Glossary
Definitions
Application
An action, information product, or service (including consultancy), which makes use of one or more DestinE DT services or output as an input.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is the capacity of an algorithm to assimilate information to perform tasks that are characteristic of human intelligence, such as recognizing objects and sounds, contextualizing language, learning from the environment, and problem solving.
Aviso
Notification service. In DestinE used primarily to notify users when Digital Twin data are available. May be used to trigger user-defined workflows in an automated fashion. Aviso is openly available at https://github.com/ecmwf/aviso
Cloud-ready
A cloud-ready application is a software program that has been designed and developed to run on a cloud computing infrastructure
Contractor
A natural or legal person with whom a procurement contract has been signed.
Co-design
Coordinated definition and implementation of a DestinE technical capability, use case, application or service between individual or all of the DestinE Entrusted Entities and users and contractors.
Data Adaptor
Data Adaptors are the core element of the software stack of a Data Bridge, which build the Harmonised Data Access. The adaptors must be specifically configured to the source data, services and infrastructure, taking into account the respective APIs or other access methods, user authentication, data structure, etc.
Data Bridge
A Data Bridge is part of the DestinE Data Lake and provides an interface to the DestinE DT data. Bridges consist of:
- a software stack which provides a unified API towards the other DestinE elements;
- dedicated compute capabilities on which the software stack is implemented;
- dedicated data storage capabilities (Data Warehouse).
Data Holding or Data store
Data Holding denotes external to DestinE infrastructures or services, which provide data of relevance for DestinE.
Data Warehouse
Part of Data Lake that contains and provides access to structured data, ready to be used in the frame of a Digital Twin, and/or being output from a Digital Twin referenced, and available for user retrieval.
DestinE Beneficiaries
Institutions or individuals using decision support tools that build on output of the DT or output of downstream applications of DestinE Users. This category also includes institutions or individuals who rely on advice drawing on DestinE output, e.g., ministries or administrations at local level.
DestinE Contribution Agreements (CA)
Agreements between the European Union and ECMWF, ESA and EUMETSAT on the implementation of the DestinE initiative under the Digital Europe Programme of the European Union as amended in 2023.
DestinE Data
Earth-system monitoring and prediction system output as provided by the Destination Earth Digital Twins, as well as impact relevant applications and services data provisioned via the Data Lake.
DestinE Data Lake (DEDL)
Self-standing DestinE system component, interfacing with the DestinE Platform, Digital Twins and Digital Twin Engine, built from geographically distributed physical elements, that references and provides seamless access via GUIs or APIs to data in accordance with the DestinE Data Portfolio. The Data Lake supports near-data processing to maximize throughput and service scalability.
DestinE Data Portfolio
The DestinE Data Portfolio is tailored to user needs and composed of federated data, Digital Twin data and DestinE user generated data with a specified and agreed lifecycle. The DEDL will implement and provide access to the DestinE Data Portfolio following the DestinE Access and Data governance as well as respecting pre-existing data policies and including quality assurance.
DestinE Digital Twin Engine (DTE)
Software-defined environment to operate DestinE’s DTs and manage their corresponding control and data flows across distributed HPC and cloud computing resources. It provides a common system approach to a unified orchestration of Earth- system Digital Twins. Moreover, it creates a framework for the fusion of observations with Earth-system simulations and the integration of applications targeting specific impact-sectors via selected use cases. The DT Engine enables the porting and optimization of codes, developing and managing the digital twin workflows, and provides the data handling and model interaction and interactivity capabilities that run on diverse HPC and cloud infrastructures including the Data Warehouse hosted on the data bridges. The DT Engine concept focuses on interoperability and interactivity and delivers the expected access agility and performance for the digital twins and associated data access.
DestinE Platform
Self-standing DestinE system component, interfacing with the Data Lake, Digital Twins and Digital Twin Engine, offering a web entry point to DestinE data, services and applications. It is based on an open, flexible, federated, scalable and secure cloud-based architecture. The Platform will connect to selected existing and future HPC and to multi-cloud computing. It provides an environment for evidence-based policy and decision-making supporting tools, and interfaces to the DestinE Data Lake. It will allow users to customise the Platform, integrate their own data and develop their own applications. This component is also known as the DestinE Core Service Platform (DESP).
DestinE System
System composed of the Platform, the Data Lake, and the Digital Twin Engine components.
DestinE User
Institutions or individuals exploiting DestinE capabilities, output products or services to achieve their objectives. These may include researchers, agencies implementing policies, companies, NGO, or media, amongst others.
According to the DestinE Contribution Agreement, “DestinE is initially aimed at professional public sector users, but it will evolve later to encompass a wider user base from the scientific communities and the private sector”.
Digital Twin(s) (DT)
Highly accurate replicas of the Earth-system that simulate the system’s behaviour, allowing to monitor and predict environmental change, test scientific hypotheses and adaptation scenarios. DestinE’s DTs combine several cutting-edge Earth-system models and Earth observations, as well as advanced data analytics and integration and interoperability with impact sector applications. They are DestinE system components, interfacing with the Digital Twin Engine, offering a seamless production service of actionable knowledge for users that results from the fusion of observational and simulated data of the physical Earth system and of impact-sector relevant information.
DT1: Digital Twin on Environmental Extremes
DT2: Digital Twin on Climate Change Adaptation
ecBuild
Build, test and package management utilizing CMake.
ecCodes
Software package that provides functionality for decoding GRIB and BUFR file formats.
ecFlow
Workflow management software.
ecPDS
Product delivery system for producing and disseminating real-time forecast data.
Edge Services
Near-data processing services on the DEDL.
Entrusted Entity
Entities entrusted by the European Commission with the implementation of Destination Earth by means of Contribution Agreements, i.e. ECMWF, ESA and EUMETSAT.
Entrusted Tasks
Tasks entrusted by the European Commission to ECMWF, ESA, or EUMETSAT under the DestinE Contribution Agreement as specified in Annex I (Technical Annex) of that agreement.
Fields Data Base (FDB)
ECMWF-developed software library for short-term storage for hierarchically organised meteorological data.
Harmonised Data Access (HDA)
Logical function supporting a standardised API that provides users with unified access to a variety of datasets from different sources and platforms. Data adaptors are the essential element in the provision of a harmonised interface for the user to data since they facilitate such data access to federated, distributed, diverse and heterogeneous data holdings. HDA is the core function building the Data Lake and Data Warehouse. The HDA API is als supported by the DestinE Platform.
HPC infrastructure
Infrastructure denoting distributed, scalable HPC and data handling resources, which offer extreme-scale simulation and observational data generation and processing capability. The HPC Infrastructure in DestinE builds on EuroHPC and European National resources and contributes to federating European HPC and data handling infrastructure resources connected through GEANT.
Impact Sector
Domain in which the outputs of the DT are expected to enhance the ability to predict the effects of different policy/management scenarios or support the implementation of policies or management decisions. Possible impact sectors include, for example, water management, agriculture and forestry, renewable energy management, air quality management, urban development, maritime or air transport, biodiversity protection, disaster risk mitigation, and climate impact assessments.
Industrial Contract
A contract, purchase order or work order signed between the Contractor and ESA under which the Contractor provides services, supplies, or works for the implementation of the Entrusted Tasks, and any amendments thereto.
LUMI
One of the EuroHPC pre-exascale supercomputers, hosted and operated by CSC IT Center for Science in Kajaani, Finland.
Key Performance Indicators
Indicators which serve for monitoring, reporting and calibrating purposes as well as for assessing the respective benefits realisation process and outcome.
Leonardo
One of the EuroHPC pre-exascale supercomputers, hosted and operated by CINECA in Bologna, Italy.
Machine Learning
Field of statistical research focused on training computational algorithms that split, sort and transform data to maximize the ability to classify, predict, cluster or discover patterns in a target dataset. (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-0912-1). It is fundamentally a data-driven approach.
MareNostrum 5 (MN5)
One of the EuroHPC pre-exascale supercomputers, hosted and operated by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center in Spain.
MELUXINA
One of the EuroHPC pre-exascale supercomputers, hosted and operated by LuxConnect in Bissen, Luxemburg.
Models
Software applications that represent different aspects of the Earth system or other systems influenced by changes in the Earth system. Models can be physics-based, derived using machine learning algorithms or a combination of both. They are used to explain, predict, or analyse system behaviour and/or impact.
MultIO
ECMWF-developed set of software libraries for asynchronous I/O and user-programmable processing pipelines that operate on model output directly.
Partnership Agreement
Agreement between a DestinE User and one or more of the Entrusted Entities. It defines common objectives, roles and commitments between the parties involved. It includes indicators to measure the success of the activity. Partner contributions are considered by default as an in-kind contribution from all sides.
Pgen
ECMWF-developed product generation software package for user- tailored post-processing of IFS output.
Polytope
Web service providing efficient access to hypercubes of DestinE Digital Twin data, also federating access between geographically distributed resources. Users can access the data via a client Python package.
Procurement Contract
A contract, purchase order or work order signed between the Contractor and one of the Entrusted Entities under which the Contractor provides services, supplies, or works for the implementation of the Entrusted Tasks, and any amendments thereto.
Representational State Transfer (REST)
Architecture standard for the development of web services, based on principles for the design of networked applications.
Service
Regular provision of technological capabilities, resources, data, information products or tools to meet user needs, including their management across a variety of digital infrastructures. Services in DestinE handles and innovates complex workflows related to Earth system information generation and delivery, facilitates the management of complex monitoring, prediction and projection systems, and makes components available for use in different digital contexts to enable rich interaction in the wider digital environment.
The services developed and implemented by DestinE provide free and open access to tools, software and platforms.
Platform Registered Service Provider
Providers of services listed in the Platform Service Registry, and available to Platform Standard users. This group is composed of:
- Platform Service Providers providing the Registered Services implemented and operated by the consortium contracted by ESA with the implementation of the DestinE Platform
- Other Service Providers providing Registered Services to offer applications and algorithms.
Platform Standard Users
Platform users who have performed the self-registration. Categories of users are defined according to the possibility to ask for a complementary access to the different classes of services. These user categories are managed as distinct groups together by the platform and the services in order to properly regulate the access.
Service Registry
Catalogue of all services, integrated in the DestinE Platform, including the DestinE Platform Core Services, DEDL Services operated by EUMETSAT and DT Services operated by ECMWF.
It maintains a searchable database of all the available services, i.e., the DestinE Platform Service Catalogue.
Stakeholder
Policy or research institution or company with a substantial interest in the development of one or more of the DestinE components (DESP, DEDL, DT) as a Beneficiary, a User, a provider of technology or infrastructure, or as a responsible party for the policy objectives of DestinE.
System Integration and Verification
Functional Integration & Verification (I&V) and Testing of DestinE system components and interfaces of the DestinE architecture, in order to demonstrate its readiness for a routine service provision and ensure the proper functioning of all system components as one, integrated system.
Use Case
A practical scenario in which DestinE’s capabilities are utilized to achieve specific outcomes – such as climate resilience, resource management, or urban planning – providing actionable information and decision support to its end users.
User applications
User-driven service provisioning through (a) platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for access to resources for application and service development and to create users’ own work environments and adding data, and (b) software-as-a-service (SaaS) for “consuming” the functionalities of the digital twins as dedicated services through well-defined interfaces and APIs, with a potential evolution into a digital-twin-as-a-service (DTaaS).
User Partnership
Structured work relation between the Entrusted Entities and policy institutions from EU services, EU Member State services (national, regional, local levels) and, possibly, global institutions. User partnerships aim to design sustainable services throughout the lifetime of DestinE in a way that corresponds to the specific needs of the users. (Reference: DestinE Contribution Agreement).
User partnerships are established via Partnership Agreements.
Abbreviations and acronyms
3E
3 Entrusted Entities Partnership (ESA – ECMWF – EUMETSAT)
3EDL
3 Entrusted Entities Data Lakes including ESA Data Lake, ECMWF Data Store, and EUMETSAT Big Data Services
4D-Var
Four-dimensional variational data assimilation AI Artificial Intelligence
API
Application Programming Interface
AUX
Auxiliary data or information
AWS
Amazon Web Services
BD
Big Data
CA
Contribution Agreement
CaaS
Container as a Service
CAMS
Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring System
CDS
Climate Data Store
CFI
Customer Furnished Item
COG
Cloud Optimized GeoTIFF
COM
European Commission
CSC DA
Copernicus Data Access
CPU
Central Processing Unit
CR
Change Request
CSC
Copernicus Space Component
DA
Data Assimilation
DaaS
Data as a Service
DestinE
Destination Earth initiative
DestinE CA/TA
ESA, ECMWF and EUMETSAT DestinE Contribution Agreements and associated Technical Annex. For ECMWF, respectively [RD-1] and [RD-2].
DCG
DestinE Coordination Group
DE
Destination Earth
DEDL
DestinE Data Lake
DEM
Digital Elevation Model
DESP
DestinE Core Service Platform
DG-CNECT
Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology DIAS Data and Information Access Services
DOI
Digital Object Identifier
DP
Data Portfolio
DS
Data Store
DT
Digital Twin
DTE
Digital Twin Engine
E2E
End-to-End
ECMWF
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
ECV
Essential Climate Variable
EDC
Euro Data Cube
EDCP
ESA DestinE Contribution Project
EO
Earth Observation
ERA5
ECMWF Reanalysis v5
ESA
European Space Agency
EU
European Union
EuroHPC
The European High Performance Computing (HPC) Joint Undertaking (JU)
EUM
EUMETSAT
EUM BDS
EUMETSAT Big Data Store
EUMETSAT
European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites
EWC
European Weather Cloud
FAIR
Findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of data FDB Fields Data Base
FTP
File Transfer Protocol
GB
Gigabyte
GDPR
General Data Protection Regulation
GIS
Geographical Information System
GPU
Graphics Processing Unit
GRIB/GRIB2
General Regularly distributed Information in Binary form /v2 GUI Graphical User Interface
HDA
Harmonised Data Access
HPC
High Performance Computing
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
I&V
Integration & Verification
IaaS
Infrastructure as a Service
IAM
Identity and Access Management
ICD
Interface Control Document
IF
Interface
IFS
ECMWF’s Integrated Forecasting System
IIS
Internet Information Services
IITT
Intended Invitation to Tender
IoT
Internet of Things
ITT
Invitation to Tender
KO
Kick-Off
JCB
Joint Coordination Board
JRC
Joint Research Centre
JTC
Joint Technical Committee
LAN
Local Area Network
LCLU
Land Cover / Land Use
MARS
ECMWF’s Meteorological Archival and Retrieval System
MCC
Multi-cloud-computing
MFF
Multiannual Financial Framework
MIDAS
Modelling Inventory and Knowledge Management System of the European Commission
ML
Machine Learning
MN5
MareNostrum 5
NGO
Non-Governmental Organisation
NWP
Numerical Weather Prediction
OGC
Open Geospatial Consortium
OM
Operations and performance Monitoring
OSS
Open-Source Software
OTR
Operations Traceability
PA
Product Assurance
PaaS
Platform as a Service
PB
Petabyte
PC
Programme Committee
PHP
Hypertext Processor
PMP
Project Management Plan
QA
Quality Assurance
QC
Quality Control
RAM
Random Access Memory
REST API
Representational State Transfer API RS Reference System
RMSE
Root-mean-square error
S3
AWS Simple Storage Service
SaaS
Software as a Service
SAB
Strategic Advisory Board
SIMPL
Smart Middleware Platform
SLA
Service Level Agreement
SoW
Statement of Work
SQL
Structures Query Language
SRA
Sentinels Resource Allocation
SSRS
System-specific Security Requirement Statement
STAC
Spatio Temporal Asset Catalog
TA
Technical Annex
TB
Terabyte
TBC
To Be Confirmed
TBD
To Be Decided
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format
TN
Technical Note
UAP
User Application Portfolio
VVUQ
Verification, validation & uncertainty quantification VA Vulnerability Assessment
WAN
Wide Area Network
WMO
World Meteorological Organization