EU-INTERCHANGE Project

The EU-INTERCHANGE project is building a comprehensive Digital Ocean Twin—a dynamic, virtual replica of Europe’s seas and the Pan-Arctic region. This digital platform will integrate advanced models covering waves, ocean currents, biogeochemistry, and the nearshore environment to rigorously assess the impacts of Climate Change.

We are developing customized, high-fidelity models to evaluate effective mitigation and adaptation strategies. The focus is on critical areas like coastal resilience, the risks associated with Sea Level Rise, and key Blue Economy sectors such as sustainable aquaculture and marine renewables. To empower decision-makers, we will establish clear indicators for marine ecosystem health, blue growth, coastal resilience, and societal climate impacts, delivering these through unique, fully automated tools.

Crucially, INTERCHANGE is creating an unprecedented large ensemble database spanning 1995 to 2100, incorporating $\text{CMIP}6$ data for $\text{SSP}1$ (2.6∘C) and $\text{SSP}2$ (4.5∘C) emission scenarios, optimized for every European Basin and the Arctic. To maximize accessibility and utility, we will release a transparent, fully open-source automated service for statistical analysis and reporting, directly supporting stakeholders in vital sectors like coastal protection, marine renewables, food security, and tourism. A key innovation is a dynamic and statistical downscaling tool that allows users to generate ultra-high-resolution data ($<500\text{m}$) for specific coastal areas with minimal expertise. All our novel datasets—both hindcast and forecast—will be openly accessible and seamlessly integrated into COPERNICUS, ensuring collaborative research and informing climate