How can you use the EDITO-Model Lab numerical models included in the European DTO?

The European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO), powered by EDITO-Model Lab and our sister project EDITO-Infra, will transform how society understands and interacts with marine environments. As highlighted in the recent 2024 Digital Ocean Forum, advanced numerical models – that will be accessible through the EDITO platform - will revolutionise how we understand, manage, and protect our ocean, providing invaluable tools for ocean numerical modellers, marine scientists, blue economy actors, and environmental decision-makers.

For ocean modelling community, EDITO-Model Lab offers unprecedented data accuracy and forecasting capabilities. Marine scientists can leverage these models to drive groundbreaking research, uncovering new insights into ocean processes. Blue economy actors, from fisheries to renewable energy producers, can optimise their operations using predictive analytics. Environmental decision-makers at all levels gain a powerful resource to inform policies and actions aimed at protecting and restoring marine ecosystems, reducing pollution, and lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The EDITO Core Model Suite

EDITO-Model Lab has meticulously selected a comprehensive suite of ocean numerical models and configurations designed to deliver high-resolution downscaling from the global ocean to coastal zones for specific applications. The suite includes:

High-resolution global models
Unstructured-grid coastal models
Circulation and wave downscaled models
Biogeochemistry models
Marine species and ecosystem models
Pollution models
Ship routing models

These models are the engine driving the EDITO Core Model Suite, demonstrating their capabilities through Focus Applications (FAs) and What-if Scenarios (WiS). These applications and scenarios highlight the functionalities, performance, and utility of the Core Model Suite, providing insights into various pressing societal challenges affecting ocean and coastal zones, not only in Europe but around the planet.

Empowering Users with Advanced Tools

Through the EDITO platform, users can display numerical model simulation outputs and conduct their own simulations to address specific challenges. The interactive virtual demonstrators integrate models, data, and computing infrastructure into a user-friendly environment. Users can use existing simulations or create new ones for predefined domains, as well as develop simulations for new domains using EDITO’s relocatable coastal numerical models.

Detailed Model Configurations

The suite integrates various numerical models tailored for global and regional-coastal areas, each addressing specific needs:

NEMO and SHYFEM-MPI for global ocean circulation
HBM, DELFT3D-FM, SCHISM, XBEACH, SFINCS, SHYFEM-MPI for coastal oceans
WW3 and WAM for waves
BFM and DELFT3D-WAQ for ocean biogeochemistry

These models cover well-distributed geographical areas within European ocean and sea basins, ensuring comprehensive coverage and detailed insights. For instance, the GLO36 global configuration features a 2 to 3 km horizontal resolution with 75 vertical levels, resolving sub-mesoscale processes crucial for accurate forecasting.

Flexible and Relocatable Modelling Platforms

The Relocatable Ocean Modelling Platforms are designed for flexibility and rapid deployment across different geographic regions. These platforms incorporate automated downscaling procedures to refine large-scale model outputs for regional studies. Accessing essential data inputs from sources, like the Copernicus Marine Service, ensures precise model initialisation.

The existing SURF platform will be enhanced to facilitate on-demand modelling using high-performance computing resources provided through EuroHPC and accessible on the EDITO platform, with an advanced Graphical User Interface (GUI) to simplify user adoption. Additionally, models like HBM offer robust downscaling tools, allowing users to specify boundary locations and resolutions, generating high-resolution nested models efficiently.

A New Era for Ocean Management

EDITO-Model Lab provides a comprehensive suite of numerical models and configurations that empower users to conduct detailed ocean and coastal zone simulations. These tools support various environmental and operational applications within the EU DTO framework, offering a powerful resource for advancing marine science, optimising blue economy activities, and informing environmental policy and decision-making.

The EDITO-Model Lab models in a nutshell

GLO36

A global configuration with 2-3 km resolution and 75 vertical levels, based on the NEMO model. Resolves meso and sub-mesoscale processes, forced by tidal components and ECMWF/IFS forecasts.

uGLOB

Unstructured-grid configurations for circulation-tide and waves, forced by ERA-5 data. Provides high-resolution (2-4 km) coastal simulations, supporting FA-2 on zero-carbon emissions.

AdriFS

Coastal model for the Adriatic Sea with resolution from 2.5 km offshore to 300 m at the coasts. Forced by ECMWF/IFS and Copernicus Marine Med-MFC products, used for FA1.

Emilia Romagna Coastal Model

SHYFEM-MPI model with 2 km offshore to 300 m coastal resolution. Driven by ECMWF/IFS and Copernicus Marine Med-MFC, includes seagrass parameterisation, used for WiS1.

DCSM and DWSM

Delft3D Flexible Mesh models for the Dutch Continental Shelf and Wadden Sea. Simulate hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes up to 200 m resolution, supporting FA1 and WiS3.

HBMos

Two-way nested model for the Baltic-North Sea region with up to 50 m resolution. Includes a microplastic drifting module, supporting FA2, WiS1, and WiS2.

GCOAST

SCHISM unstructured grid for the North Sea and German Bight, coupled with WWM and ECOSMO. Provides hydrodynamics and sedimentary processes information, supporting FA1 and WiS.

WAM

Wind-wave model for the Black Sea with 2.5 km resolution, 900 m for western Black Sea nest. Outputs wave variables and Stokes drift, forced by ECMWF IFS and ERA5, supporting WiS2.

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