Europe is building amazing marine virtual twins so that scientists, policymakers and citizens can test ideas, fight pollution, and even protect marine life.
Imagine predicting how an oil spill will spread, or which cleanup strategies will work best without exposure to water. Before testing solutions to protect the world’s oceans, what do you do before running them?
That vision has already become a reality through European Digital Twin Oceans (DTO). This is an initiative in which EU-funded researchers are creating powerful virtual replicas of the ocean. It’s like the high-tech marine research lab on the screen, ready to run what-if scenarios for real challenges.
“The digital ocean head of Mercator Ocean International, a French nonprofit organization that leads the development of DTO,” said Alain Arnaud, the digital ocean head of Mercator Ocean International, the French nonprofit organization that leads the development of DTO.
The latest demonstration phase of the European Digital Twin of the Ocean – known as the Edit, the core infrastructure was announced in June 2025 at the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France.
This promises to transform the way scientists, policymakers and citizens understand and manage the marine environment. Potential applications range from predicting pollution risk to identifying the most efficient transport routes across the Pacific Ocean.
Another application is to tackle plastic pollution. Edito can track whether the garbage is flowing through the river or filling the tide, and from working on the upstream of waste from cleaning certain beaches to working on the waste upstream.
Who is behind these sea twins?
Behind these advanced functions is a network of major European institutions.
DTO’s core technology was developed by Mercator Ocean International, which operates the EU’s Copernicus Marine Services, and the Flanders Marine Institute in Ostend, Belgium, and represents 120 partners in the European Ocean Observation and Data Network (EMODNET).
They integrated these two European marine data systems (Copernicus Marine and Emodnet) into one scalable framework. In the future, the planet will be linked to the EU’s “destination Earth” digital twin.
The platform uses satellite data, ocean sensors, advanced simulations and AI to replicate the past and present of the ocean, as well as plausible futures. This allows scientists, policymakers, and even curious citizens to experiment and make better decisions.
Arnaud described the platform as more than just a technical achievement. “A shared compass for navigating the future of important marine ecosystems.”
We are currently designing next-generation marine models that allow DTO users to create real-world management scenarios. This initiative – Edit Model Lab – will begin in 2023 and run until the end of 2025.
Model scenarios from pollution to turtles
Plastic Contamination Trackers are just one application created by Edito-Model Lab Researchers. Several other models can also generate useful what-if scenarios.
These include seasonal pollution hazard maps in the Mediterranean, programs highlighting the best locations for wind farms, and simulations showing how different climate change scenarios affect fish strains. There are also models that study the best marine habitat locations for a variety of species such as marine turtles.
“Starting with the beach they hatched, we can model where they go during the boy’s life and then model it before returning to the beach,” said Jan Drillett, director of research and development at Mercator Ocean International.
This will help parents decide which nesting sites and marine areas to prioritize.
Accessible marine intelligence
The Edit is a key element of the European Maritime Agreement, launched in June 2025, and integrates all EU marine actions that protect the ocean and promote a thriving blue economy based on sustainable use of the ocean.
Its main strength lies in its accessibility. Large-scale models of marine systems already exist. But according to Drillet, Edito offers an unprecedented amount of data and is designed for both professionals and newcomers.
“Our aim is to create a digital twin that is completely open so that everyone can access it,” he said. “Untrained users can explore basic scenarios, while advanced users can develop their own programs using platform tools or their own datasets.”
DTO summarises real-time and historical observations from thousands of oceanic sensors and satellites. It began with the integration of data from Copernicus Marine Services and emodnet, but aims to be a wider range of data sources, including socioeconomics.
Using AI and high-performance computing allows us to model the impact of both natural events and human activities. Users can adjust the parameters to investigate how different scenarios unfold.
Optimizing delivery routes
One Edito model analyzes shipping routes between the US and Asia and addresses two important issues for delivery: time and fuel efficiency.
“We show how we can use environmental information to optimize our trans-Pacific journeys from the US West Coast to Asia,” Drillett said.
Maritime traffic produces 3-4% of the total EU CO2 emissions each year. By taking into account ocean currents and weather, DTOs can propose routes to reduce fuel use, emissions and costs.
Research on the Edito-Model Lab is also directed towards Japan, which is being exhibited at the Osaka World Expo (April-October 2025).
Visitors will have the opportunity to explore marine plastic pollution simulations and another visitor modeling the best locations to develop seagrass pastures for coastal protection along the Adriatic and German North Sea coasts.
New waves of ocean research
Lőrincmészáros of Deltales, an independent, nonprofit applied research institute in Delft, the Netherlands, said more marine research should be promoted by simplifying and modernizing how marine simulations are constructed and executed.
“This allows marine scientists to work with modern cloud-based technologies, even if they are not familiar with ICT,” he said.
The hope is for researchers and policymakers to use the platform to explore effective and sustainable ways to protect marine and coastal habitats, support the blue economy, and respond to climate change.
By 2030, DTO is expected to be operational and will provide an even stronger decision support system to tackle global marine challenges.
As Arnaud said, “On this platform, we can anticipate challenges and act together for a healthier ocean.”
The research in this article was funded by the EU’s Horizon programme. The views of interviewees do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission.
This article was originally published in Horizon, the EU Research and Innovation Magazine.
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