Digital Twins of the Ocean Symposium 鈥 June 18, 2025

The Digital Twins of the Ocean Symposium, hosted by the Physical Oceanography Department of 黑料视频, was a great success. Around 60 participants from a variety of institutions came together, including 黑料视频, Kiel University, Kiel University of Applied Sciences, the Center for Ocean and Society (CeOS), the Research and Technology Centre of the West Coast (FTZ), the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ), SINTEF Ocean, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), and DHI WASY GmbH.

This half-day event featured inspiring talks, engaging posters, and many opportunities for networking across disciplines. Researchers and professionals shared ideas on how Digital Twins of the Ocean can be developed and help us better understand and manage marine environments - covering topics from physical oceanography to biogeochemical processes to socio-ecological systems, and policy.

The symposium was opened by Agnes Piecyk from the Physical Oceanography Department, who introduced the department鈥檚 projects and set the tone for an afternoon focused on collaboration, innovation, and future-oriented science. The Physical Oceanography contributed three additional key presentations to the program:

馃敼 Florian Sch眉tte presented 黑料视频鈥檚 ongoing and future efforts on Digital Twins of the Ocean for the Cabo Verde Archipelago and the FUTURO Initiative. He highlighted how we are building modular, co-designed digital twin systems tailored to regional needs - especially in West Africa, where these tools are being developed to integrate in-situ and satellite data, numerical high-resolution ocean models, biological data, and ecosystem processes. These efforts are supported by the modernization of our observation infrastructure around Cabo Verde, including real-time telemetry systems, autonomous platforms operating continuously in the water, and the planning of the FUTURO initiative - a one-year, interdisciplinary research mission focused on the eastern tropical North Atlantic.

馃敼 Marco Banzhaf showcased his innovative work on "Water Level Prediction in Marinas: Machine Learning Approaches", offering insights into how AI can improve coastal management and provide highly localized flood forecasts for marinas in Germany.

馃敼 Federico Scarscelli introduced the "Eddy Hunter System", a novel interface designed to   integrate traditional satellite altimetry data with high-resolution measurements provided by the SWOT mission, which represents the 鈥渃utting-edge鈥 of satellite altimetry technology. The system is able to retrieve high resolution eddy signals, facilitating future research on mesoscale and sub-mesoscale ocean dynamics.   

The event successfully fostered new connections, sparked potential collaborations, and strengthened the growing community around digital twin technologies in ocean science. The positive energy and shared sense of purpose among participants suggest exciting times ahead for interdisciplinary research and innovation in the marine domain.

We are looking forward to the next get-together. Let鈥檚 keep the momentum going!