Presentation Information
[BSG7SMHd-03]Digital Twins at the Land–Ocean Interface: A Platform for Cross-Sector Dialogue and Public Engagement
*Francisco Werner1 (1. Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History (USA))
Beyond their role as scientific and decision-support tools, Digital Twins (DTs) have the potential to transform how museums and public institutions diffuse knowledge. Immersive and interactive DT environments can allow users to experience complex land–ocean systems in ways that static exhibits cannot, exploring how ecosystems function, how human activities influence environmental outcomes, and how alternative futures may unfold under different decisions. By making scientific knowledge tangible, participatory, and accessible, DTs can expand the traditional role of museums from repositories and interpreters of knowledge to active platforms for exploration, learning, and informed dialogue about the future. In this way, DTs align closely with the Smithsonian Institution’s mission of the increase and diffusion of knowledge, creating new opportunities to connect research, education, resource management, and public engagement.
This presentation explores how Digital Twins can serve as a platform for addressing complex challenges at the land–ocean interface. By integrating observations, collections, historical records, socioeconomic information, predictive models, and stakeholder knowledge, DTs can enable users to explore alternative futures, evaluating potential synergies and tradeoffs to assess the consequences of management actions before they are implemented. Such capabilities support applications ranging from coastal resilience and ecosystem restoration to sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation, watershed management, and climate adaptation.
Drawing on emerging initiatives in coastal and ocean digital twinning, including applications spanning watershed-to-ocean systems from the Arctic to the tropics, this presentation argues that DTs can simultaneously advance science, support actionable solutions, and strengthen public engagement. By connecting discovery, decision-making, and education within a common framework, Digital Twins offer a powerful pathway for fostering more resilient and informed futures at the land–ocean interface.
This presentation explores how Digital Twins can serve as a platform for addressing complex challenges at the land–ocean interface. By integrating observations, collections, historical records, socioeconomic information, predictive models, and stakeholder knowledge, DTs can enable users to explore alternative futures, evaluating potential synergies and tradeoffs to assess the consequences of management actions before they are implemented. Such capabilities support applications ranging from coastal resilience and ecosystem restoration to sustainable fisheries, biodiversity conservation, watershed management, and climate adaptation.
Drawing on emerging initiatives in coastal and ocean digital twinning, including applications spanning watershed-to-ocean systems from the Arctic to the tropics, this presentation argues that DTs can simultaneously advance science, support actionable solutions, and strengthen public engagement. By connecting discovery, decision-making, and education within a common framework, Digital Twins offer a powerful pathway for fostering more resilient and informed futures at the land–ocean interface.
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