Marine Biodiversity Modelling Study

The European Commission tendered the study “Marine Biodiversity Modelling” [RTD/2021/MV/10] to pursue the identification and characterization of a subset of candidate biodiversity models that could contribute to the implementation of the European Digital Twin of the Ocean (EU DTO). The EU DTO will be an operational infrastructure for digital ocean services that aims to support decision-making capabilities by authorities to implement EU policies like the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) but also by citizens and businesses operating at sea. Specific objectives of the project were:

1. Conduct a horizon scan to identify and map available modelling approaches used to hindcast, nowcast
2. Develop a comprehensive catalogue to classify available modelling approaches according to their characteristics
3. Propose a subset of the most meaningful models among major model typologies.
4. Assess whether these models can be used in the implementation of the Digital Twin Ocean and can improve the decision-making capacity under the MFSD.