for planning transport on foot, using ships, and driving snowmobiles.
Contact
Please get in touch with the Project Lead, William Harcourt (william.harcourt@abdn.ac.uk), if you have any questions or would like to get involved!
Svalbard Cryosphere Digital Twin (SvalbardDT) 