A newly funded project is developing an interactive platform to explore the movements of aquatic species in and across the North Sea.
Figure 1. DTOTrack logo.
An innovative marine tracking project is launching in the North Sea, after €2.1m of European Union (EU) funding was secured by the Loughs Agency and European Tracking Network (ETN).
The three-year project, titled Digital Twin of the Ocean: Animal Tracking (DTOTrack), was awarded funding from the EU’s Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, and aims to use animal tracking data to help create a template for a novel Digital Twin of the North Sea, which will address questions related to potential offshore infrastructure developments such as windfarms.
Digital twins are highly detailed virtual models of oceans that scientists create on computers. They use real-world data—like temperature, currents, and movements of sea life—collected from the ocean to mimic what’s happening underwater. These virtual oceans help researchers study and predict variables like weather patterns, and now are being extended to consider animal behaviour, which can support decision-making for biodiversity and conservation.
DTOTrack will use animal telemetry—electronic tag systems for tracking aquatic animals—to assess animal movements in the North Sea to build models of how, where, and why animals move, and how they are affected by offshore infrastructure developments. Together with the ETN, DTOTrack’s efforts will boost biodiversity conservation efforts in European seas.
DTOTrack will also work closely with the Horizon Europe-funded STRAITS project (Strategic Infrastructure for Improved Animal Tracking in Europeans Seas) and the Biodiversa+ NorTrack project (Northeast Atlantic Marine Tracking Network), which are utilizing acoustic tracking infrastructure throughout Northern Europe to study the movements of aquatic species.
The Ministry of University and Research (Italy) and JPI Oceans (Belgium), the European organizations responsible for the coordination and communication of the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership, said that “The Partnership’s goal is to foster collaborative projects that not only advance scientific understanding, but also contribute to tangible solutions for marine conservation. DTOTrack exemplifies this approach by using cutting-edge tracking technology to help us make informed decisions about marine management and the impact of offshore infrastructure.”
The DTOTrack team is made up of leading organizations in the study of aquatic animal movement, including the Ocean Tracking Network. Together, the teams will advance knowledge of aquatic animals in the North Sea, as well as their needs and the threats they face.
More information on this project can be found at www.europeantrackingnetwork.org/dtotrack.
For questions about the project, please contact Dr. Kim Birnie-Gauvin (kbir@aqua.dtu.dk). More information about the European Digital Twin of the Ocean project can be found at https://www.mercator-ocean.eu/en/digital-twin-ocean/.
Figure 2. Map depicting tracking infrastructure in the North Sea (blue circles), relevant STRAITS infrastructure (green circles), and the new swimways that will be instrumented (green lines). Green and purple shapes in the North Sea represent current and planned offshore infrastructure.
DTOTrack is funded by the Sustainable Blue Economy Partnership under the 2023 call for research proposals, a European Partnership funded by the European Union, and with the following funding organizations: Marine Institute Ireland, Innovation Fund Denmark, Research Council of Norway, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) represented by Project Management Jülich, Forschungszentr um Jülich GmbH, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Office français de la biodiversité, Belgian Science Policy Office, Swedish National Space Agency, Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, and the Dutch Research Council.