Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment

The ocean plays a vital role in our society and represents a constantly changing landscape that is not well understood and therefore needs continuous monitoring and research. Sustainable monitoring is essential to assess both the current and future state of our oceans. However, conventional monitori...

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Main Authors: Shelley Haupt, Bolelang Sibolla, Raymond Molapo, Lizwe Mdakane, Nicolene Fourie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-03-01
Series:ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/14/4/140
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author Shelley Haupt
Bolelang Sibolla
Raymond Molapo
Lizwe Mdakane
Nicolene Fourie
author_facet Shelley Haupt
Bolelang Sibolla
Raymond Molapo
Lizwe Mdakane
Nicolene Fourie
author_sort Shelley Haupt
collection DOAJ
description The ocean plays a vital role in our society and represents a constantly changing landscape that is not well understood and therefore needs continuous monitoring and research. Sustainable monitoring is essential to assess both the current and future state of our oceans. However, conventional monitoring faces significant challenges, including issues of accessibility, and spatial and temporal constraints. The development of digital twins of the ocean (DTO) offers an emerging technology that could revolutionise our understanding of marine and coastal environments. Current DTO have shown effectiveness in monitoring marine and coastal environments in the European context. However, there is a need for a DTO for the Southern African and Western Indian Ocean regions that addresses specific concerns that are relevant to these regions. Successful development of a DTO depends on the availability of high-quality data. Therefore, various data inputs are necessary to build an accurate digital twin. This paper explores the data that can be utilised in a DTO, detailing how different ocean variables are collected and integrated into the digital twin. As a first step towards the development of a DTO in these regions, the paper proposes a data management plan and its implementation in the development of DTO. The data management plan is based on the phases of data in a geospatial data life cycle. Challenges regarding the management of data in this DTO and possible solutions are presented in the conclusion.
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spelling doaj-art-e80232d71683496cbbf111416803c4fd2025-08-20T02:28:36ZengMDPI AGISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information2220-99642025-03-0114414010.3390/ijgi14040140Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal EnvironmentShelley Haupt0Bolelang Sibolla1Raymond Molapo2Lizwe Mdakane3Nicolene Fourie4Spatial Information Systems, Next Generation Enterprises and Institutions, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaSpatial Information Systems, Next Generation Enterprises and Institutions, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaSpatial Information Systems, Next Generation Enterprises and Institutions, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaSpatial Information Systems, Next Generation Enterprises and Institutions, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaSpatial Information Systems, Next Generation Enterprises and Institutions, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Pretoria 0001, South AfricaThe ocean plays a vital role in our society and represents a constantly changing landscape that is not well understood and therefore needs continuous monitoring and research. Sustainable monitoring is essential to assess both the current and future state of our oceans. However, conventional monitoring faces significant challenges, including issues of accessibility, and spatial and temporal constraints. The development of digital twins of the ocean (DTO) offers an emerging technology that could revolutionise our understanding of marine and coastal environments. Current DTO have shown effectiveness in monitoring marine and coastal environments in the European context. However, there is a need for a DTO for the Southern African and Western Indian Ocean regions that addresses specific concerns that are relevant to these regions. Successful development of a DTO depends on the availability of high-quality data. Therefore, various data inputs are necessary to build an accurate digital twin. This paper explores the data that can be utilised in a DTO, detailing how different ocean variables are collected and integrated into the digital twin. As a first step towards the development of a DTO in these regions, the paper proposes a data management plan and its implementation in the development of DTO. The data management plan is based on the phases of data in a geospatial data life cycle. Challenges regarding the management of data in this DTO and possible solutions are presented in the conclusion.https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/14/4/140digital twinocean monitoringmarine data sourcesdata management plangeospatial data life cycle
spellingShingle Shelley Haupt
Bolelang Sibolla
Raymond Molapo
Lizwe Mdakane
Nicolene Fourie
Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment
ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information
digital twin
ocean monitoring
marine data sources
data management plan
geospatial data life cycle
title Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment
title_full Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment
title_fullStr Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment
title_short Exploring the Use of Data in a Digital Twin for the Marine and Coastal Environment
title_sort exploring the use of data in a digital twin for the marine and coastal environment
topic digital twin
ocean monitoring
marine data sources
data management plan
geospatial data life cycle
url https://www.mdpi.com/2220-9964/14/4/140
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AT bolelangsibolla exploringtheuseofdatainadigitaltwinforthemarineandcoastalenvironment
AT raymondmolapo exploringtheuseofdatainadigitaltwinforthemarineandcoastalenvironment
AT lizwemdakane exploringtheuseofdatainadigitaltwinforthemarineandcoastalenvironment
AT nicolenefourie exploringtheuseofdatainadigitaltwinforthemarineandcoastalenvironment