A Digital Twin Component for Glaciers
DTC Glaciers#
The DTC Glaciers project is developed under the European Space Agency’s Digital Twin Earth initiative, as part of the Digital Twin Components (DTC) Early Development Actions.
Leveraging the latest Earth Observation (EO) data, in-situ measurements, and advanced modeling techniques, DTC Glaciers aims to create a dynamic digital representation of mountain glaciers. The digital twin will be designed to be explored, interrogated, and informed in response to real-world events, new observations, and evolving scenarios. This open and interactive platform will empower users and stakeholders to better understand the rapid changes in mountain glaciers and take informed action to address these challenges effectively.
Pilot phase completed
The first phase of the DTC Glaciers project concluded in January 2026, delivering the core building blocks of an open digital twin for glaciers. We invite you to explore the notebooks and demonstrations presented here, which showcase the potential of DTC Glaciers to support understanding and action in a rapidly changing cryosphere.
Use cases#
DTC Glaciers develops a suite of tools and services to support the monitoring of mountain glaciers and the management of their water resources. During this prototyping phase, we will focus on the following use cases:
- Glacier runoff monitoring
Targeting glaciers in Iceland and the Austrian Alps, DTC Glaciers provides daily glacier mass balance and runoff estimates including their uncertainty. This information is crucial for water resource management, hydropower production, and flood risk assessment.
- User interaction and user-informed scenarios
Co-designed with our stakeholders, the platform allows hydrologists, glaciologists, and water resource managers to explore available datasets. They are also able to inform the twin with new observations and recent events, enabling the platform to learn and improve over time.
Tools#
DTC Glaciers provides several interfaces to explore, interact with, and build upon the digital twin:
- DEA Story
An interactive slide deck illustrating how DTC Glaciers could be used to inform hydropower outlook
- Notebooks
A curated collection of Jupyter notebooks documenting the methods, datasets, and use cases developed in the project.
- JupyterHub
A shared cloud-based computing environment that allows users to run the notebooks and access the twin without local installation.
- Dashboard
A web-based visual interface providing intuitive access to key indicators such as glacier mass balance and runoff.
Consortium#
University of Bristol
EarthWave
U. of Zürich / WGMS
University of Innsbruck
ENVEO
University of Edinburgh
Funding#
Stakeholders#
Our key stakeholders are the National Power Company of Iceland Landsvirkjun and the Tyrolean Hydrological Service. We are also relying on a wider group of stakeholders from the scientific community, water resource managers, and policy to ensure that DTC Glaciers meets the needs of a wide range of users.
Contact#
For more information about the DTC Glaciers project or if you would like to be informed about its future developments, please contact the project lead, Fabien Maussion. We are always looking for new partners and collaborators to join us on this exciting journey!
Project lead: Fabien Maussion
Project management: Earthwave
ESA Digital Twin Earth initiative: dte.esa.int