Welcome to the very first newsletter of TerraTwin, a Horizon Europe project building a next-generation Digital Twin of the Ecosystem (DTE) to help Europe understand, and respond to, the deeply connected crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Climate change and biodiversity loss are usually studied in isolation, with fragmented data that rarely crosses borders or disciplines. TerraTwin brings them together. Over three years, our consortium is building a virtual, data-driven replica of real ecosystems (spanning land and sea, past, present and future) that turns raw environmental data into insight for scientists, policymakers and communities.
The consortium
TerraTwin brings together 14 partners from 10 countries, combining expertise in environmental science, marine biology, data engineering and digital innovation.
The idea
What is a “7D” Digital Twin of the Ecosystem?
A digital twin is a living, virtual model of something real. TerraTwin’s twin goes beyond the usual three dimensions of space by adding time, and layers for policy, socio-economic factors and the interplay between them, together forming what we call the 7D approach. By combining Earth observation, historical and even prehistoric climate records, biodiversity surveys and socio-economic data, the DTE can explore how ecosystems respond to wildfires, floods, warming seas and human activity; and it can test what might happen under different future scenarios.
Four real-world pilot areas
TerraTwin is grounded in four demonstration areas across Europe, each tackling a different facet of the climate–biodiversity challenge:
Greece
Spain
Ireland
BelgiumMilestone
Where we are now
Foundations in place
In its first months, TerraTwin has been laying the groundwork that everything else builds on:
Partners have begun defining the ecological indicators the twin will track, and are mapping the many datasets available across the four areas, from satellite imagery and fire maps to underwater observatories, fisheries records and even prehistoric climate archives reaching back millions of years. In parallel, the technical teams have started designing the architecture that will bring all of this together into a working Digital Twin.
Out in the community
TerraTwin is now live and public, and already sharing its story at events across Europe, connecting with sister projects and presenting its first scientific work. We are building synergies with Trees4Adapt, DIGI4ECO and STORCITO, and we take part in the EU Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change community.
Our website is online, our social channels are active, and our first communication materials, from the project leaflet to a roll-up banner, have already travelled to their first events.
New this month
TerraTwin welcomes its External Advisory Board
We are delighted to announce the appointment of TerraTwin’s External Advisory Board, a group of independent experts who will provide strategic guidance and critical review throughout the project. They bring an external perspective across our core domains, from environmental assessment and coastal planning to remote sensing and the standardisation of Environmental Digital Twins, helping ensure TerraTwin’s science, technology and impact stay robust and relevant.
Want to follow the journey? Find us on the channels below and visit www.terratwin.eu to learn more.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
Grant Info: Grant Agreement No. 101214557
