World Hydrographic Day 2023 - "Hydrography - Underpinning the Digital Twin of the Ocean"

The world day of hydrography, celebrated on 21 June, is an international day to celebrate the contribution of Hydrography to society in general, as it is the basis of the safety of navigation and knowledge of the ocean allowing its use in a more sustainable way. Currently, the importance of hydrography is even more increasing in the development of the so-called blue economy.

This year, the International Hydrographic Organization elected as the theme of World Hydrography Day (WHD) the relationship between hydrographic information and Digital Twins of the Ocean (DTO).

It is an opportunity to promote discussion about the potential of hydrography in supporting the development of DTOs.

A twin digital is a digital representation of a real-world object or process.

A relationship is established between the real object and its digital twin by sensing the real object that feeds the digital model with real-time data, processed with the help of analytic techniques (Artificial Intelligence, High Performance Computing, etc.).

This continuous flow of data allows you to monitor and store in the digital model the life cycle of the real object.

The digital twins present the characteristics and behaviors expected in the modeled object, allowing mimicking its response in simulated environments and, thus, developing scenario-based studies, whose analysis allows identifying potential solutions and deciding the most favorable ones.

The knowledge learned in the interaction between the two objects, the real and the digital, is thus used for better management of the real object.

DTOs have enormous potential for the study of ocean response scenarios, when subject to different state changes (e.g. increased ocean temperature).

They are knowledge sharing tools, help build a common vision of the problems affecting the ocean and enhance cooperation between citizens, researchers and policy makers.

The theme chosen for the WHD aims to highlight the relationship between hydrography and other ocean sciences, highlighting the fact that hydrography plays a fundamental role in the development of DTOs.