Terra DT digital twin will leverage LUMI to shape sustainable shipping routes and urban green spaces

A new digital twin project, Terra DT, will use the LUMI supercomputer extensively to model the impacts of glaciers, sea ice, vegetation, and aerosol particles, among other things, on the Earth’s climate. The digital twin will bring concrete tools to decision-making at the local level – where should we plan shipping routes or parks? 

The new digital twin Terra DT is closely linked to the Climate DT project, part of the European Commission’s Destination Earth initiative, which is developing a digital twin for the Earth’s climate. Terra DT develops new components for the climate twin to more accurately describe the impact of glaciers, sea ice, vegetation and aerosol particles on the climate. This increases the reliability of climate projections.

In Terra DT, climate projections are made at a very high resolution of 10 km, requiring significant computing resources. The LUMI supercomputer plays a significant role in the project. Another main computing platform for the project is Mare Nostrum 5, located in Barcelona. Both of these are pan-European EuroHPC supercomputers.

Information to support decision-making

– The aim is to obtain information to support decision-making, for example, on how sea ice conditions impact shipping routes. What kind of effects will sea level changes or extreme weather conditions affect coastal and off-shore construction and urban planning? The model also provides us with important information related to forest biodiversity and carbon sink assessment, says Jenni Kontkanen, Development Manager at CSC, who leads the Terra DT project.

An interactive user interface is developed for Terra DT, through which users can ask concrete what-if questions. For example, how does building a park in a particular city impact temperatures or carbon sequestration? Terra DT’s high resolution and accuracy make it a practical tool for local decision-making: the effects of various phenomena can be viewed and predicted locally at a precise level.

TerraDT’s components will more accurately describe the impact of glaciers, sea ice, vegetation and aerosol particles on the climate. 

Collaboration of 18 European actors

The project is led by CSC – IT Center for Science in Finland and involves 18 organizations from all over Europe.

– CSC coordinates the project as a whole. In addition, we participate in the technical implementation of the project and in the development of most components. We also ensure that the models work as efficiently as possible in the LUMI computing environment and develop user interfaces. CSC’s scientific work is related to ice sheet modeling, where we utilize the Elmer/Ice ice sheet model developed by CSC. Artificial intelligence methods are used in almost all components of the Terra DT,  says Kontkanen.

The Terra DT project will start at the beginning of 2025 and will last for four years. Its total budget is about 15 million euros. Terra DT is a Horizon Europe-funded research project.

Read more about the Destination Earth flagship initiative: https://destination-earth.eu/