The data assimilation technique (e.g., OpenDA) will be applied here to facilitate the data fusion, and this is actually creating the engine for the soil-plant digital twin. This digital twin engine will combine medium-resolution (10m – 1km) Copernicus satellite data with high-resolution (cm) unmanned aerial system (UAS) data, in situ observations, analytical- and physically-based models, as well as machine learning algorithms, for understanding ecophysiological dynamics of ecosystems and their responses to climate extremes across the globe. The OpenDA is an open interface standard for (and free implementation of) a set of tools to quickly implement data-assimilation and calibration for any dynamic models, and will be used to build the soil-plant digital twin engine.
